The Whangarei triathlete Sam Warriner has returned to winning form just eight weeks after suffering a serious rib and lung injury to win the Steelhead Triathlon half ironman in Michigan overnight while Aucklander Kieran Doe finished third in the men's event.
The win came on Warriner's her 38th birthday and was at the expense of some of the best half Ironman athletes in the world, including two former world champions.
Warriner finished the 1.9km swim 35 seconds down on former ITU Long Course world champion Leana Cave of Great Britain.
But she took the lead just 10km into the 90km bike leg and by the transition into the 21km run she led Cave by almost five minutes with former Ironman world champion Nina Kraft of Germany a further 30 seconds back.