University of Otago physiotherapy student Benedict Yanzick was the winner of the Olympic-distance triathlon, finishing just ahead of Aucklander Rebecca Clarke, who won the women’s race and placed second overall.
Yanzick said he managed to gain the lead on the bike but found the run hard to get into with the steep climbs.
"This last little flat section the legs felt pretty good ... I’m usually longer-distance running and I probably started to kick into gear towards the end."
Clark, who competes professionally for Foot Traffic, said she only booked in at the last minute because she was on holiday in Queenstown.
"I had a good swim and was first out of the water, then was solo on the bike until towards the end of the lake a guy passed me, but I was still the first girl."
The star of the day was duathlete 87-year-old Ray Bennet who has taken part in Lake Hayes Triathlon event races every year for a decade.
Bennet, now of Christchurch, was born in Dunedin and represented the Otago cross-country team back in 1952.
He took up duathlons when he was 70, having got into cycling a couple of years earlier through his son, Andrew.
Bennet went on to complete ultra cycle events from Nelson and Christchurch and Christchurch to Greymouth.
He is world over-85s sprint duathlon champion, winning in Spain last year and two weeks ago ran the Oxman half-marathon in north Canterbury.
"I said I would do that in under three hours when I get to 90 ... I finished in three hours 22 minutes and that was my first one in 10 years."
Active QT race director Adrian Bailey said about 200 people entered.
