Mike Phillips built a big lead after the bike leg to withstand a charging, race-best run by Jack Moody and to edge his fellow Kiwi by 1:53 for the win at the 30th Port of Tauranga Half triathlon at Mount Maunganui Saturday.

Hannah Wells overcame a 2:21 deficit after the bike leg with a women’s-best 1:25:05 half marathon to finish in 4:13:19 with a 1:53 margin of victory - equal to Phillips’ advantage on Moody - over fellow New Zealander and two-time Port of Tauranga defending champion Amelia Watkinson.

Men

Kiwis Phillips and Mark Bowstead emerged from the swim ahead of the pack with equal 23:43 splits that gave them a 5 seconds margin over defending champion Dylan McNeice, 10 seconds on Moss Burmester and 17 seconds on Simon Cochrane.

After a by far race-best 2:05:44 bike split, Phillips led the field by 4:43 over Jack Moody, 4:47 over Bowstead, 5:00 over George Gwynn and 7:08 over Simon Cochrane.

While Moody charged hard with a race-best 1:14:34 split and gained back 3 minutes on Phillips, it was not enough for the win. Phillips finished in 3:49:05 - 3:27 off Braden Currie’s 2017 race record - with a 1:53 lead on Moody and 8:03 on 3rd place finisher Bowstead.

Women

Rebecca Clarke led the pro women out of the swim with an 8 seconds margin on Teresa Adam, 1:43 over Watkinson and 1:45 over Hannah Wells.

After a women’s 2nd-fastest 2:20:04 bike split, Rebecca Clarke led the pro women into T2 by 10 seconds over Teresa Adam (women’s-best 2:19:46 bike split), 2:19 over Watkinson and 2:21 over Wells.

After blasting through the run with a by far women's-best 1:25:05 half marathon, Wells broke the tape in 4:13:19 with a 1:53 margin over Watkinson and 3 minutes over 3rd place finisher Clarke. Wells’ time was fast but fell 1:04 behind the 2018 race record set by Melissa Hauschildt of Australia.

Port of Tauranga Half
Pilot Bay, Mount Maunganui, New Zealand
January 12, 2019
S 2k / B 90k / R 21k

Results

Men

1. Mike Phillips (NZL) S 23:43 T1 00:56 B 2:05:44 T2 1L00 R 1:17:44 TOT 3:49:05
2. Jack Moody (NZL) S 26:22 T1 1:17 B 2:07:47 T2 1L01 R 1:14:34 TOT 3:50:58
3. Mark Bowstead (NZL) S 23:43 T1 00:57 B 2:10:30 T2 1:08 R 1:20:54 TOT 3:57:11
4. Simon Cochrane (NZL) S 24:00 T1 00:54 B 2:12:37 T2 1L12 R 1:21:36 TOT 4:00:18
5. George Gwynn (NZL) S 26:21 T1 00:59 B 2:08:03 T2 1:01 R 1:24:41 TOT 4:01:03

Women

1. Hannah Wells (NZL) S 26:08 T1 1:06 B 2:20:08 T2 00:54 R 1:25:05 TOT 4:13:19
2. Amelia Watkinson (NZL) S 26:06 T1 1:06 B 2:20:11 T2 00:54 R 1:26:46 TOT 4:15:12
3. Rebecca Clarke (NZL) S 24:23 T1 00:56 B 2:20:04 T2 1:06 R 1:29:52 TOT 4:16:19
4. Teresa Adam (NZL) S 24:31 T1 1:06 B 2:19:46 T2 1:18 R 1:30:59 TOT 4:17:38
5. Emily Donker (AUS) S 28:56 T1 1:12 B 2:24:16 T2 1:28 R 1:34:10 TOT 4:30:00