Her skills are now put to good use in adventure racing and half ironman events.
Bryant (27) teams with three seasoned American multisport campaigners, Dan Abel, Tom Thomas and Jo Haver, to tackle the Godzone adventure race in Queenstown.
By her own admission, Bryant had reached her limit in elite triathlon competition by 2010 and she began to dabble in half ironman.
''I realised I'd come as far as I could and was never going to be fast enough on the swim,'' she said.
''So I switched to the half ironman distance as, ironically, my swim time is right up there for the standard required to be competitive.''
Not one to do things by half, she jumped straight into international competition, contesting three half ironman events on the pro circuit in the US. She also took an eighth place in the pro category of the Geelong 70.3 in Australia, and 10th in the Port of Tauranga half ironman.
The re-emergence of adventure racing around Dunedin last year, with the Mazda Challenge events, saw Bryant claim victory in the open women's team category, with Emily Wilson, in both the 4hr and 12hr events.
In the Southern Lakes 24hr adventure race in November, she finished second, as a member of a four-person team with Reece John, Timothy Farrant and Hadleigh Miles, and in January, she won the Challenge Wanaka half ironman.
Bryant was undefeated in national secondary schools duathlon and triathlon championships, along with national running events in her senior years.
This catapulted her on to the world stage, where she balanced her dentistry studies with duathlon and triathlon events in New Zealand and around the world.
In 2004, she won the national under-19 duathlon and triathlon titles, and the under-19 Oceania triathlon, and finished second in the under-19 world triathlon championships.
Although she won the national under-23 triathlon in 2007 and finished third in Oceania competition, the work-study-multisport combination became a difficult balancing act.
Bryant stepped back from elite competition, before returning from New Plymouth to work in Dunedin in 2011.
''I still had good support, but I just didn't know which way I wanted to go. Then I got a few injuries,'' she said.
''I was training, working and settling into a new city. Something had to give.''
Bryant is still an accomplished competitor across all disciplines. Her time in winning the 2005 Papatowai Challenge has only been bettered by international mountain running champion Anna Frost, and she still holds the open women's record for the Karetai Challenge.
Abel, Thomas and Haver have become respected adventure racers over the past 12 years, particularly in North and South America, and inclusion in their team for the Godzone event is a reflection of Bryant's ability.
''It will be my first big challenge in adventure racing. I practically jumped in, headfirst,'' she said.
''This is a great opportunity to compete alongside some top names in the sport. There are some amazing people competing. I'm looking forward to being the rookie and have a freshened motivation to do well.''
Sarah Bryant
The facts
Born: Dunedin, March 21, 1985.
Occupation: Dentist.
Representative honours: New Zealand under-19 and under-23 triathlon.
Triathlon success: Oceania under-19 champion 2004; New Zealand junior champion 2004; second under-19 world championships 2004; third under-23 Oceania championships 2007; New Zealand under-23 triathlon champion 2007; New Zealand under-23 sprint distance triathlon champion 2008; second world triathlon championships in 20-24 age group 2009.
Half ironman: First in Challenge Wanaka 2013.
Adventure/challenge races: Third Motatapu Xterra triathlon 2012; first in female team section Mazda 4hr and 12hr adventure races 2012; second in team section Southern Lakes 24hr adventure race 2012.
