Erica Hawley placed 35th overall out of 40 finishers in the elite race at the New Plymouth World Cup in New Zealand last weekend.

Hawley, who finished 31st last year, recorded a faster time when she completed the 750 metres swim, 20K bike and 5K run in 1min 09min, 46 seconds better than last year’s time. Hawley clocked 11 minutes, 34 seconds in the swim, 36.55 on the bike and 20.31 on the run.

Nine elite women did not finish the gruelling race, which was won by Italy’s Angelica Olmo in 1:03:27 after splits of 11:08, 34:54 and 16:34. She finished seventh overall last year in a time of 1:03:55.

Second was Jolanda Annen, of Switzerland, in 1:03:27, while Jaz Hedgeland, of Australia, finished third in 1:03:36. Tamara Gorman, of the United States, and Australia’s Emma Jeffcoat completed the top five, finishing fourth and fifth in 1:03:44 and 1:04:01, respectively.