Braden Currie takes Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship Cairns in record-setting style
Kiwi star takes third title and sets record by over two minutes
Photo by:
Kevin Mackinnon
New Zealand’s Braden Currie rolled into Cairns, Australia as the pre-race favourite to take a third title in the tropical paradise that hosts the race voted Ironman’s best event of 2022. Last year’s third-place finisher at the Ironman World Championship St. George lived up to his pre-race billing in dramatic style, setting a new course record and an emphatic win over his Asia-Pacific rivals.
Leads the swim
After leading the way out of the water, Currie remained at the front of the race for the duration of the day. He would be part of a group of four that included countryman Mike Phillips and Australians Steve McKenna and a somewhat surprising Pete Jacobs – the 2012 Ironman world champion.
The group eventually dropped Jacobs and would hit T2 within seconds of each other, setting up a marathon run for the title.
Almost right from the start of the run, though, Currie blasted clear of his biking companions. His 2:38 split helped him take the course record by over two minutes.
“I don’t think anything ever goes to plan when it comes to racing so it’s best not to have any plans really,” said Currie. “It went as smooth as it probably could, a good solid swim, lead out of the water which just meant I could do a little bit and set myself up a little bit more on the bike. We worked well together and didn’t let Mike get away and rip the legs to pieces so managed to keep him in control which meant I came onto the run feeling pretty fresh. The run probably went better than planned, a 2:40 here I’d be pretty happy with so to go like 2:38 was pretty great.”
Currie would end up almost 10 minutes ahead of Ironman Australia champ Steve McKenna, with Tim Van Berkel running his way into third place. Jacobs, 41, hung on for an impressive fourth-place finish.
Here’s the results for the top-10 professional men:
- Braden Currie – 7:50:11
- Steve McKenna – 8:01:00
- Tim Van Berkel – 8:04:55
- Peter Jacobs – 8:09:49
- Mike Phillips – 8:17:14
- Ben Phillips – 8:19:02
- Matt Burton – 8:33:12
- Tuan Chun Chang – 8:36:22
- Matt Kerr – 8:39:03
- Nathan Dortmann – 8:45:10
