Alexander, Warriner take Geelong 70.3 crowns
Current Ironman World Champion Craig Alexander shook off what he called rust to top a strong field, while ITU World Cup star Samantha Warriner (pictured) outdueled Ironman distance world record holder Yvonne Van Vlerken on the run to win the 2009 Geelong Ironman 70.3 race Sunday.
Alexander stayed near the lead through the swim and bike, then stamped his name on the trophy with a race-best 1:12:07 half marathon to cross the line in 3:50:51 with a 2:11 margin of victory over runner-up David Dellow.
Warriner took a 4:29 advantage over Van Vlerken with a 22:45 swim, gave back 5:12 to Van Vlerken’s 2:22:20 bike, then wrapped up the win with 1:20:45 run that put 45 seconds on her Dutch rival. If you do the math, that meant that Warriner and her ITU swift transition skills made the 52-second margin following her 4:14:33 finish.
2009 Snap Geelong Ironman 70.3
Geelong, Australia
February 8, 2009
S 1.9k/ B 90k/ R 21.1 k
Results
Pro men
1. Craig Alexander (AUS) 3:50:51
2. David Dellow (AUS) 3:53:02
3. Luke Bell (AUS) 3:53:52
4. Joe Gambles (AUS) 3:56:13
5 Matty White (AUS) 3:57:23
6. Jimmy Johnsen (DEN) 3:57:44
7. Tyler Butterfield (BER) 3:58:33
8. Luke McKenzie (AUS) 3:58:38
9. Paul Matthews (AUS) 3:59:38
10. Jason Shortis (AUS) 4:05:06
Pro women (top 8)
1. Samantha Warriner (NZL) 4:14:33
2. Yvonne Van Vlerken (NED) 4:15:25
3. Rebekah Keat (AUS) 4:17:35
4. Kate Major (AUS)4:23:48
5. Pip Taylor (AUS) 4:25:56
6. Kate Bevilaqua (AUS) 4:28:11
7. Tara Prowse (AUS) 4:28:48
8. Amelia Pearson (AUS) 4:29:34
