CEBU—Rio Olympics bronze medalist Henri Schoeman and Els Visser of the Netherlands showcased their dominance in the waters and the challenging terrain of the IRONMAN 70.3 Lapu-Lapu, emerging victorious in an exhilarating display of endurance and skill in Mactan here Sunday.
Schoeman engaged in a fierce battle with Brit Thomas Bishop and Kiwi Sam Osborne during the swim leg in the men’s pro division, while Visser dominated her side of the battle in the opening leg. The duo sustained their form all the way to the finish, securing wire-to-wire triumphs in the premier category of the 1.9k swim-90k bike-21k run race presented by Megaworld The Mactan Newtown.
Each pocketed $5,500 for their remarkable performances.
Barely emerging on top of the swim (00:24:15), Schoeman established a commanding lead of nearly three minutes over Bishop and Osborne after an impressive bike leg (02:08:48) and enduring the punishing run (01:24:29) in scorching conditions to claim the title in 04:02:31.
Osborne outpaced Bishop in the closing run and took runner-up honors in 04:06:40 with leg times of 00:25:44. 02:10:44 and 01:25:12, while Bishop settled for third in 04:11:01 with leg clocking of 00:25:18, 02:10:54 and 01:29:10.
Aussie Caleb Noble placed fourth in 04:13:47 followed by Calvin Amos, also from Down Under, (04:15:19), Chinese-Taipei’s Tuan Chun Chang (04:18:42), Aussie Nathan Dortmann (04:19:05) and UAE’s Luke Mathews (04:21:10).
Denmark’s Daniel Bakkergard, one of the pre-race contenders, didn’t start due to back pains.
In the women’s pro division. Visser finished with a time of 04:21:29, triumphing over Germany’s Anne Reischmann (04:24:39) and Hungary’s Zsanett Bragmayer (04:36:41).
Visser, runner-up in the recent IRONMAN New Zealand, delivered an impressive performance in the swim leg, clocking 00:29:53 and building an early cushion over Reischmann, a consistent Top 10 finishers in the last three World Championships who timed 00:32:05.
She maintained her advantage in the bike (02:18:23) compared to Reischmann’s 02:19:19 and cruised to victory with a 01:28:28 clocking in the run against the latter’s 01:28:23.
The IRONMAN Group-organized event, commemorating IRONMAN 70.3’s 10th anniversary, attracted a formidable assembly of global triathlon talents and awarded slots to this year’s World Championship in Taupo, New Zealand.
With over 1,400 participants from 55 countries, the race celebrated endurance and camaraderie, featuring individual competitions across various age divisions and a relay team event.
Among the winners in the men’s category were Franklin Yee (18-24, 04:43:49, Macau’s Man Kit Chao (25-29, 04:32:29), Banjo Norte (30-34, 04:44:03), Gabb Rosario (35-39, 04:54:23), Japan’s Ryosuke Ohata (40-44, 04:31:02), Dutch Eric van der Linden (50-54, 04:35:07), and Neil Goulsbra (55-59, 04:57:35).
Rhia Stawicki topped the women’s 30-34 category in 05:03:52, while 2022 IM 70.3 Puerto Princesa winner Ling Er Choo of Singapore reigned in the 35-39 division in 05:07:28, and Canada’s April Rice bagged the 40-44 title in 05:05:38.
Meanwhile, T Go for Gold Team 1 topped the men’s relay in 04:04:10, followed by Isabela Tri Club (04:08:19) and Team Anselmos (04:14:06), while Team Under Oath took the mixed team competition in 04:10:30, beating Isabela Tri Club (04:17:15) and Tri SND Barracuda (04:31:16).
Isabela Tri Club likewise ruled the women’s relay in 04:54:16, outclassing Team CSB Tri Team (05:27:52) and Team Lanao del Norte (05:47:58).
Backers of the event were Vinfast, Hoka, Roka and Breitling (global premier Partners), Athletic Brewing Co., Hyperice, Maurten, Santini, AG1, wahoo, Qatar Airways, FulGaz and TriDot (global technical partners), and Always Advancing, Nirvana, Compressport and ekoi (global supplier partners). Other supporters are Outside+, Lapu-Lapu City, Megaworld The Mactan Newtown, 2Go, Aboitiz InfraCapital, CCLEX, City of Cebu, Municipality of Cordova, Lightwater, One Sports+, Cignal, the Philippine Star, Sante, Sportograf and Teresa Marble Corp.