Raelert, Rollison simply superb
German and Australian take Phuket honours
Two-time Ironman 70.3 world champion Michael Raelert of Germany underlined his supremacy in the rain-interrupted Ironman70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship with a course record yesterday.
Making his debut at Laguna Phuket here, Raelert crossed the finish line first in three hours, 51.36 minutes, slashing eight minutes off the course record of 3:59.42 hours established by American Timothy O’Donnell in the inaugural race last year.
Five minutes behind in second and third places were nearest rivals Australian Richie Cunningham and Paul Matthews. For the victory in the top pro division, Raelert claimed US$12,000.
Dark clouds hovered over the sky at the start of the gruelling race at 6.30am before it started raining shortly after the 1,117 triathletes plunged into the Andaman Sea for the start of the 1.9km swim.
However, despite the downpour, which played havoc on the bike course, in an unseasonably overcast day on the resort island, Raelert made a fantastic start to cross the line of honour in style.
The heavy rains caused many competitors to retire early. Among them was the hotly tipped Ironman bike specialist American Chris Lieto, who was forced out after crashing just 20km into the riding course.
The 31-year-old Raelert was keen to end his season on a high note after injuries earlier this year forced him to abandon the title defence for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship title in Las Vegas in September.
He was one of 34 big-name international pro athletes competing in the 1.9km swim, 90.1km bike and 21.1km run for the $75,000 prize money and championship points.
Raelert clocked 23.24 minutes in the swim, 2:14.17 hours in the bike and 1:11.15 hour in the run. Cunningham, who captured the Laguna Phuket Triathlon in 2008, finished second in 3:57.16 hours to take home $8,000, while Matthews pocketed $5,500 for his third place in 3:58.24 hours.
“I’m glad to win here. This is a fantastic event. Even when the rain was coming down, the people were still lining up the roads cheering us all the way. It really encouraged all of us. Their great support really pushed me to win. I enjoyed the race,” said Raelert.
“The conditions on the bike course were incredible. It was dark and the rain came in torrents. We all had to slow down, but that meant I could relax a bit and prepare for the run.
“After the setbacks of this season it’s great to end on a high note with a good win and I’m sure this will be a springboard for my next season.”
It was a disappointing day for three-time Laguna Phuket Triathlon champion and crowd favourite Massimo Cigana. The Italian, who won his third Laguna Phuket Triathlon title last weekend and was bidding to follow up his second place in last year’s Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship, finished a disappointing sixth in 4:01.54 hours.
It was a good day for Australia, with five Australians among the top eight positions and three in the women’s top eight, including winner Melissa Rollison.
Rollison, reigning Ironman 70.3 world champion and runner-up at the last year’s Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship, cruised to an emphatic victory and claimed the $12,000 top prize in 4:17.01 hours, a massive 13 minutes ahead of Swiss Natascha Badmann on 4:30.42.
Last week’s Laguna Phuket Triathlon women’s champion Radka Vodickova, who shrugged off a knee injury sustained a few days earlier in a bike accident, made a gutsy run in her first-ever Ironman 70.3. The Czech, however, had to be content with the third place after clocking 4:34.50.
Top Thai male finisher and 57th overall was fast-rising triathlete Jaray Jearanai. The native of Phuket set his personal best time of 4:38.38 on home course, while the top Thai female was Nampetch Porntharukcharoen in 6:22.28.
