It came down to the wire at the Tauranga Half on Saturday (January 23), with a race that gave the crowds that lined the streets of Mount Maunganui plenty to celebrate.

Wanaka athlete Braden Currie finished the race in second, a mere 10 seconds behind the winner, defending champion and record holder Kyle Smith, and the pair both broke New Zealand records.

Braden and Kyle both beat the previous Tauranga Half course record by more than two minutes, and made history by marking the first time in New Zealand half distance triathlon racing that any athlete has broken the elusive three hour and 40 minute mark.  

Braden was just metres behind Kyle, with a time of 3:39:53 compared to Kyle’s 3:39:43.

Braden finished less than ten seconds behind Kyle.

Describing the tight race, Braden said he didn’t know which way it was going to go between him, Kyle, and Jack Moody, who earned a close third.

“I didn’t think I would be able to bring Kyle back on the run. I had only managed to take 30 seconds out of him in the first lap and the last update I had at the turn-around had me three minutes behind.”

But determined to have a strong finish ahead of his big race of the year, the Ironman, Braden pushed hard.

It was a tough, tight race between the top place-getters, Braden said.

“...when I got to the last turn-around point, I was still doing everything I could to not give any time away, especially in knowing that Jack… was chasing hard behind me.

“It wasn’t until I came off The Mount 500m from the finish line that I realized Kyle was just in front of me."

Braden said he appreciated the “solid level of competition” and the fact that racing could take place in New Zealand when in so many other countries it wasn’t currently possible.

His next event for the summer will be Ironman New Zealand on March 6, Braden said.

While he has already qualified for the Ironman World Championships, scheduled for October, Braden said he is looking forward to what he called the key event of the summer in New Zealand. 

“I am looking forward to racing Ironman NZ and then putting my head down and getting the work done in the lead up to [the Ironman World Championships in] Kona, [Hawaii] in October,” he said.

“I have no idea whether the race will go ahead, but if you don’t commit to the training early on, you might as well not turn up.”

PHOTOS: Roy Schott