Rio Olympian Ryan Fisher made it to the top to win the Lixil IRONMAN 70.3 Japan in Chita following a third placing recently at Busselton, Western Australia and second placing at Western Sydney late last year.
The former ITU athlete took advantage of his swimming prowess to lead by more than two minutes out of the water in a slick 23:10, but put the hammer down on the bike with his 2:10:22 effort on the challenging 90km ride enough to put his into clear air. He was able to run within himself with his 1:19:21 effort sufficient for a 3:58:11 tally—the only athlete under the four hour barrier—and his first IRONMAN 70.3 victory.
Philippines-based Aussie Mitch Robins enjoyed a dog-fight with Seychelles professional Nick Baldwin on the run, edging him for second place, while American Brad Williams, who made his move on the bike, was unable to hold the pair off on the run.
The women’s race was a one-on-one battle with Aussies Monica Juhart and Laura Dennis enjoying a four minute lead over the third placed female pro Taiwan’s Li Shiao Yu at the end of the swim. By the halfway point of the bike that lead was over 10 minutes and still eight minutes at T2. The Australian pair battled it out for much of the day before Dennis got the better of her compatriot on the run to claim her first IRONMAN 70.3 title over Juhart with Li rounding out the podium.
Top 5 Pro Men
1 Fisher, Ryan AUS 0:23:10…2:10:22…1:19:21…3:58:11
2 Robins, Mitchell AUS 0:25:23…2:17:30…1:16:26…4:03:45
3 Baldwin, Nicholas SYC 0:25:26…2:17:00…1:16:57….4:04:27
4 Williams, Brad USA 0:25:57…2:13:52…1:23:58…4:09:01
5 Lassonde, Cedric FRA 0:26:47…2:18:47…1:21:15…4:12:13
Top 5 Pro Women
1 Dennis, Laura AUS 0:28:34…2:31:34…1:30:29…4:35:33
2 Juhart, Monica AUS 0:27:44…2:31:55…1:32:59…4:38:33
3 Li, Shiao-Yu TWN 0:32:29…2:34:45…1:36:14…4:51:47