The New Zealand team put in a strong showing in today’s Oceania Relays. The NZ women’s team look as though they will dominate the week and put in another strong showing today. Tania Robinson was held by Vanessa Round on the first leg, but Penny Kane and the in form Lizzie Ingham ran away with it, winning by 10 minutes to the Australians.

The men’s race appeared to be closer, although Ryan Smyth (Aus) lost 3 minutes on Michael Adams on 1st leg. On the second leg Ben Rattray (Aus) picked a minute up on James Bradshaw, leaving Simon Uppill (Aus) 2 minutes to gain on Darren Ashmore. Uppill came up with the goods … only to discover that Rattray had mispunched half-way through his leg. As a result NZ took out the top 2 places with an Australian team in 3rd.

The races were held in highly complex sand dune terrain, with times far exceeding the expected winning times. Overall the kiwis took out the ANZ Challenge with a  9-5 win for the day. The most exciting race was in M40, with Mark Lawson (NZ) outsprinting Jim Russell in the finish chute.