Expert male triathletes from around the globe are preparing to handle home favourites Mike Phillips and Braden Currie for the 2024 IM New Zealand title.
8 various nations will be represented in the males’s field, with Australia’s Steve McKenna among those professional athletes from abroad probably to trigger an upset on Saturday.
McKenna will be handling Aotearoa’s renowned triathlon, commemorating its 40th anniversary, for the very first time this weekend, with his launching coming a little quicker than he expected.
“Although I’ve heard incredible things about the occasion in Taupō and prepared to race it one day, I didn’t anticipate to be racing it in 2024. Infant number 2 is due early May and my ‘A’ objective for the year is being present and taking pleasure in the very first couple of months with household,” stated McKenna.
“That left me without any IM series objectives, simply a Kona IM World Championship slot to get in some way. This led me to New Zealand and as soon as I looked more into Cam Brown’s history here and the place itself I began to get delighted about the training and journey over. With my household strategies, IM New Zealand has actually ended up being a really essential race for me. I may not get to Kona if I’m not on the podium here, so I’ve prepared well,” he stated.
In 2023, McKenna protected his first IM title in Port Macquarie followed by a second-place surface at the Cairns Airport IM Cairns– runner approximately Currie– in addition to 2 IM 70.3 podium surfaces.
With the Australian currently skilled racing versus both Currie and Phillips, he will be hoping the race on Saturday works out in such a way that plays to his strengths. As he constantly does, McKenna will be offering the race whatever he has with the supreme objective of completing on the leading action of the podium.
“I believe with Braden and Mike racing, it might be comparable to IM Cairns in 2015 where we came together around 60-80km on the bike, then waited to see what Mike had in shop for us,” he stated. “However, with more depth on the bike this year, it might be wild out there. I’m positive if I adhere to my strategy over this range, it will settle on the run.
“Usually winning or a minimum of a podium is the objective, I dislike that I go for positions and not self-improvement, however I need to be truthful, I like racing for the win. With my situations and possibly not racing another IM up until Kona [in October]I believe I’ll count a Kona qualifier as a win here.”
Another a strong competitor is Justin Metzler, an IM 70.3 champ and serial podium finisher– though he is yet to protect an evasive IM win. The American will likewise make his IM New Zealand launching and will be hoping he can leave his mark on the well-known race.