Congratulations to Craig Alexander and Melissa Rollison who took home the title "Ironman 70.3 World Champion" yesterday in Henderson, NV.
Alexander who won the inaugural 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater, FL torched the hilly run course in NV posting a 1:11:50 finishing four minutes ahead of uber biker Chris Lieto. Despite getting a flat tire on the bike (and rolling the remainder of the ride on Andy Pott's spare wheel) (http://ironman.com/events/ironman70.3/worldchampionship70.3/marines-ironman-world-championship-70.3-sees-convincing-wins-by-two-australians#axzz1XlLfnKOP) and being 4 minutes behind Lieto off the bike Craig made a strong statement to the field by making up 8 minutes on the run. Alexander put the rest of the Kona field on alert with this impressive performance and letting current champion Chris McCormack know he is out to regain the title. Should be a classic battle in October.
Once again, Lieto cannot hold off the stronger runner's in the field after hammering the bike course and gaining over 4 minutes on the field. It is a hard way to race for Lieto knowing he is going to give up time each mile on the run course, but one day I hope he does break through and finish on top of the podium.
Melissa Rollison seems to be following in the footsteps of Chrissie Wellington and Mirinda Carfree. Rookies with impressive victories. Although Carfree didn't win the Ironman World Championships her first year, she posted the fastest run time and finished second to then champion Wellington and last year solidified her as one of the best in the world by breaking through and taking the championships.
Melissa completed her first 70.3 distance race last year and can now call herself champion. She ran a 1:21:14 en route to a 6 minute margin of victory. An impressive performance for the first time winner and a performance that will quickly gain the attention of the best women's triathletes around the world.
Congratulations to Both Craig Alexander and Melissa Rollison!
Split times and full event coverage can be seen on www.ironman.com
No comments:
Post a Comment