Kath Kelly, the iron woman of multisport in Otago, has been sidelined by a severe knee injury and will not defend her women's individual title in the Goldrush today.
Kelly (37) crashed on the skiing leg of the Peak 2 Peak adventure race last July, severely injuring the ACL joint of her left knee, and has only just started running again.
She put the pain behind her and ploughed on to finish the race but the damage had been done.
"I had an operation a month later and was not allowed to put weight on the knee," Kelly said.
Kelly won the women's individual title in the Goldrush the last two years and was keen to complete the hat trick.
But she will still compete in the kayak as a member of the Central Otago team with Michael Wright (Ettrick) and Bill Godsall (Cromwell).
"I have not been too vigilant during my rehab," Kelly said.
"I have been able to get in some kayaking and bike racing."
She won the women's section of the Alpine Epic with Erin Greene and was the fastest female mountain biker in last weekend's Motatapu Challenge.
Brigit Murray won the open women's race in 3hr 11min 51sec but Kelly was 51min 46sec faster when she won the elite masters race in 2hr 20min 05sec.
