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O'Grady leads men, Crawford leads women

Saturday 5 January 2013, 2:52PM

By Triathlon NZ

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TAURANGA

Graham O’Grady and Gina Crawford lead the POT Half at The Mount this morning. The lead athletes are at the midway point on the bike (as of 8am).

Graham O’Grady led out of the water after an impressive swim, clocking 22 minutes and 35 seconds for the 1.9km in Pilot Bay. Chasing hard were Callum Millward and Terenzo Bozzone some 46 seconds back, with Cameron Brown in the third group, 2 minutes 34 seconds behind O’Grady.

In the women’s race it was as expected a close battle out of the water between Jo Lawn and Gina Crawford, the two exiting almost side by side from Pilot Bay with Crawford clocking 26 minutes and 33 seconds, 7 seconds ahead of four time champion Lawn.

Halfway through the 90km bike and it is still O’Grady leading, with Bozzone and Millward 35 seconds behind on the road. James Bowstead, Cameron Brown and Bruce Hunter are 2 minutes and 30 seconds behind in the next chase group.

In the women’s race Crawford has extended her lead over Lawn to 90 seconds at the halfway point on the bike.

Conditions are clear and warming up with the wind of early this morning slowly decreasing to what might now be best called a breeze.