Albury’s Gerard Wild has emphatically put his stamp on the Riverina Tri Series, winning the largest ever Temora Triathlon by 12 minutes and 58 seconds on Sunday.
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Wild finished in 1:59:23 to handily beat out Wagga's Dan Judd, who also finished second in the series-opening Ganmain Triathlon last week, while Angela Sandral was the first female competitor to reach the finish line.
Wild said his plan was always to set himself apart from the pack during the swim.
“I really enjoy the swim leg and a lot of people see that as a real challenge,” he said.
“It was nice to be able to get myself a lead there, knowing that running isn’t really my strongest leg.
“It was really satisfying to have that plan pay off because with three legs something can always go wrong.”
The Albury gun said he also made a conscious effort to pay little mind to his time in an attempt to avoid complacency.
“The message from my coach was to carry on racing hard the whole way through regardless of the situation,” Wild said.
“It’s also about having that respect for the race, you don’t want to take it easy because everyone is there to get the best out of themselves.”
Meanwhile, Max Norman won the sprint triathlon, while Jackson Tenhave won the 'Enticer' event.
In the junior ranks, Sid Charleston won the 10-11 years Mini-Man event, with Chloe Miller the first girl to cross the line and finishing second-placed overall.
Maisy Mccrone won the 7-9 years Mini-Man, with Kaesha Maxwell coming in second.
Temora Running and Multisport Club president Peter Harper said he was extremely pleased with the day.
“It was the biggest field we’ve ever had, it was a great event,” he said.
“We had people come from Nowra, Canberra, Wagga and around the Riverina.
“Just the enthusiasm from the competitors was fantastic, they love coming to Temora.” The Riverina Tri Series resumes with the The Rock Triathlon on February 25. The Rock Triathlon will be followed by the Holbrook on March 4 and West Wyalong on March 11.