New Zealand's top two female professional triathletes will go head-to-head for the Nutri-Grain IRONMAN 70.3 New Zealand title alongside a contingent of challengers from overseas, on Saturday, December 10.

Tauranga triathlete Hannah Berry (née Wells) and Rebecca Clarke highlight the women's professional field racing in Taupō, but will face competition from Australians, a Swede, and fellow Kiwis.

Berry heads into IRONMAN 70.3 New Zealand as the top seeded female having achieving podium finishes at the Qatar Airways IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast and IRONMAN 70.3 Boulder in the United States.

'It has been nice to get a few results this year, however if I'm honest my fitness hasn't been peaking for most of the year due to starting the year off with an injury,” says Berry.

So, this year has really involved returning to fitness rather than peaking in fitness. The last few months have been going really well and I'm finally back to hitting great numbers in training and feeling race ready, so I'm really excited to see how I race this weekend.”

Berry is the reigning Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand and IRONMAN 70.3 Taupō champion and says she's excited to be back racing at home once again.

'I am mostly feeling incredibly grateful and excited to be back racing here at home, it feels like it has been a long time coming. I had a little bit of sickness last week, just a head cold which has passed, but other than that my training has been super consistent recently and fitness has been trending well over the last while, so I'm feeling in a good place to finish the year off with a great race.

'2022 hasn't been the smoothest or easiest year for me, and while I have had some success overseas in the later parts of the year, the year has felt like a lot of hard work and patience to get back to the fitness I am at now. If I was able to finish the year off with a win I would be incredibly happy,” said Berry.

Auckland's Rebecca Clarke has had a year to remember, qualifying for her first VinFast IRONMAN World Championship after finishing second at IRONMAN Australia in May, subsequently racing the pinnacle event in Kona, Hawai'i and achieving a top 20 finish on debut.

Rebecca Clarke made her IRONMAN World Championship debut in October. Photo: Korupt Vision.

'It's definitely been my best year of long course racing over half and full IRONMAN races, my fastest IRONMAN and 17th at the World Champs, I was very pleased with that. The experience of racing the best in the world helps lift your game and I'm excited to use what I have learnt for future races,” says Clarke.

After the exertion of racing an IRONMAN World Championship, Clarke took some time off to recover and reset and has since moved down to Wanaka to begin her summer training block.

'My last race in New Zealand was Tauranga Half in January so it's great to be finishing the year with a race at home and also after the cancelled Taupō races over the last year. I had a break post Kona, so it's been a short block of training into this race, but the body has bounced back well so look forward to testing where I'm at,” she says.

Last time an IRONMAN event was held in Taupō was in March 2021, where Clarke finished second to Berry at IRONMAN New Zealand. This weekend, the two top seeded Kiwis will go head-to-head for the IRONMAN 70.3 New Zealand title.

'There are always a few strategies you look at going into a race, but you also have to be reactive and make in-race decisions depending on how it plays out. With a field of around nine females it will likely be a solo day for most of us or some small packs forming.

'A successful race is having the best performance across all three disciplines, if that gets me the win great, but if I've done a performance I'm proud of then I would still deem it a success,” she says.

'I've been on the podium but never won in Taupō so of course winning would be a great way to end the year.”

Hoping to challenge the Kiwis on home soil is Australia's Kirralee Seidel. The Queenslander will line up for a race in New Zealand for the first time.

Kirralee Seidel finished second at the 2021 IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast. Photo: FinisherPix.

'I'm excited to race in New Zealand as it will be my first time racing over here however, I have always been a bit reluctant as I'm not great in colder races – so I'm praying for some warm weather on Saturday,” says Seidel.

'I'm looking forward to racing in a new country, and like I said it's a course I have never done before which always makes it exciting.”

The 36-year-old has achieved four top 10 IRONMAN 70.3 placings in 2022 – her best finishes coming in Dubai and the Sunshine Coast, placing fifth – and knows what it takes to make the podium of an IRONMAN 70.3 race, having edged out Berry for second place at the 2021 IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast.

'Honestly, this year has been a bit of a mixed bag. I have dealt with some very big emotional hurdles so I'm proud that I've held my head high and got through the races,” she says.

'I think we all have high expectations and goals and that's what drives us to keep going, to keep improving and reaching our physical best. I would love to end the season with a podium finish.”

The sole European challenger at IRONMAN 70.3 New Zealand this weekend is Sweden's Anna Bergsten, who recently made the step up from age group to professional triathlon racing.

Bergsten is the 2021 age group World and European Champion and recently claimed a fifth place finish as a professional in last month's GWM IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne.

The women's field is rounded out by Australian Chloe Hartnett and New Zealand duo Laura Armstrong and Rebecca Kingsford.

IRONMAN 70.3 New Zealand see athletes take on a swim 1.9km starting and finishing on the shores of Lake Taupō, a 90km taking in the rural landscape surrounding Taupō, and 21.1km run along the lakefront.