Cairns Ironman always attracts a contingent of MEC athletes and this year did not disappoint with a total of 9 racing. What better place to push your body and for many the race itself is more pleasant than dealing with the cold Melbourne winter.
Chris White has spent the last 2 years showing that whilst running may be his forte, he is more than capable of swimming and riding also. He made the most of his return to ironman after 3 years away, finishing with a sub 10 hour finish time, 47 min pb, 2nd fastest run in AG, 13th in his age group.
Leanne Keating finished 5th in age group with the 3rd fastest run in her age group. Whilst she was on the hunt for a Kona spot, she has showed and learned over the last 12 months she is definitely in the ballpark achieving 7th, 4th and 5th places in her last 3 races.
Talia Goddard made her IM debut and had a great race. She had the 6th fastest swim overall (incl men) had a strong bike and held it together well on the run which she has worked so hard to do over the past 2 years. Finishing 10th in her age group and in just over 11 hrs she is wrapped with her day as she should be.
Kerri Thomas pieced together a strong day having a great swim and good bike and run. There are a few things to work on and adjust to dial in the race she is working towards, but another top 10 finish in her age group shows it was a strong day all round for her and plenty of positives to take away.
Angelo Bonacci is an experienced campaigner on the Cairns course now and had a good swim and bike but wasn't able to deliver what he wanted on the run. Setting the bar high for yourself is not an easy task and not everything always goes to plan but the experience he has gained over the last 18 months is invaluable and he will put it to good use going forward.
Adrian Moore didn't have his best day having a few issues with nutrition. The experienced campaigner that he is though helped him improvised and make adjustments as best he could to manage his way through and cross another IM finish line.
Lauren Gordon did well on Sunday after an interrupted preparation which reduced her ability to run. She toughed out the day and has taken away plenty to learn, but she showed she has what it takes to get through on a not so good days. Well done on getting it done Lauren.
David Lloyd has had a monster year an it is only June. Already with one ironman under his belt and a knee operation he had a good day out completing ironman number 2 for the the year. The aim was to get through with the body intact as IM number 3 takes him to Canada. He has done exactly that and with a resting spell to let the body recover he will be in good order for the final IM of the year.
Naomi Wood didn't have a great lead in with sickness, so much so that her coach was convinced she should be kind to her body and race the 70.3 instead and fight another day. But the grit that exists in her genes meant she put together a day that was certainly not her best but showed there is fire left to burn yet. An 11th place finish in her age group showed that.