Ironman New Zealand Preview
New Zealand
Saturday, March 1, 2003
2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run

Men's Preview
Sportsman of the year Cameron Brown has predicably grabbed the top seeding for next month's New Zealand Ironman triathlon in Taupo. Brown, a two-time winner of Ironman New Zealand, will take on the biggest and one of the strongest fields in his attempt to become the first person to win three times in a row in the oldest international Ironman event in the world.

The Kiwi has become a world star over the ironman distance - 3.8km swim 180km bike and 42km marathon run - with his back-to-back victories in Taupo and his second and third placings at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii in 2001 and 2002. He faces a men's field of 46 professionals - with nine Ironman victories between them.

Second seed has gone to outstanding Swiss athlete Olivier Bernhard. Bernhard, considered the world's best endurance bike-runner, will be storming home on the run. He has won the famous Zofingen long distance duathlon in the mountains of his native Switzerland seven times, and has three victories and a second place at Ironman Australia last year.

Bernhard has some unfinished business in New Zealand. A time penalty on the run cost him victory in Auckland in 1998, while he was barred from racing the following year because of a positive drugs test which was later overturned. In 2000 in Taupo he battled bravely for third behind Brown and Thomas Hellriegel.

Third seed is the big Canadian Garrett MacFadyen, who finished third in Taupo last year, and went on to win his maiden Ironman in his native Canada in August. MacFadyen produced the fastest bike-run split last year - his 4hr48m10s bike and 2hr51m50s was quicker than Brown - as he proved that a hot swim time is not imperative to a hot performance.

Fourth seed is American Chris Leito who beat Brown in a half-ironman clash in California last May - Leito finished seventh with Brown a minute further back in ninth place - and then went on to win Ironman USA in Wisconsin last September. The American recorded 8h 46m 30s over the testing 3.8km swim/180km cycle/42km run course.

Fifth seed is another American, the exciting Californian Steve Larsen. At his best, no one in the field has the cycling power to stay with Larsen, a former pro cycling team-mate of Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. Larsen hasn't competed in a triathlon since last July when sixth over the Ironman distance in Germany where Brown finished third. But from his Californian training base this week, Larsen said his fitness is on target and he's looking forward to putting into practise the lessons he learned from a roller-coaster year in 2002. "I've got to be realistic about my chances of winning because Cameron has won it twice and has much more experience than I do," Larsen said. "But it's going to be a great test and I'm excited about the opportunity to race against one of the best. I'll certainly put on a good show for everyone."

Other seeds include the Canadian Jamie Cleveland, a winner in Ironman Florida, American Tony DeBoom, who won the shortened Ironman Utah, and Queensland-based Gisborne athlete Brent Sheldrake, the only Kiwi aside of Brown in the top 10 seeds.

Women's Preview
World champion Lisbeth Kristensen has added considerable interest to the women's field for Ironman New Zealand in Taupo on 1 March. The Danish triathlete, who is training in Australia, is a surprise entry in the field for the 19^th Ironman New Zealand with most expecting a battle between Canadian two-time champion Lisa Bentley against Kiwis Karyn Ballance and Jo Lawn. Kristensen won the ITU world long distance title on native soil at Fredericia, Denmark in 2001 in an impressive 9hr 24min. She has twice finished third at Ironman Lanzarote on the Canary Islands, considered the most brutish climbs on the world Ironman circuit. However it was her stunning 9hr 08min victory on debut at Almere in 2000 that will make the field sit up and take notice of the Danish competitor, who is a talented swimmer and strong rider.

Bentley's career turned after her maiden victory in Ironman New Zealand in 2000, going on to repeat the win the following year before injury slowed her progress. She had not recovered in time to attempt her hat-trick last year, opting for Australia where she chalked up her third win in a career best 9hr 18min. She followed that with runnerup in her native Ironman Canada and sixth at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. Bentley has bettered Ballance in her two wins at Taupo with the pair set to do battle again - both likely to be storming through the field on the run.

However neither overseas star has grabbed top seeding for Taupo - that honour goes to the defending champion Ballance, who produced a world-class 9hr27min winning time last year set up by a brilliant 3hr 05min marathon. She has had her share of frustrations since, mostly with a niggling foot injury that prevented her from another other serious competition last year. An operation cured the ailment and Ballance has been in catch-up mode since, and also coping with the loss of training partner and husband Scott Ballance, who has retired after discovery of a serious coronary condition. The Kiwi star will not want to give up much time to Bentley on the swim-bike this year, as both have similar leg speed over the marathon.

Bentley is the second seed with another Kiwi Jo Lawn seeded third. Lawn finished runner-up to Ballance last year before grabbing a top-10 finish in an impressive showing at the Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Hawaii. The former Commonwealth Games cyclist has traded off some of her bike strength for speed on the run to good effect last year with fifth place at Ironman Utah and runnerup at Ironman Lake Placid.

American Andrea Fisher is seeded fourth after another consistent year on the world circuit with fifth at Ironman Australia, third at Ironman Korea and on top of some podium finishers in shorter events. The former swim star may well eye Wendy Ingraham's sub-50min swim record at Taupo.

Kristensen, in her first visit to Taupo, is seeded fifth ahead of Auckland's Lynley Allison, the former world age group Ironman champion, who placed third in her professional debut last year. She went on to finish fifth in difficult conditions at Ironman Korea and is certain to play a strong role this year. Allison is a strong swimmer and powerful rider, recording the fastest bike split of 5hr 15min for the 180km last year. She is expected to lay down the gauntlet again this year.

Other seeds of interest include American Mary Uhl, who has returned after a two-year break, Queensland-based Kiwi Adrianne Ngawati, who was fifth on debut last year, and her new training partner, Louise Davoren.