Queenslander Harriet Brown raced to victory in round five of the Nutri-Grain Ironwoman Series held at North Cronulla, but the greatest honour was reserved for series winner Lana Rogers who cemented the championship with a podium finish in the ultimate round of racing.
The Cronulla native who now lives with her family on the Sunshine Coast had everything to race for at the beach where she won her first state medal.
"It's good to be home. I've got so many memories, I actually got my first state individual medal here versing Georgia (Miller), so it's so good we're both still in the series and doing what we love."
After mixing it with the lead group throughout the three rounds of racing, Rogers dug deep and sprinted to the finish line to cross in third position.
"Tricky conditions today, the rip was always changing so it was changing which way you'd go between each race.
"I felt a bit rough today, I've been feeling rough all week coming into the last round, and I was a bit nervous knowing that I am on top.
"I did what I could and still finished on the podium, so I'm happy with that," Rogers said.
Having already won three rounds this season, Rogers had been declared the Nutri-Grain IronWoman series champion after Round 4 but still wanted to finish on a high.
Wanda's Britney Pierce finished in 14th position on Sunday and 18th overall in her inaugural season.
Manly Ironman Kendrick Louis took out the Nutri-Grain IronMan Series crown after a decade in the making.
Louis, who is the second oldest in the Nutri-Grain IronMan Series and despite not finishing on the podium, his fourth place was enough to secure him his first-ever Series crown.
Louis had a secret weapon in his corner for the final, with multiple Ironman Champion and Olympic open water swimmer Ky Hurst, his handler for Sundays do or die event.
"He knew when it was time to go and when it was time to sit back and just having that experience in my corner today was invaluable. He kept me calm," Louis said.
"It could have been anyone's race. TJ Hendy and Jay Furniss set the benchmark early and they held it right the way through to the last race," he said.
Cronulla Lifeguard Jay Furniss who competes for the Manly club finished third in Sunday's race at his home beach in his best result for the season finishing in 12th place on the ladder.
Round honours went to Coolangatta Gold Champion Matt Bevilacqua.
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