Raelert the favourite in triathlon

The gruelling race, which commences with 1.9km swim in the Andaman Sea followed by 90.1km cycling and a 21.1km run, scored a major coup when it secured 30 qualifying slots for the 2012 Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

The event will be the first of the three Ironman 70.3 races offering 2012 Kona slots. The others are St Croix in the US Virgin Islands on May 6 and Hawaii on June 2.

“Securing 30 Kona slots is a real boost for us and underlines our integration into the worldwide community of prestigious top flier triathlons,” said Debbie Dionysius, assistant vice president of Destination Marketing Laguna Phuket.

“These 30 Kona slots will be a major draw card for triathletes worldwide. We hope to attract an increasing number of competitors here at Laguna Phuket for what promises to be a spectacular race challenge and a unique triathlon festival,” she added.

Among the 1,054 triathletes, 34 of them are professionals and that includes 15 women. Reigning two-time Ironman 70.3 world champion Michael Raelert of Germany is the star attraction of the event. Italian Massimo Cigana, fresh from winning the Laguna Phuket Triathlon last week and who finished second in the Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific here last year, is likely to provide the strongest challenge in the men’s event.

The winners of the men’s and women’s events will be awarded US$12,000 (Bt369,600), while second and third places take home $8,000 and $5,500.

Debutant Raelert said Laguna Phuket is a fantastic place and he fell in love with the course at the very first sight. “Upon arrival, I fell in love with Laguna Phuket. This is my first time here in Phuket. I trained around 5-6 weeks in preparation for this tough race. It would be a tough challenge. I will try my best for Sunday’s race,” the 31-year-old Raelert said.

Australian Marissa Wilson vowed to do her best. “It’s a tough course. My favourite discipline is cycling. It’s a very challenging course. I will try to improve my timings. Like everyone, I will do my best to win Sunday’s race. However, I admit that I’m not the pre-race favourite despite the fact that defending champion Caroline Steffen is not here this year.”

In addition to the individual event, 21 relay teams will also take part, taking the number of triathletes participating in the event to 1,117, a much bigger number than the 812 last year.