Richard Murray has been on a roll ever since his appearance on TRS Radio earlier this month. He had never won a World Cup event, but that all changed in New Plymouth as he cruised to victory in an impressive time of 52:38. This win comes after a third place at the WTS Abu Dhabi event just two weeks ago.
A notoriously weak swimmer, Murray eventually made the lead group on the bike after finishing the swim almost a minute behind swim leader and pun-master, Tommy Zaferes. Once in the lead group, he rode near the front to avoid trouble in the slippery conditions.
Tragedy struck in transition when he got a 10 second penalty that threatened to ruin his day. “I was a bit under pressure running out of transition – I forgot my helmet then I realized they said I had ten second penalty,” said Murray. According to the rules, he could choose to serve the penalty on any of the remaining run laps.
What did he do? He took off like a bat out of hell, and after building up a good lead, he served the penalty before starting the final lap. Not to be challenged, Murray had plenty of time to go crazy and celebrate his first World Cup win down the finishing chute.
“I thought on the first lap maybe depending on the gap I’d stop but to me it’s more difficult then. I gave it the gas and on the last lap I thought it wouldn’t be as stressful as I was getting the splits,” said Murray.
American women showcased their tri prowess as Kaitlin Donner and Renee Tomlin claimed the gold and silver. For complete results and more stories, visit triathlon.org.
Elite Men
| 1. | Richard Murray | RSA |  |
00:52:38 |
| 2. | Alexander Bryukhankov | RUS |  |
00:52:59 |
| 3. | Kristian Blummenfelt | NOR |  |
00:53:02 |
| 4. | Andrew Yorke | CAN |  |
00:53:05 |
| 5. | Gonzalo Raul Tellechea | ARG |  |
00:53:08 |
| 6. | Gregory Billington | USA |  |
00:53:12 |
| 7. | Ron Darmon | ISR |  |
00:53:15 |
| 8. | Kevin Mcdowell | USA | |
00:53:19 |
| 9. | Michael Lori | CAN | |
00:53:24 |
| 10. | Joe Maloy | USA | |
00:53:29 |
Elite Women
| 1. | Kaitlin Donner | USA | |
01:00:18 |
| 2. | Renee Tomlin | USA | |
01:00:20 |
| 3. | Vendula Frintova | CZE |  |
01:00:25 |
| 4. | Yuko Takahashi | JPN |  |
01:00:35 |
| 5. | Ai Ueda | JPN | |
01:00:41 |
| 6. | Ditte Kristensen | DEN |  |
01:00:42 |
| 7. | Emmie Charayron | FRA |  |
01:00:43 |
| 8. | Margit Vanek | HUN |  |
01:00:44 |
| 9. | Mateja Simic | SLO |  |
01:00:46 |
| 10. | Jessica Broderick | USA | |
01:00:52 |
