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Ironman Australia featured a half-Ironman for the first time, Ironman 70.3 Port Macquarie, won by Australian Joe Gambles and New Zealander Joanne Lawn in sunny but windy conditions.
Gambles had the lead going into the run and held it all the way, finishing 3:58:15.
“That was really hard on the run with that wind,” Gambles said. “Anything could have happened in that last half of the run, so you had to maintain concentration and back yourself.”
Lawn led coming out of the water. Spotters had trouble keeping track of who was in the lead during the bike portion, but Lawn held on to win with a time of 4:15:26.
“That hurt,” Lawn said. “I led the swim out and the bike was tough, the wind was really tough out there. On the run I thought I was in second place. I gave it all that I had and tried to stay strong. I am going to race the 70.3 at [Busselton] next weekend and then plan to race the Ironman at Texas.”
Ironman 70.3 Port Macquarie
1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run
Men
1. Joe Gambles – 3:58:15
2. Tim Berkel – 4:01:40
3. Cameron Brown – 4:03:22
4. Christian Kemp – 4:04:11
5. Joseph Lampe – 4:08:59
Women
1. Joanna Lawn – 4:15:26
2. Madeleine Oldfield – 4:37:24
3. Michelle Wu – 4:41:10
4. Belinda Granger – 4:43:53
5. Melinda Cockshutt – 4:50:38