Victoria, BC - Today marked the 15th Anniversary of the New Balance Half Iron - a race with a rich history that has seen many of the sport's top athlete's spring board to Ironman victories around the world.  Participating in the race today orsimply coming out to cheer were the likes of Ironman legends Lori Bowden, Tara Lee Marshall, and Melissa Spooner.

In the pro women's field of the Half Iron, Cheryl Murphy of Victoria ran her way to the victory and defended her title from 2009.  Janet Nielsen, a former Canadian Junior and Under 23 Champion who recently finished 2nd at the Subaru Shawnigan Lake Triathlon, established a healthy lead out of the water which she would hold coming off the bike gaining a 3:38 advantage over Murphy.  Murphy, a former National Team runner blasted a 1:22 run split to overtake Nielsen for the win.

"Janet (Nielsen) gave me extra motivation when she said that she was looking to win at the Press Conference" said Murphy, "She was tough to catch though- it took a great run to beat her"

On the men's side, Steve Hewick of Millgrove lead out of the water but was overtaken on the bike by Adam O'Meara and Mike Neill, both of Victoria. Neill won the battle on the bike posting the fastest split of the day but would eventually be overtaken on the run by a fast moving O'Meara at the 15k mark who went on to post his first professional win.

The Sprint race was won by National Team member and World Cup Champion Kirsten Sweetland on the women's side with Gaby Bolanos of Guatemala in second.  The men's race was won by former Commonwealth Games Team Member Kelly Guest followed by Australia's Luke Gillmer.

The New Balance Victoria Triathlon was the second race in the Subaru Western Triathlon Series.  The next stop on the Series is July 4th in Vancouver. Full results for today and a twitter posting summary with pictures are available at www.triseries.ca.

Half Iron Distance

Male - Overall Results
1.  Adam O'Meara       Victoria, BC          4:04:54
2.  Mike Neill         Victoria, BC          4:05:59.0
3.  Steven Hewick  Millgrove, ON      4:17:03

Female - Overall Results
1.  Cheryl Murphy      Victoria, BC          4:36:35
2.  Janet Nielsen      Victoria, BC          4:39:38
3.  Carolyn Hubbard    North Vancouver, BC   4:47:39

Sprint Distance

Male - Overall Results
1.  Kelly Guest          Victoria, BC         56:26
2.  Luke Gillmer         Northmead, AUS         59:27
3.  Lehm Houston Maguire   Victoria, BC         1:00:10

Female - Overall Results
1.  Kirsten Sweetland    Victoria, BC         59:28
2.  Gabriela Bolanos     Guatemala City   1:06:15
3.  Lesley Hartford      Mill Bay, BC       1:12:43