Melissa Hauschildt and Terenzo Bozzone did not let shark sightings deter them from defending their respective titles at the IRONMAN Western Australia.
Officials were forced to cancel the swim after the start, turning the race into a 180km bike and 42km run event. Swimmers were evacuated onto the jetty and proceeded to the swim exit. It’s also not the first time a shark has disrupted WA IRONMAN proceedings, with race organisers cutting the IRONMAN Busselton 70.3 short in May.
Hauschildt rebuilds from injury
Recently recording victory at the IRONMAN 70.3 world championship, two-time Ironman 70.3 world champion Melissa Hauschildt has reinforced her comeback from injury over the last year.
“It was hard at the start because you do lose motivation for a little bit. I was hoping they could put the race on tomorrow when the shark had disappeared … I had to quickly get over that disappointment and it was a bike/run and I just did a jog warm up and got straight into it.” Hauschildt said.
“The first half of the bike felt really easy after the faster pace last weekend at 70.3 Western Sydney. But Carrie Lester was up ahead and I didn’t want her to get too far ahead, so I think I biked a little bit hard on the first lap and paid for it at 140km and blew. But everyone blew even more so I had the fastest bike and got into T2 first which was the main aim.”
Compatrior Carrie Lester and Swede Camilla Lindholm Borg rounded out the women’s podium.
Bozzone continues winning streak
Terenzo Bozzone continued his amazing fall streak by successfully defending his Ironman Western Australia title, just a week after finishing second at Ironman 70.3 Bahrain. He led a group of three Kiwis who finished in the top five as Dougal Allan took second and the super-master Cameron Brown, 45, finished fourth. Tim Van Berkel (AUS) took third to give Australia a spot on the podium.
“We all started 20 seconds apart and I was the last of the pros out of the blocks. My game plan was to ride for 15-20 minutes solid. Usually my heart rate out of the water is a bit high so I thought I could cope with that and then back it down and stick to my race wattage and plan, then get off an hopefully have a good run.” Bozzone said.
“I caught up to the key guys in about 20 minutes and I wanted to get away and focus on my own race like I did last year so I kept the pressure on for another 40 minutes and didn’t feel too bad. Then we slowed down a bit and 40 minutes later things started to get a little hairy. Tim van Berkel went to the front did a bit of a pace and some of the chasers, Dougal Allan and others rolled back across to us and I tell you what I have not felt that bad for ages. I was struggling and Tim and Dougal got away and had four minutes on me by the end of the bike.”
“Fortunately my running legs felt good. I had a couple of rough patches around 25-30km and 37-40 km. It was amazing to come away with the win and these guys kept me honest all day. Dougal rode the second half of the bike really well and he always puts together a solid run. Not a bad day for the Kiwis, first, second and my good friend Cam Brown in fourth.”
Top 10 Pro Men
| NAME | COUNTRY | OVERALL | 180 KM BIKE | 42.2 KM RUN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terenzo Bozzone | NZL | 7:12:30 | 4:15:58 | 2:53:05 |
| 2 | Dougal Allan | NZL | 7:18:07 | 4:12:34 | 3:01:51 |
| 3 | Tim Van Berkel | AUS | 7:27:07 | 4:13:05 | 3:10:29 |
| 4 | Cameron Brown | NZL | 7:32:22 | 4:33:46 | 2:53:43 |
| 5 | Nathan Shearer | AUS | 7:35:32 | 4:15:50 | 3:15:33 |
| 6 | Konstantin Bachor | GER | 7:39:40 | 4:10:48 | 3:24:56 |
| 7 | Scott DefilippisEFILIPPIS | USA | 7:48:26 | 4:31:29 | 3:11:41 |
| 8 | Levi Hauwert | AUS | 7:49:36 | 4:41:11 | 3:04:20 |
| 9 | Per Bittner | GER | 7:50:36 | 4:31:41 | 3:14:45 |
| 10 | Leigh Stabrya | AUS | 7:54:05 | 4:39:57 | 3:10:02 |
Top 10 Pro Women
| NAME | COUNTRY | OVERALL | 180 KM BIKE | 42.2 KM RUN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melissa Hauschildt | AUS | 7:52:04 | 4:37:42 | 3:10:46 |
| 2 | Carrie Lester | AUS | 7:59:07 | 4:38:43 | 3:16:05 |
| 3 | Camilla Lindholm Borg | SWE | 8:01:59 | 4:48:20 | 3:09:41 |
| 4 | Yvonne Van Vlerken | NLD | 8:11:01 | 4:45:06 | 3:22:19 |
| 5 | Meredith Hill | AUS | 8:24:01 | 4:56:21 | 3:22:32 |
| 6 | Mareen Hufe | DEU | 8:29:50 | 4:41:52 | 3:43:03 |
| 7 | Kimberley McKinney | AUS | 8:43:48 | 4:50:46 | 3:48:32 |
| 8 | Tracy Morrison | AUS | 8:46:07 | 5:08:11 | 3:30:52 |
| 9 | Sophie Bubb | GBR | 8:48:05 | 5:13:26 | 3:28:12 |
| 10 | Saskia Jurriaans | AUS | 8:52:29 | 5:13:19 | 3:32:06 |
Source: Triathlon World
