World’s best triathletes heap praise on Busselton after IRONMAN events in South West city

The world’s best triathletes heaped praise on Busselton in the wake of IRONMAN races in the South West city on Sunday. Busselton hosted the 20th edition of the iconic IRONMAN Western Australia race as well as the IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia Asia-Pacific Championship, the penultimate race in the IRONMAN Pro Series. More than 2000 triathletes took part across both races, with the 70.3 event attracting three of the top 10 in both the men’s and women’s Pro Series. Competitors were greeted by a festival atmosphere at Busselton, with strong crowds at both the Busselton Jetty and the finish line. Italy’s Gregory Barnaby claimed the lead in the Pro Series by winning the 70.3 race, which started with a 1.9km swim around the Jetty before crossing into a 90km bike leg and finishing with a 21.1km run. Speaking after the race, Barnaby said it was a privilege to be part of the “amazing” event. “I think it’s been the best choice for myself, to come over here. I think it’s paid off,” he said. “The crowds were awesome.” A time of 4:06:37 saw Marta Sanchez finish as the women’s winner, with the Spaniard saying she enjoyed the “perfect weather” in the region. “I have my mum here and this week I have been involved with the local community so I heard my name all throughout the run, which was a motivation,” she said. “It was incredible to arrive to the finish line and have my closest friends and family there.” Barbany’s time of 3:37:34 saw him beat South Africa’s Jamie Riddle (3:39:34) in second and the the United States’ Marc Dubrick (3:39:50) in third. Riddle said he was delighted to see the State’s strong South African community cheering him on. “They were just screaming for me, it was amazing,” he said. “I had so much support, it was insane.” Dubrick said adding the 70.3 event to the IRONMAN Pro Series had been a great initiative. “You get people coming from all over the world, I came from the US all the way here,” he said. “I absolutely love it. I’ve raced a lot of these guys and I’ve raced a lot of new guys and it’s so much fun.” Third-placed women’s finisher Lotte Wilms, who is from the Netherlands but now calls Australia home, said the “beautiful” event was one of the highlights on her calendar. “I love the Australian community, I feel Aussie after living here for 11 years,” she said. “Not only the volunteers and the community, even my competitors, they were cheering me on the course. It was really emotional, honestly.” Sweden’s Anna Bergsten, the second-placed women’s finisher who came in just over a minute behind Sanchez, said the event had provided a great lead-in to next week’s World Championship in New Zealand. “It shows that I’m on the right path, so hopefully with a couple more test runs, I should be able to do myself justice there,” she said. More than 1000 athletes took on the longer IRONMAN Western Australia triathlon, which saw competitors complete a 3.8km swim, 180km bike leg and 42.2km run. Loic Draoulec finished more than 12 minutes clear of his nearest challenger to claim the men’s title, finishing the gruelling circuit in a time of 8:30:47, while Sally Wood’s time of 9:41:41 saw her edge out Olivia Ghisoni to claim the women’s crown. West Australians David Boyes, Mark Kay and John Domican secured their place in history by completing the event for the 20th time.