Kiwis put seal on sizzling season with top-ten placings at World XTerra Championships

CURRANZ athletes Sam Osborne and Samantha Kingsford have bought the curtain down on their international XTerra season with brilliant top-ten placings at the Xterra World Championships.

The Kiwi triathletes squared up to a red-hot field of professionals in Maui on Sunday, in a race that attracted over 600 athletes from 42 countries.

Sam fared luckier than Samantha with a straightforward race despite slippery conditions, finishing in fourth - just 3 minutes 63 seconds behind the winner, 2017 World Champion Bradley Weiss from South Africa.

Sam (pictured, above) was the first to exit the swim and was soon joined by three-time Xterra World Champion Ruben Ruzafa (Spain) and Bradley, on the bike. France’s Arthur Serrieres came with a blistering late flourish to overtake Sam on the run and knock him off the podium.

Samantha (left) finished ninth, her race impacted by mechanical issues that otherwise would’ve seen her finish closer to Flora Duffy, who secured an unprecedented fifth victory in this event.  

The event covered a mile of rough beach swim, followed by a 20-mile mountain bike course across the West Maui mountains, finished with a 6.5-mile trail run through forest and across beaches with nearly 4,000 feet of climbing. A heavy downpour on race morning made the course slippery and challenging.

The couple, from Rotorua in New Zealand, relocated to Boulder, Colorado in May to take on the best in North America with some assistance from CurraNZ. They dominated the Pan-American tour in impressive fashion to secure the men and women’s championship titles for that region.

Looking back at his season, Sam says: “For me altitude has always been something I have struggled to adapt to. Racing the Pan-Am Tour this year and having to race above 2000m in many of the races which was concerning.

"If there was ever a time to truly test CurraNZ, this was it.

“I truly believe the berries helped me deal with racing, particularly at altitude, and recovering for back-to-back races. As they say the proof is the pudding.”

Samantha, who turned professional last year, has made a stratospheric rise through the sport and credits CurraNZ for making a defining difference in her recovery and energy this season: “I have noticed a lot of benefits from taking CurraNZ.

“Training between 20-30hrs a week for Xterra is very demanding on my body and recovery is important. My fatigue after training has decreased with CurraNZ. I feel fresher and more energised in my daily back-to-back sessions and I’m not as tired or sore for the next session of the day. I wake up feeling more recovered and ready to train.

“I’ve also found that I’ve been recovering faster from long-haul flights and the effects on blood flow have clearly reduced the swelling in my legs that I normally experience when I fly. I’ve been arriving fresher to my race destinations which means I am able to recover and prepare better race week.

“I would definitely recommend this product to any athlete to help with their energy levels and overall recovery. It’s easy to take and really convenient to travel around with, too.”