Rolli, Kahlefeldt dominate Ironman 70.3 Davao
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2019 16:16:20 +0000
DAVAO CITY: Germany’s Markus Rolli emerged as the new champion in the men’s pro division while Czech Republic’s Radka Kahlefeldt retained her women’s pro crown in the 2019 Alveo Ironman 70.3 Davao that started and ended at the Azuela Cove here.
The 27-year old Rolli never skipped a beat under scorching heat and amid the loud cheers, breaking away right from the bike leg of the 1.9K swim-90K bike-21.1K run race en route to finishing in three hours, 49 minutes and 29 seconds for his first Ironman 70.3 title in the country and second overall.
“It feels great. The people here are amazing. They were cheering on every meter of the race course. It was a great experience,” said Rolli, who turned pro just two years ago when he last won a 70.3 trophy in Phuket, Thailand.
Rolli, a first-timer in the Philippines, outpaced Australia’s three-time Ironman world champion Craig Alexander (3:52:21) and bronze repeater Tim Van Berkel (3:53:05).
The German triathlete tallied 23 minutes and 22 seconds in swim; two hours and 50 seconds in bike; and 1:22:19 in run.
Inaugural 70.3 Davao winner Mauricio Mendez of Mexico was not able to finish the race due to a technical problem on his bike while last year’s Aussie runner-up Tim Reed (3:57:18) wound up fourth.
After coming in second to Bahrain’s Eric Watson in swim, Rolli rolled off strong with the pedals hard and took an eight-minute, three-second lead over Sam Betten at the end of the bike event.
Rolli said he suffered from sore leg muscles due to over-biking but drew strength from the cheerful spectators along the course.
“In the bike, I just took the risk, broke away and pushed really hard. I think I over-biked a bit. The run was really tough. They (audience) just pushed me through the pain. I suffered big time in the run. I was not feeling well but I got a big gap when I started it, around eight minutes. So, I just gave my best and brought it home,” he added.
On the other hand, Kahlefeldt remained as the queen of Davao’s half Ironman after clocking in 4:16:52 to beat Switzerland’s Caroline Steffen (1:27:47) anew. Australia’s Kirralee Seidel (4:28:37) settled for third.
The 34-year old Kahlefeldt chalked 26 minutes and 55 seconds in swim; one hour and 24 minutes in bike; and 2:21:49 in run.
It was a nip-and-tuck race between the two Europeans, with Kahlefeldt only ahead by .87 second over Steffen in the second transition to the run.
The Swiss snatched a two-second advantage 3.5K into the footrace before the Czech stalwart retook it in the 4.7K-mark and began to pull away.
“I’m very happy that I could come back and win again. It was a tough competition and the whole race was hard,” said the 34-year old triathlete, who topped the first Ironman 70.3 Davao just 11 weeks after giving birth to her firstborn.
Kahlefeldt and Rolli bagged the lion share of the $15,000 prize purse.
Meanwhile, Filipino standout August Benedicto topped the Asian Elite for the fifth time by finishing sixth overall.
Benedicto, an Alaska Tri-Aspire athlete, crossed the line in a personal-best 4:19:58, cruising past countrymen Jorry Ycong (4:33:01), Banjo Norte (4:33:02) and Raymond Torio (4:59:35).
The post Rolli, Kahlefeldt dominate Ironman 70.3 Davao appeared first on The Manila Times Online.