A record number of athletes took part in the sixth edition of the Cobra IRONMAN 70.3 Philippines but it was one Canadian on a hot winning streak and a Swiss powerhouse gunning for a three-peat who blazed through the course to take stand out wins.
McMahon too hot to handle
Brent McMahon lined up last year but the tropical climate took its toll and the two times Olympian finished a disappointing fifth. McMahon came back to the Philippines to right the wrongs of the previous year. On the back of wins at IRONMAN 70.3 Honu and IRONMAN 70.3 Boise, McMahon acclimatised and arrived in Cebu ready for retribution.
McMahon exited the swim with Australia’s Casey Munro and Sam Betten and the bike similarly ended in the same order with no changes in the field.
The run is where McMahon stepped up a notch and showed his true class. By 1km McMahon had created a 30 seconds cushion. By 3km the lead was a minute and by 9.6km his advantage grew to four minutes. There was no looking back as McMahon strode home to take the title.
Ecstatic in his win, McMahon was bouncing around at the finish and full of accolades for the event. “I knew coming back this year, it was going to be a good year and that the fans would be out there helping me along,” says McMahon.
“There is no 70.3 in the world that has people the whole way round the bike course. It definitely is fun in the Philippines and its world championship quality.”
“Thanks so much for bringing me back. Let’s hope there’s more and more because I will be back every year.”
Steffen makes it a hat-trick of wins
It was a similar affair in the ladies race with a trio of ladies dominating the top. The standout difference being that Swiss, Caroline Steffen had a clear lead from start to finish.
She came out of the water with the men, and completed the bike in sixth place overall. Steffen slipped one place on the run and in true dominating fashion crossed the line seventh overall taking her third IRONMAN 70.3 Philippines title.
It was slightly less cut and dried in the race for second and third. Crowd favourite Belinda Granger was racing for her final time here as a professional athlete. She held second place on the bike, Granger but it was just a matter of time before the quicker legs of fellow Aussie Rebecca Hoschke over took her. Hoschke went on to take the tape for second, but Granger was able to hold off an attack from Dimity-Lee Duk for third.
“I hated it. But I loved it. I just kept digging a little deeper. I always have little goals and I have never missed a podium here and didn't want to today,” says Granger.
“It’s tough. But that's why we come here. Wind on the bike, heat on the run. It’s not about fast times. It’s a tough event and because of that it is so satisfying to finish.”
Race within the race
Racing in the CEO category, IRONMAN Asia Pacific CEO, Geoff Meyer swapped the start gun for a timing chip.
“This (experience) is the closest thing to Kona you can come to for a race. The fantastic swim start resembles the World Championship. The heat, humidity and the course support are second to none.”
Top 5 Pro Men
1.Brent McMahon CAN 3:59:05
2.Sam Betten AUS 4:07:30
3.Cam Brown NZL 4:15:44
4.Matt Burton AUS 4:22:19
5.August Benedicto PHL 4:34:55
Top 5 Pro Women
1.Caroline Steffen SUI 4:32:34
2.Rebecca Hoschke AUS 4:38:34
3.Belinda Granger AUS 4:48:32
4.Dimity-Lee Duke AUS 4:49:54
5.Michelle Wu AUS 4:59:37