PORT Macquarie was packed to the hilt with ironmen and women on the weekend for the Ironman Australia Triathlon.
Thousands lined the streets and waterfront on Sunday to see the 2000 athletes test themselves to the limit with a demanding 3.8km swim, 180km bike course and 42.2km run and then cheer them on through the finish until late in the night.
The men’s champion Elliot Holtham from Canada was not in any tips from pundits, but chalked up his first ironman victory in just his third start, to become just the second Canadian male to win one of the oldest races in the history of the sport – following back-to-back wins by Peter Reid in 1998/99.
In the women’s race, two-time Ironman 70.3 world champion Melissa Hauschildt made her successful ironman debut at Port Macquarie, and it was anything but a walk in the park.
American Hillary Biscay led out of the water in 49.22 with a 26-second advantage over super-consistent Aussie Lisa Marangon with Hauschildt 1:23 down on the leader on a cool morning – after snow fell out in the mountains beyond this seasonal holiday spot of Port Macquarie.
Marangon took charge on the bike after Biscay lost her chain, battling away against freshening, cool winds. The lead was around two minutes until the final 35km when Marangon, chasing a buffer on to the run, put the foot down. She put her running shoes on with an 8:31 advantage over Hauschildt.
By 10km, the margin was halved with the pass coming at 24km. Hauschildt pushed out to two minutes at 30km but with 4km left, the margin was only 1:20. The world champion turned up the wick to claim victory by two minutes.
New Zealand’s Melanie Burke, a former winner at Zofingen, and a national cycling and rowing rep and fulltime corporate, grabbed her first ever ironman podium in third.
“I decided to do this only three weeks ago and had two weeks off before that,” Hauschildt said.
“It felt amazing crossing that line. That was the toughest thing I’ve ever done. It just goes on and on, it was not fun at all.
“It’s awesome I don’t get to race that much in Australia, so to win an Australian title is awesome. The next time I do one I think a bit more training is in order.
“I was just thinking never again, never again, just cross that finish line. It was so tough, I’ve never run that far before, four laps, after one lap I was buggered, it was really tough.”
In the men’s race, Luke Bell went into the race full of confidence in the defence of his first ironman win at Port Macquarie last year. That was with the proviso that his troublesome knee injury had severely restricted any running in the lead-up.
So no surprise to see him out of the water first in 44:23, pushing out to 7:34 ahead after the first lap on the bike from 2012 winner Paul Ambrose and compatriot Matty White, which grew to 10:49 off the bike from Ambrose and 16:25 to Holtham.
At the 15km mark the indications were good, with Bell extending the margin to 13 minutes, but 2km later he was walking, and Holtham had run through Ambrose to claim the lead.
Holtham ever-so gradually stretched the bungy to lead by a minute at 30km, doubling it at 35kms and eventually winning in 8:35.17 by 2:28 to Ambrose and 6:00 to Nick Baldwin in third.
“That was a tough day, I cracked my Garmin so had no power, no time, lost my nutrition so wasn’t in a positive place,” Holtham said.
“I had the word patience written on my hand and I knew I had to bring it back.
“I wanted to win an ironman that’s what we do. It’s really special and I know there’s a lot of people watching back home.”
IRONMAN RESULTS
Men
Elliot Holtham CAN 8:35:17
Paul Ambrose AUS 8:37:46
Nick Baldwin AUS 8:41:18
Denis Chevrot FRA 8:44:42
Jason Shortis AUS 8:47:52
Women
Melissa Hauschildt AUS 9:28:42
Lisa Marangon AUS 9:30:49
Melanie Burke NZL 9:32:52
Dimity-Lee Duke AUS 9:43:37
Hillary Biscay USA 9:55:42
Community effort
AROUND 2000 volunteers helped run the event, manning street crossings, handing out bottles of water and doing the many other tasks associated with such a major event.
Their contribution was recognised several times with public thank-yous, including a huge cheer while spectators were waiting for the first ironman to finish.
The event is estimated to generate around $8 million for Port Macquarie, with many of the 2000-plus spectators bringing family and support crew.
