Ironman legends Cameron Brown and Joanna Lawn took out the Port of Tauranga Half titles at Mount Maunganui over the weekend.
On a day with rain threatening, 39-year-old Brown was able to notch up his ninth Port of Tauranga win to become the 2012 Long Distance National Champion.
He was pushed the whole way by defending champion Callum Millward, with the two neck and neck for most of the race after Brown exited the water a minute down on the leading group.
German Sean Donnelly pushed the pace early after a great swim with Millward close behind. But 45km into the bike the gap closed and Brown and Millward went to work, dropping Donnelly and Michael Poole in the first few kilometres of the 21km run.
The pair ran side by side until the final kilometre, where Brown managed to pull away and take the victory with Millward second and Australian Tim Berkel across the line seven minutes later in third place.
Meanwhile, 38-year-old Lawn demolished the female field from start to finish and became the first woman to win the title four times.
She was first out of the water after the 2km swim and led on the bike before losing time to Belinda Harper due to mechanical issues at the 45km mark.
Lawn and Harper exited transition together onto the run, with clear space between them and any chasers.
Harper quickly faded on the run while Lawn remained strong throughout to take a commanding win, while Auckland's Hannah Lawrence recorded the fastest women's run split of 1:28.23 to surge through the field and take second. Dunedin's Tamsyn Hayes was third.
The men's team race was won by Rehab Physio Centre in a time of 3:45.40 while the Blue Seventy team, made up of Rebecca Kingsford, Stephen Sheldrake and Ryan Sissons won the mixed teams race in 3:52.27.
Port of Tauranga Half
(2km swim, 90km bike, 21km run)
Elite Men
1. Cameron Brown (Auckland) 3:53.42
2. Callum Millward (Auckland) 3:54.18
3. Tim Berkel (Australia) 4:01.28
4. Shanon Stallard (New Plymouth) 4:06.51
5. Daniel Plews (Auckland) 4:08.00
Elite Women
1. Joanna Lawn (Auckland) 4:22.54
2. Hannah Lawrence (Auckland) 4:29.37
3. Tamsyn Hayes (Dunedin) 4:30.16
4. Elaine Brent (Wellington) 4:31.54
5. Belinda Harper (Auckland) 4:32.16
Teams
1. Rehab Physio Centre 3:45.40
2. BlueSeventy 3:52.27
3. Team Brick 3:52.42
