KEY POINTS:
Two remarkable victories marked a fine assault by age-group competitors on the world triathlon championships in Vancouver yesterday.
Both wins came in the sprint distance on a day all New Zealand competitors finished their events in extremely tough conditions.
There were a further three podium finishes and seven top 10s, with all Kiwis finishing inside the top 25 in their races.
Sarah Jack capped her incredible comeback to the sport with victory in the women's 20-24 years age group while veteran Anthony Sepie took out the men's 75-79 age group.
Jack, an Aucklander, had major surgery in 2004 to correct a lateral curvature of the spine. She had two titanium rods inserted and fused to her spine.
Her coach, George Hilgenhoult, was not surprised by her success.
"Five years ago Sarah was training as a junior with some national and elite squads but frankly I thought she was out of her league," he said. "But Sarah is so tenacious - she kept plugging on and moved on to the under-16 junior squad and attended several New Zealand camps."
Christchurch's Sepie is legendary around triathlon and multisport circles, constantly overcoming personal setbacks and health issues that would "retire" most people. But the popular Sepie keeps bouncing back more determined than ever and has a world championship to his name. Sepie's victory comes as he continued a battle to overcome both leukaemia and prostate cancer.
The story of his triumph against adversity doesn't end there though, Sepie can only swim in the ocean, as his skin is too sensitive to handle the chlorine used in indoor pools, which means he's even out training in the ocean in the middle of winter.
Add to that, the chemotherapy he has for leukaemia every two to three years and the injections required for his prostate cancer.
