Raelert and Rollison win in Thailand
Brandson and Nicol are Canada’s top age groupers.
Germany’s Michael Raelert and Australia’s Melissa Rollison took top honours at the Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship in Laguna Phuket, Thailand today.
Second out of the water, Raelert grabbed the lead during the late stages of the bike (he rode 2:14:17), and once he got onto the half marathon course he simply ran away from the rest of the field with the top run of 1:11:14. Raelert claimed the victory with a time of 3:51:36, followed by Australia’s Richie Cunningham (3:57:16), and Paul Matthews (3:58:24), also of Australia.
Rollison’s win was very similar to Raelert’s. Rollison trailed out of the water, she took the lead during the bike, and ran a top split of 1:19:43 to take the win in 4:17:01. Natascha Badmann, 44 (turns 45 on December 6), the six time Ironman World Champion, rode the top split of 2:26:01 and ran 1:30:57 to get second (4:30:42). Radka Vodickova (CZE) took third with a time of 4:34:50.
Whitby’s Kelly Brandson placed third in the Men’s 50-54 category (5:01:24), and Toronto’s Jennifer Nicol finished fourth in the Women’s 35-39 division (5:17:43).
Top 5 Men
1. Michael Raelert GER 3:51:36
2. Richie Cunningham AUS 3:57:16
3. Paul Matthews AUS 3:58:24
4. Timothy James Reed AUS 3:59:57
5. David Dellow AUS 4:01:11
Top 5 women
1. Melissa Rollison AUS 4:17:01
2. Natascha Badmann SUI 4:30:42
3. Radka Vodickova CZE 4:34:50
4. Emma-Kate Lidbury GBR 4:36:09
5. Tamsin Lewis GBR 4:36:14
