Bozzone stays hot at Busselton
After taking a month off after three wins to start 2018, Terenzo Bozzone came back hotter than ever with a resounding win by 11 minutes 30 seconds at Ironman 70.3 Busselton. With the swim leg replaced by a 3 kilometer opening run due to inclement weather, the New Zealander flew into harsh headwinds on the 56-mile bike leg to lead by 11:24 at T2. Bozzone then cruised through the half marathon, matching the run of countryman Callum Millward to finish the abbreviated race in 3:26:26 with an 11:30 margin of victory over Millward and 12:02 over 44-year-old Ironman and Ironman 70.3 legend Craig Alexander of Australia.
The makes Bozzone’s 2018 season a perfect 4-for4, coming after victories at Ironman New Zealand, Ironman 70.3 Bariloche (Argentina) and Ironman 70.3 Campeche (Mexico).
In addition to confusion resulting from bad weather forcing cancellation of the swim and replacement with a 3 kilometer run, the top three women finishers were disqualified for accidentally cutting the course. In a Facebook posting Sarah Crowley, the second woman to cross the finish line, explained : "Top [three] all DQ'd at #im703busso accidentally went 100m short on lap 1. I corrected by a double back on lap 2 so did Christine [Cross] but still DQ. First time on the course for me and Christine."
Therefore apparent winner Emily Loughnan, Christine Cross and Sarah Crowley were disqualified, changing the pro women's results to: 1st Liz Blatchford, 2nd Annalise Jefferies, 3rd Lisa Tyack, 4th Kirby Diaz, 5th Claire Davis and 6th Karen Toulmin.
Ironman 70.3 Busselton
Busselton, Australia
May 6, 2018
R 3k / B 90k / R 21.1k
Results
Men
1. Terenzo Bozzone (NZL) 3:26:26
2. Callum Millward (NZL) 3:37:56
3. Craig Alexander (AUS) 3:38:28
4. David Mainwaring (AUS) 3:40:22
5. Brett Johnson (AUS) 3:43:26
Women
1. Liz Blatchford (AUS) 4:10:15
2. Annalise Jefferies (AUS) 4:17:03
3. Lisa Tyack (AUS)
4. Kirby Diaz (AUS)
5. Claire Davis (AUS)
6. Karen Toulmin (NZL).
