Date: 28 December 1998
Distances: 750 m swim, 18 km cycle, 5.5 km run
Venue: Mount Maunganui

Young guns William Smith (21) and Shanelle Barrett (20) upset more fancied rivals to win the long-running Surfbreaker triathlon at Mount Maunganui today. The sprint distance surfbreaker event proved a confidence-boost for both winners with Smith returning to the sport after a lengthy illness and Barrett winning her first-up victory in the senior ranks. Smith took charge early in the bike leg opening up a decided advantage over Taupo's Bryan Rhodes and holding off a fast finish from Mount Maunganui's Andrew Vane and Hamilton's Walter Thorburn. Smith, ranked in the top 10 juniors in the world two years ago, missed much of last year recovering from a kidney disorder. He returned to training in October, spending six weeks training in Queensland with top rating Aucklander Cameron Brown. He finished second to Brown in the national sprint championships and won the Icebreaker sprint event - both held in Auckland. Smith will bypass this weekend's national championships as he eases back into the sport although plans to compete overseas next year. Barrett, New Zealand's top junior at the world championships in Lausanne, Switzerland this year, chased down the early leaders on the run for her win. She came off the bike in third place along with defending champion Heidi Alexander (Pukekohe) and world age-group champion Cindy Taylor (Te Puke) but run down leaders Megan Evans and Sue Curtis, both of Wellington, on the 5km run to win by 45 seconds. Alexander pushed through for second ahead of Curtis.

Women: 
1    Shanelle Barrett (Taupo)   53:35
2    Heidi Alexander (Pukekohe) 54:19
3    Sue Curtis (Wellington)    54:34
4    Megan Evans (Wellington)   54:50
5    Nicole Cope (Hamilton)     56:19 
6    Nora Moeke (Whakatane)     58:31
7    Gayle Clarke (Auckland)    59:00
8    Debbie Tanner (Auckland)   59:20
9    Leanne Matchett (Pukekohe) 1:00.22
10   Linda van Uden (Auckland)  1:01.32

Men: 
1    William Smith (Auckland)   48:46
2    Andrew Vane (Mt Maunganui) 49:40
3    Walter Thorburn (Hamilton) 50:13
4    Ian Scott (Hamilton)       50:28
5    Evan Seber (Auckland)      51:11
6    Steve Mellsop (Wellington) 51:15
7    Scott George (Tauranga)    51:24
8    Bryan Rhodes (Taupo)       51:44
9    Steven Nicholls (Auckland) 52:10
10   Josh Dyer (Tauranga)       52:26