TIM VAN BERKEL AND JODIE SWALLOW WIN ASIA PACIFIC IRONMAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

TIM VAN BERKEL AND JODIE SWALLOW WIN ASIA PACIFIC IRONMAN CHAMPIONSHIPS:

Cairns held the 2016 Asia Pacific  Ironman Championships over the weekend, and Australia’s Tim van Berkel claimed the honours of IRONMAN and Britain’s Jodie Swallow claimed the IRONWOMAN title.

Van Berkel played held back for most of the race, and when the opportunity presented itself, he sliced his way through on the back of a 2:46 marathon run to win in 8:15:02, just two seconds inside the course record of compatriot David Dellow, who was runner up.

“It feels great to finally get a win and for it to be an Asia-Pacific Championship I am absolutely stoked,” he said. “It feels awesome. I worked so hard for this race and to finally put all that work to use and come in with a win, I’m just soaking it in. Against a world class field, there were some fit guys in there, and I was really hurting on that bike and I knew I had some work to do so I just put my head down and chipped away at it.”

Swallow, who made a late call to race after crashing out in South Africa recently, pushed out to a lead of over 20 minutes following a record bike leg on a wet and humid day. Ultimately she had to hold on as the wheels began to wobble, easing her way to the victory in 9:06.17 by 6min 32sec.

“I was really smashed mentally, I pulled it together in the last 10km I stuck in there, I really wanted it and I managed to hold Linsey off with the fast charge that she had but wow she really made me work hard,” she said.

The iconic IRONMAN® Series of events is the largest participation sports platform in the world. Since the inception of the IRONMAN® brand in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE® by crossing finish lines at the world’s most challenging endurance races. Recognized for excellence through distinguished events, world-class athletes and quality products, IRONMAN has grown from a single race to a global sensation with more than 250 events across five unique brands: IRONMAN®, IRONMAN 70.3®, 5150™ Triathlon Series, Multisport events, Iron Girl® and IRONKIDS®. For more information, visit www.ironman.com

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http://www.trizone.com.au/20160612/tim-van-berkel-breaks-through-for-the-ironman-cairns-win-jodie-swallow-wins-womens-race/