Currie fights through strong field for a podium finish
WANAKA endurance athlete Braden Currie surged through a classy Ironman AsiaPacific Championship field to finish on the podium in Western Sydney yesterday.
Dan Wilson claimed victory in his final race before he retires but the battle for second came down a dash to the end between Currie and twotime champion Tim Reed.
Currie gave it his absolute all, eventually claiming a hardfought third in a time of 3hrs 43.33min.
After a taxing October, in which Currie competed in the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii and backed up two weeks later in the Xterra World Championships, he was unsure if he would be in ideal race form.
‘‘I was really happy with my result,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s good to be back on the podium, among this super classy field. We pushed each other to set some fast times over this flat, quick course and I was stoked to record my personal best time,’’ Currie said.
He came out of the water in eighth place but charged into transition in a personal best bike time of 2hr 3min 57sec.
‘‘ I pushed myself to the limit on the first lap of the run and managed to bridge a bit of a gap and get away from some of the others.
‘‘Then Dan Wilson came flying through at about the 5km mark and I couldn’t stay with him. He was pushing it way harder than I could maintain and from there it was just a case of seeing if I could hold on to second,’’ Currie said.
His podium was a confidencebooster going into Ironman Taupo in two weeks’ time.