Wilson, Luxford take Western Sydney
Dan Wilson ran away from Australian Olympian Ryan Fisher to win by 1:41 and Annabel Luxford defended her 2015 title, smashing the bike leg to top Kiralee Seidel by 5:58, at Ironman 70.3 Western Sydney.
Men
Wilson swam 23:41 to lead Fisher by 1 second, and then Fisher gained 2 seconds back with a race-best 2:06:32 bike split. Wilson secured the win with a 1:13:13 run that brought him to the finish in 3:45:23 with a 1:41 margin of victory over the Olympian. James Davy made the podium an all-Aussie affair, closing with a 1:16:16 run to finish 6:11 back of the winner.
After suffering swine flu, Achilles surgery, a stress fracture and a fractured arm in 2015 and a substandard early 2016 WTS season, Wilson abandoned his ITU non-drafting career and turned around his triathlon fortunes. Since then, Wilson won Alpe d’Huez and Noosa, took 2nd at the London Triathlon and dominated Challenge Shepparton before his win at Western Sydney.
Women
Natalie Van Coevorden led the swim in Penrith’s rowing regatta venue in a time of 25:24 which gave her a 2 seconds lead on Luxford, 2 minutes on Kiralee Seidel and Andrea Forrest, and 3:17 on Melanie McQuaid.
By 45km, Luxford forged a 17 seconds lead on Van Coevorden and 1:43 on McQuaid who was trailed closely by Forrest and Seidel. After a dominating 2:14:32 bike split, Luxford arrived in T2 with a 4:25 lead on Van Coevorden (2:19:13 bike split), 5:58 on McQuaid (women’s 2nd-best 2:17:11 bike split), and 7:38 to 7:40 on Seidel and Forrest.
Halfway through the run, Luxford extended her lead to 5:08 on Van Coevorden and 5:35 on McQuaid. By 17km, Seidel made a big move, surging into second place past McQuaid and Van Coevorden. After a women’s second-fastest 1:26:34 half marathon, she finished in 4:08:39 with a 5:58 margin on Seidel (women's-best 1:24:46 run) and 6:49 on 3rd-place Van Coevorden (1:28:43 run).
The win was Luxford’s second 70.3 win of the year and her 8th at the distance during her career.
Ironman 70.3 Western Sydney
Penrith, Australia
November 26, 2016
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Men
1. Dan Wilson (AUS) 3:45:22
2. Ryan Fisher (AUS) 3:47:03
3. James Davy (AUS) 3:51:33
4. Daniel Stein (AUS) 3:52:40
5. Todd Skipworth (AUS) 3:53:36
6. David Mainwaring (AUS) 3:55:56
Women
1. Annabel Luxford (AUS) 4:08:38
2. Kiralee Seidel (AUS) 4:14:36
3. Natalie Van Coevorden (AUS) 4:15:27
4. Andrea Forrest (AUS) 4:18:21
5. Katy Duffield (AUS) 4:25:47
6. Melanie McQuaid (CAN) 4:27:43
