Kiwi TRI-umphant weekend in Hamburg

As the next ITU Championship race draws closer, later tonight NZT to be precise. I thought I would give a round up of the Hamburg leg of the triathlon season, completed in late July. Our Kiwi triathletes are building nicely towards the end of the season with both impressive performances in the individual race and the team triathlon event.

Following on from the brutal mountain race in Kitzbuhel, Andrea Hewitt has found some form heading into the final races of the season. She was slightly further back than expected in the swim, but found herself in contention with a strong bike and run leg. With a couple of laps left remaining in the run Hewitt gave it a go and couldn't hang on, managing to finish in 4th place. With Gwen Jorgensen further back in the bike leg, it was unlikely that even she could run herself into a podium position. German favorite Anne Haug seemed to find another gear with the 500,000 strong home crowd getting her across the line with 800m to go. Fellow German teammate Svenja Bazien was credited by Haug for getting her back into contention through the bike and setting her up for a strong finish. 

Our wee Kiwi pocket rocket is peaking at the right end of the season.

In the men's side of the event with the start list featuring both Brownlee brothers, Javier Gomez, Sven Riederer and Richard Murray it is always a tough ask for our young Kiwi guys but Ryan Sissons carried the flag and had an impressive considering the calibre of athletes surrounding him. After managing to hang on in the bike leg, Sissons finished off a strong run and 9th position is something he should be really proud of.

The highlight for me as a spectator would have to be the team triathlon event. Even as a youngster I have always been a team player over an individual athlete and there is something always exciting about competing with your fellow teammates. I found myself cheering extremely loudly for our fantastic team and I constantly found myself on the edge of my seat, glued to my television. 

The format for the race was female, male, female, male and unlike some of the other countries competing our Kiwi team was solid, not necessarily a team of superstars but a well rounded group of athletes. 

A great start by Andrea set the tone for the team and each of the athletes got themselves into a podium position. Sissons finished off a fantastic team race with the Kiwi's able to claim the silver medal, finishing off a fantastic weekend for our athletes. 

I was a tad disappointed that the team triathlon has been declined for inclusion in the Olympics, as a format as I mentioned it is such a fantastic spectator sport. 

Check out the video highlights of the race below, the 1.06 mark is a real highlight with Tony Dodds's fantastic dive to start his leg of the race. He has real kiwi style.

Bring on Stockholm in a matter of minutes.