Champ gears up for Phuket triathlon

Billed as the world’s most testing single-day endurance race, the Ironman triathlon  consists of a 3.8km swim, 180km of cycling and a 42.2km run. The Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship offers 30 qualifying slots for the 2012 Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, and 45 qualifying slots for the 2012 Ironman World Championship 70.3 in Lake Las Vegas, Nevada.

Strong triathletes who have confirmed their participation in Phuket include the current women’s 70.3 world champion Melissa Rollison from Australia, and Raelert, who landed the 2009 and 2010 man’s 70.3 world title. Other names looking to lay claim to the man’s title are American Chris Lieto, New Zealander Cameron Brown and German Faris al Sultan, while Cigana is seeking to go one better than his second place here last year.

In the women’s field, Australian Belinda Granger hopes to rebound from her setback in the Laguna Phuket Triathlon last Sunday where she finished second. LPT winner Radka Vodickova of Czech Republic, Switzerland’s Natascha Badmann and American Amanda Stevens will look to end the year on a high note.

American Timothy O’Donnel crossed the finish line first last year with a time of three hours, 59.42 minutes to win the men’s title, followed by Cigana and Japana’s Hideo Fukui. Swiss Caroline Steffen was the first woman across the line and the 12th overall, finishing in four hours, 20.13 minutes, while Jaray Jearanai was the first Thai and 70th overall after clocking 5:02.03.