Taupo's Todd claims King of the Lake title in fierce competition at Rotorua's Blue Lake

The Blue Lake Multisport Festival experienced one of the closest races in its 25 year history with a mere 21 seconds separating the eventual King of the Lake from his challenger.

Cameron Todd, 18, of Taupo, successfully defended his crown from former winner Bryan Rhodes (1998 and 1999) and elite triathlete Michael Poole.

Todd had a minute on his challengers going into today's Cycle Zone Sprint Triathlon and although he ended up second to Poole he still had the edge.

``It was a lot tougher than last year,'' Todd said about the series.

``But the course suits us young guys more. Rhodesy [Bryan Rhodes] had a good swim yesterday but he's more suited to Ironman distance. When Michael caught us on the bike I knew it was going to come down to the run.

``Michael's a decent runner and I knew it would be tight.''

Poole finished first but his time didn't give him enough of a barrier to take out the King of the Lake title. The crown - and $1000 prize money - goes to the fastest across three events.

Yesterday was the Physiotherapy Clinic Aquathon - 5.5km run and 800m swim - and the Events & Venues 2km open water swim.

Poole said he was disappointed at losing out to Todd.

``I really wanted to win the series and I tried really hard on the run,'' he said.

``This is so different to other races I've done. I tried to make up some time on the bike so I didn't have to run so hard but I couldn't get any ground.''

Up and coming triathlete Mikayla Nielson, 16, of Hamilton, won the Queen of the Lake title after opening up a comfortable lead on the aquathon. This was her first attempt at the Blue Lake Multisport Festival and she said provided her with good training ahead of next weekend's Contact Tri Series race at Kinloch.

The triathlon had 420 starters, the largest field in its history to date.

Event director Charlotte Pearson said the festival was a hit.

``It's had a very special atmosphere,'' Ms Pearson said.

``The triathlon to finish the series was a really good race, especially with three of the top guys leading out of transition. It was a case of wait and see who would win.

``I've had plenty of great comments, one man said he had wished he had raced all 25 years as he had so much fun. It's been a really awesome weekend and we hope that people come back next year. This is a special event for us in Rotorua. We train at the Blue Lake all year round so it's good to share it with others.''
The event, which is organised by the Rotorua Association of Triathletes, also included a retro prize for those who wanted to honour the anniversary. Race bikes from the original race, flouro tri suits and headbands were in attendance.

Provisional results:

Cycle Zone Sprint Triathlon: Men: Michael Poole 57:23 1, Cameron Todd 57:59 2, Sam Osborne 58:48 3, Andrew Ranford 59:12 4, Kieran Coates 59:37 5; Women: Mikayla Nielson 1:05:11 1, Christie Sym 1:08:55 2, Lizzie Orchard 1:09:55 3, Emma Rathbone 1:10:23 4, Suzanne Landers 1:12:36 5.

King of the Lake: Cameron Todd 1:51:22 1, Michael Poole 1:51:43 2, Sam Osborne 1:53:23 3, Bryan Rhodes 1:55:22 4, Owen Miller 1:56:16 5.

Queen of the Lake: Mikayla Nielson 2:05:43 1, Emma Rathbone 2:14:14 2, Christie Sym 2:14:25 3, Lydia Hale 2:17:52 4, Cati Pearson 2:22:17 5.