Ironman 70.3 World Champ Melissa Hauschildt To Make Ironman Debut

This weekend’s Ironman Australia will see two-time Ironman 70.3 World Champion Melissa Hauschildt make her Ironman debut. She made the decision to enter the race just four weeks ago. In an interview with Ironman.com Hauschildt said, “The Ironman 70.3 World Championship will probably still be my main goal for this year. If I can get through this Ironman race it will at least give me the opportunity to make my own decision later in the year between the ITU Long Course World Champs or Ironman World Championship….I want to validate early, just in case I choose to go down the Kona path this year.”

Her world title win last year means Hauschildt only needs to complete one Ironman race to validate her automatic slot at the Ironman World Championship. Hauschildt only entered the sport five years ago and has focused mostly on the 70.3 distance. A former Commonwealth Games medallist in steeplechase, Hauschildt has become a very strong cyclist and progressively improved her swim.

“I’m not sure how the race will pan out. I’ve never run further than 30km, so I’m looking forward to pushing myself further than ever before and seeing what it feels like” said Hauschildt.

At the other extreme in the women’s race is seasoned pro Hillary Biscay who will be racing her 65^th Ironman in Australia. “I am definitely addicted to the challenges that race day brings. I love the satisfaction that comes from having pushed through the darkest places to get to the finish line as fast as I can,” Biscay said.

With an exciting new business in tri and cycling apparel, Biscay’s typical high volume training has taken a hit. “This season’s prep has been different from past years. I am fortunate to be at the helm of two growing businesses, both my own coaching business and Smashfest Queen….I’m looking forward to seeing what that means on the race course,” Biscay said.