Jan Frodeno celebrated a tailor-made season opener at the Ironman 70.3 Auckland. The Olympic champion from Beijing, who only switched to middle and long-distance last year, dominated the Asia-Pacific Championships from the start.
Measured against the times of the other favorites around local heroes Terenzo Bozzone and Australian Craig Alexander, he was the first to get out of the water and then also delivered a solid performance on the bike. With a lead of more than a minute on his closest pursuers, he finally put on his running shoes and secured his first victory in a half-Ironman after the half-marathon.
Second place went to the American Richie Cunningham, who only traveled to Auckland two days before the start of the race, but gave an impressive performance. For a long time he shared the running course with Bozzone before he finally distanced him. In the end, Alexander came in seventh.
The women's race was won by Briton Catriona Morrison, who, thanks to a strong running performance, was able to catch up with Annabel Luxford from Australia. Luxford had previously dominated the race and escaped, but ultimately had to settle for second place
//Result men
1. Jan Frodeno (Germany) 3:45:40
2. Richie Cunningham (USA) 3:47:22
3. Terenzo Bozzone (New Zealand) 3:47:33
4. Bevan Docherty (New Zealand) 3:47:44
5. Tim Reed (Australia) 3:48:05
//Result women
1. Catriona Morrison (Great Britain) 4:14:42
2. Annabel Luxford (Australia) 4:15:28
3. Joanna Lawn (New Zealand) 4:24:23
4. Michelle Bremer (New Zealand) 4:28:59
5. Kym Jaenke OUT 4:29:33