Amelia Watkinson finished 3rd at Asian Pacific Championship IM70.3 in Western Sydney, Liz Blatchford celebrated comeback with 5th place
Melissa Hauschildt took the Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific women's title in 4:07.15, 1:24 clear of second placed Felicity Sheedy-Ryan. Amelia Watkinson came home in third place 5:47 behind the winner. BMC-Etixx team mate Liz Blatchford celebrated her comeback with a very solid 5th place in 4:18:13.
Very happy to be on the podium
After the race Amelia Watkinson looked back at her podium performance: "It was a very exciting race! Felicity and Mel can definitely run. I am very happy with the way the race played out and my result. I had a very decent swim. I felt strong on the bike but it was hard to break away with the dynamics of the bunch. I was satisfied with my run behind Mel and Felicity both well respected runners in the sport. It is great to be on the podium today."
Team mate Liz Blatchford made her comeback to IM70.3 racing after becoming a mum earlier in the year: "I had zero expectations going into the race, but some little hopes. I am absolutely stoked to come away with 5th at the Asian Pacific Championship IM70.3 in Western Sydney. A lot to take away from today’s race but mostly I’m just loving being back out there and excited for next year. Today was a smash and grab for Kona points - mission accomplished. Thanks to everyone who gave me words of encouragement or messages these past few day."
Emma Pallant 4th at Middle East Championship IM70.3 in Bahrain, Ronnie Schildknecht 7th
Emma Pallant finished 4th in the women’s race at IM70.3 Middle East Championship in Bahrain. She crossed the finish line in 4:07:07, posting the 2nd fastest run split of the day. Her team mate Ronnie Schildknecht claimed 7th place in a time of 3:51:23. He clinched the 3rd fastest run split in the men’s race.
Emma Pallant toed the line in Bahrain only a week after giving her all at the Island House Tri. She exited the water in 6th place, 2’ back to the lead. A fast transition saw her jumping on her BMC Timemachine in 4th place. On the bike, she battled with Haug for 3rd place. After 90k, Emma racked her bike in 5th place. Yet again, a fast transition allowed her to start the run in 3rd. The first 5k Pallant matched the pace of Haug, but then Haug broke away and Emma tried to run at her own pace. Her 4th place was never endangered and with the 2nd fastest running split of the day (1:22:00), Emma crossed the line in a time of 4:07:07. She just missed out on catching Ryf for a podium spot as the Swiss athlete finished less than a minute in front of Pallant.
Ronnie Schildknecht made a late decision to add Bahrain to his calendar after racing in Kona. After the swim, Ronnie entered T1 in 20th place, 4’ down on the leader. But before the halfway point on the bike he managed to battle his way forward and to start the run in 12th position. At the 7k mark on the run the BMC-Etixx athlete entered the top 10. With one of the fastest running paces in the race, Schildknecht kept digging deep to pass as many athletes as possible. With 5k to go, he claimed 7th place and made sure he wouldn’t lose that position. Thanks to the 3rd fastest run split, Ronnie crossed the line in 7th after 3:51:23.
