Warriner to make her return at Port of Tauranga Half Ironman

Olympic triathlete Sam Warriner will make her return to the sport at the 21st Port of Tauranga Half Ironman at Mt Maunganui next month.
She and this year’s men’s winner Duncan Milne (Taupo) will both defend their titles in the Saturday 9 January event that doubles as the official Triathlon New Zealand Championship.
Warriner hopes to reignite her career after cracked ribs from a crash and a poor world championship brought a premature end to her season.
She will start as a newly married woman after she ties the knot with longtime partner Stephen Bradley on December 28.
The Whangarei triathlete is looking for a fresh beginning in the 2km swim 90km bike and 21km run event although is not expecting a repeat of her record breaking efforts in claiming the title for a second time earlier this year.
“I am just so happy to be back training fully again and enjoying it. To get through the Half Ironman well will really help set me up for the year,” Warriner said. “I am not expecting too much this time. We built a house this year, we have the wedding and we have both our families out from England virtually up until the race.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am just to be training hard and ready to tackle this race. It means so much to me.”
Warriner, who has seven ITU World Cup wins to her credit, started 2009 full of heart after smashing the race record in the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman by nearly two minutes in January.
Things changed when she suffered cracked ribs after a collision with a car, forcing her to abandon her World Cup campaign and return home. After a rushed build-up she then endured a mediocre world championship in the Gold Coast and pulled the pin on the year, including her planned attack on the Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
“Initially it was the heart-wrenching but the right thing to do to take time out. I had the wedding to plan and we were building the house. But after the worlds I became so depressed. I just sat around and watched TV.
“I had worked so hard to get there and I just couldn’t cope with the disappointments.”
But gradually Warriner got back into training and is now happy her world again.
“I am really enjoying it that I am healthy again and I love being able to push my body hard in training. Training for the Half Ironman means I have to lay down a really good training base which should set me up for a good season ahead.
“Before the accident I was the fittest I had been and ran a 33.30 for 10kms at Madrid which was the fastest I had run.
“Now I have some balance in my life again. I am enjoying things and looking forward to the race.
“For me this time it will be about getting out there. I think I will be strong but I don’t have quite the same speed I did last time.”
She is looking forward to the strong competition and excited about 2010. For Warriner it can’t come soon enough.