Mountain Scene By TRACEY ROXBURGH A Queenstown triathlete says winning a new award, which recognises athletes overcoming obstacles, outshone her recent race success. Fiona Gallagher, 27, came second in her age group at last month’s Tauranga Half in a time of 4 hours, 39 minutes. Impressively, it was her first half-distance ironman race.
But after crossing the finish line she was named as the inaugural winner of the Tony O’Hagan Cup, something she says was ‘‘humbling and emotional’’ . O’Hagan, a Tauranga local, was a well-known triathlon coach who raced to a high level as an age grouper, before passing on his knowledge to others.