XTERRA New Zealand
Thorne, Leary win XTERRA New Zealand
Trey Garman / 12.04.2010
On the men’s side 27-year-old Scott Thorne, a new father and full-time builder, overcame sleepless nights and the flu to win his first XTERRA championship under perfect conditions in Rotorua.
Defending champ and race favorite Richard Ussher of Nelson was a late withdrawal due to a nagging shoulder injury.
"I'm truly gutted, but an injury that I'd hoped I would be over long before now just hasn't healed at all and so I wouldn't be able to even complete the swim, let alone be competitive in it," Ussher told the Nelson Mail. "I hurt my shoulder after the race in Abu Dhabi which has made me unable to recover the arm over the top in the recovery of the stroke. I'm going for some scans this week to see if it is going to require surgery. I will definitely hope to be back next year."
For Thorne, who has finished in the top 17 at the XTERRA World Championship three times including a 13th place performance last year, the win in his home country finishes an upward trend of performances.
“I’m really stoked to be able to complete my set of medals� Thorne explains. “I got third in 2008 and second last year so to come here and take the win is just awesome. Things felt right from the get-go really – I was very pleased with my swim and then as soon as I hit the bike everything just clicked.�
With a 10-week old baby and catching a cold just a couple of weeks ago, it hasn’t been the easiest of build ups for the Hamiltonian. “The last couple of weeks haven’t been too easy but my wife Emma has been an awesome support and we just make it happen.�
Less than a minute back was Rotorua local, Mark Leishman, the 31-year-old praising the efforts of his younger competitor.
“Scott had a great race today – very solid – he is going to go on and be a very successful athlete I’m sure.�
Talented teenager and Port of Tauranga Half Ironman Champion, Michael Poole ran himself into a very commendable third place. Having led by over 2 minutes after the 1km swim, the 18-year-old road tri specialist found it tough going on the 29km mountain bike - dropping back to fourth place before running his way to the podium.
Previous XTERRA Champion and Olympic gold medalist, Hamish Carter, completed the mountain bike as part of the team’s event.
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