Neumann, Wilms Claim Victory at Sunshine Coast 70.3
Dutch born and Sydney resident Lotte Wilms battled side by side with Hannah Wells of New Zealand until halfway through the run, whereupon Wilms found a final burst of energy to cross the line in 4:00:19 with a 1:33 margin over the New Zealander and 2:31 over 3rd place finisher Penny Slater if Australia.
Max Neumann, who won his third straight Ironman Cairns in June, won a barn burner by a dozen seconds over fellow Aussie Steven McKenna at Sunshine Coast 70.3., with defending Sunshine Coast 70.3 champion Nicholas Free taking third place. Neumann’s race-best 1:08:49 run brought him to the line in 3:29:46 with a 12 seconds margin over Mckenna (1:09:03 run split) and 1:29 over 3rd place Free (1:10:16 run split).
Women's Race Recap
Former pro swimmer Lotte Wilms aced the swim as her 24:17 split gave her a 1:58 lead on Australia Stephanie Demestichas, and 2:01 on Hannah Wells of New Zealand. 2:26 on Aussie Kirra Seidel and 3:01 on Penny Slater.
With a 2 minutes cushion, Wilms held on to a 40 seconds lead by 50 kilometers. But at that point, Wilms resurged back into a 2-minute lead at T2. By this point, Wilms, Wells and Slater had left the rest more than 7 minutes behind.
After 10 kilometers, Slater fell back but Wells closed in and slightly edged past Wilms. After 15 kilometers, Wilms ran away from Wells once again. Running with alacrity, Wilms finished her day with a women’s third-best 1:23:52 split and a 4:00:19 overall time and a 1:33 margin over Wells and 2:31 over third-place Slater.
As a measure of his hard Wells had to work to catch up to Wilms by mid-run, Wells’ ultimate half marathon split was 1:23:21 – 31 seconds better than Wilms. Kylie Simpson ran a women’s race-best 1:20:31 half marathon to advance her to 4th place – making up a lot of real estate after a dismal 34:56 swim split.
Wilms had an interesting explanation for her up and down pacing. “I felt really good in the swim and on the bike,” she told Ironman media. “I had some goals and I could see the girls were making up some time on me after one lap so I pushed a little bit harder on the second lap.”
Wilms had sound reasoning for her run pacing. “On the run I had some goals, I wasn’t allowed to go full gas for the first 10 kilometers because I’m going to race in America next week [for the PTO US Open in Dallas]. Later in the run I was supposed to go harder which was lucky because Hannah was catching me. After 16kms I retook the lead and I didn’t let it go until the finish so it was a really good day.”
Men's Race Recap
Neumann last raced Sunshine Coast in 2020 when he finished second. Neumann emerged from the swim in 23:15, in the top three of a 7-man pack. While there was some shuffling in places, seven men arrived together in T2 –including Jack Sosinski, Mitchell Cunningham, Steven Mckenna, Nicholas Free, Fraser Walsh and Kurt McDonald.
Soon after the run started, Neumann, McKenna and Free emerged at the front. Up to 17 kilometers of the run, only a second separated the trio. At this point, Free fell back. “With about 5km to go I reckon we were running at about three-minutes [per kilometer] pace and we really knocking it down,” he told 70.3 media. “I couldn’t crack Steve and then I got him on the last hill and just held it till the end.” he said.
Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast
Sunshine Coast, Australia
September 11, 2022
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13,.1 mi.
Women's Top 10
1. Lotte Wilms (NED) S 214:17 T1 1:32 B 2:09:08 T2 1:24 R 1:23:52 TOT 4:00:19
2. Hannah Wells (INZL) S 26:18 T1 1:32 B 2:09:22 T2 1:18 R 1:23:21 TOT 4:01:52
3. Penny Slater (AUS) S 27:18 T1 1:27 B 2:08:28 T2 1:18 R 1:24:17 TOT 4:02:50
4. Kylie Simpson (AUS) S 34:56 T1 1:47 B 2:05:11 T2 1:46 R 1:20:31 TOT 4:04:15
5. Phoebe Kelly (AUS) F25-29 S 28:37 T1 1:49 B 2:11:42 T2 2:17 R 1:26:11 TOT 4:10:37
6. Kirra Seidel (AUS) S 26:43 T1 1:32 B 2:14:53 T2 1:23 R 1:26:31 TOT 4:11:04
7. Lesley West (AUS) F35-39 S 31:54 T1 2:46 B 2:13:25 T2 1:49 R 1:21:40 TOT 4:11:236
8. Lauren Hume (AUS) F25-29 S 29:25 T1 2:52 B 2:12:33 T2 1:17 R 1:26:09 4:12:17
9. Danyella Eberle (AUS) F30-34 S 30:58 T1 1:52 B 2:06:54 T2 1:41 R 1:31:22
10. Kirsty Sheehan (AUS) F40-44 S 30:13 T1 2:13 B 2:12:33 T2 1:50 R 1:27:21 TOT 4:14:12
Men's Top 10
1. Max Neumann (AUS) S 23:15 T1 01:13 B 1:55:17 T2 1:10 R 1:08:49 TOT 3:29:46
2. Steve McKenna (AUS) S 23:15 T1 1:115 B 1:55:18 T2 1:05 R 1:09:03 TOT 3:29:58
3. Nicholas Free (AUS) S 23:16 T1 1:17 B 1:55:18 T2 1:05 R 1:10:16 TOT 3:31:15
4. Mitchell Cunningham (AUS) S 23:18 T1 1:14 B 1:55:16 1:13 R 1:13:02 TOT 3:34:04
5. Mitch Kibby (AUS) S 23:28 T1 1:21 B 1:57:42 T2 1:13 R 1:10:49 TOT 3:34:35
6. Mike Phillips (NZL) S 23:32 T1 1:26 B 1:57:39 T2 1:20 R 1:11:02 TOT 3:35:01
7. Timothy Reed (AUS) S 23:29 T1 21:21 B 1:57:46 T2 1:07 R 1:11:38 TOT 3:35:22
8. Jack Sosinski (AUS) S 23:19 T1 1:16 B 1:55:15 T2 1:10 R 1:14:39 TOT 3:35:40
9. Fraser Walsh (AUS) S 23:16 T1 1:10 B 1:55:21 R2 1:18 R 1:14:50 TOT 3:35:58
10. Tim Van Berkel (AUS) S 23:24 T1 1:19 B 1:57:47 T2 1:11 R 1:15:02 TOT 3:38:46
