The Ironman New Zealand event was held on March 1 and is the second oldest Ironman event currently running.
Heading into the mind-and-body draining event, Hollioake already had two professional wins in her back pocket — one in Australia and another in Malaysia.
The 35-year-old was eager to add another finish line tape to her collection at the start of autumn and make it a hat-trick of professional victories.
Jumping into the Taupō waters to start the race, Hollioake said it took a while to find her rhythm.
“The race had its ups and downs,” Hollioake said.
“I had a bit of a poor swim, I was just a bit slow out of the blocks and took a bit of time to get going, so came out of the water about three minutes down from the front girls, which was a little bit of a shock.
“Then I got to work on the bike, I had another girl that came out of the water with me and we worked really well together on the bike and managed to close the gap down to two of the girls.”
Hollioake finished fourth in the 2024 Ironman New Zealand event.
Using that experience and her calm nature, Hollioake set about clawing back the lead from her opponents.
“Jocelyn McCauley came off the bike five minutes ahead, so I knew I had a lot of work to do on the run,” she said.
“I knew that my back 20km are really strong, so I just trusted that and chipped away.
“Got into the lead about 22-23km into the marathon and was able to hold on and extend that lead to win fairly comfortably.”
Hollioake’s victory demonstrated her physical grit, mental fortitude and talent as a premier Ironman athlete.
The region’s — and Australia’s — newest Ironman star believes she has adapted to the professional level with aplomb.
“It has been great; I have had a really successful first season,” she said.
“Having four long-distance wins in 12 months has been really exciting.
“Long-distance triathlon is just so strong at the moment.
"There are just so many girls that are doing so amazingly, so you really have to step up your game to make sure that you have a chance of winning and a chance at competing.
“I have just really thrived on that extra pressure.”
With her third win safely secured, Hollioake’s Ironman rankings aren’t the only thing skyrocketing with her success, as her frequent flyer points kitty is set to become a war chest as her next races are located in Geelong, Texas, Cairns and Hawaii.
In between the jet-setting, training and racing, Hollioake said she also had to factor in time at her job as a physiotherapist.
“It’s a really delicate balance,” she said.
“I am in the fortunate position that I don’t have to work full-time, but I do still have to work.
“It’s about managing time, expectations, yourself and the people you are working with.”
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