Watkinson, Royle Win Sunshine Coast 70.3
Amelia Watkinson of New Zealand and Aaron Royle of Australia took top honors at the Sunshine Coast Ironman 70.3 in Mooloolaba, Australia today.
Watkinson was consistent across disciplines, with the second fastest swim, bike, and run to finish in 4:10:13 with a 3:17 margin of victory over Sarah Crowley and 4:31 over Ashleigh Gentle.
Watkinson, 29, in 2019 took 7th at Ironman 70.3 Worlds and won Ironman 70.3 Gydnia. She also won Ironman 70.3 Taupo and Ironman 70.3 Philippines in 2017, and was also victorious at Ironman 70.3 Thailand in 2016..
Royle put himself into contention with second-best swim and third-best bike split, closing with the race-best 1:12:38 half marathon to finish in 3:45:14, earning a 48 seconds margin of victory over Max Neumann and 5:18 over Josh Amberger to make an Aussie sweep of the podium.
Royle, 30, the former U-23 World Champion, took 9th at the 2016 Olympic Triathlon in Rio.
Women’s race
Ashleigh Gentle led the swim with a 23:56 split which gave her an 8 second lead on Watkinson, a 1:18 gap on Kiralee Seidel, 1:22 on Crowley, and 1:46 on Renee Kiley.
After a women’s second-best 2:18:43 bike split, Watkinson led by 1:37 over Else Visser (who had the women’s-fastest 2:16:44 bike split), 1:56 over Crowley (2:19:18 bike split), 2:57 over Renee Kiley (2:19:47 bike split), and 5:06 on Gentle, who fell to 5th place with a 2:24:04 bike split.
After a women’s second-fastest 1:23:13 run, Watkinson crossed the line in 4:10:13 with a 3:17 margin on Crowley (1:24:41 run), and 4:31 on Gentle (women’s-best 1:22:24 half marathon.)
Men’s race
Josh Amberger led the swim with a 21:30 split which gave him 5 seconds lead on Royle, 11 seconds on Neumann, 23 seconds on Steve McKenna, 1:24 on Alexander Polizzi, 1:26 on Sam Betten, and 2:38 on Lachlan Kerin.
After a second- best 2:07:03 bike split, Max Neumann took a one second lead on Royle, 54 seconds on Amberger, 1:15 on Lachlan Kerin (who posted the day’s best 2:05:39 bike split) and 2:27 on Steve McKenna.
Once on the run, Royle smashed ahead with a race-best 1:12:38 half marathon which gave him a 48 seconds margin on Neumann (1:13:27 run split) and 5:18 on Amberger (1:17:03 run).
Sunshine Coast Ironman 70.3
Mooloolaba, Australia
September 13, 2020
S 1.2 mi. B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Women
1. Amelia Watkinson (NZL) S 24:04 T1 2:33 B 2:18:43 T2 1:38 R 1:23:13 TOT 4:10:13
2. Sarah Crowley (AUS) S 25:18 T1 2:40 B 2:19:18 T2 1:31 R 1:24:41 TOT 4:13:30
3. Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) S 23:56 T1 2:26 B 2:24:04 T2 1:50 R 1:22:24 TOT 4:14:41
4. Els Visser (AUS) S 27:36 T1 2:37 B 2:16:44 T2 1:58 R 1:28:12 TOT 4:17:09
5. Renee Kiley (AUS) S 25:42 T1 2:48 B 2:19:47 T2 2:11 R 1:28:28 TOT 4:18:58
Men
1. Aaron Royle (AUS) S 21:35 T1 2:20 B 2:07:03 T2 1:36 R 1:12:38 TOT 3:45:14
2. Max Neumann (AUS) S 21:41 T1 2:12 B 2:07:04 T2 1:37 R 1:13:27 TOT 3:46:02
3. Josh Amberger (AUS) S 21:30 T1 2:23 B 2:07:59 T2 1:35 R 1:17:03 TOT 3:50:32
4. Steven McKenna (AUS) S 23:02 T1 2:16 B 2:09:06 T2 1:35 R 1:15:16 TOT 3:51:20
5. David Mainwaring (AUS) S 24:05 T2 2:33 B 2:14:47 T2 1:42 R 1:14:21 TOT 3:57:30
