Photo Gallery: IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia

They’re used to the full-distance IRONMAN race being the main professional draw here in Busselton, but this year things were focused on the 70.3. The penultimate event in the IRONMAN Pro Series, today’s half-distance tri attracted a surprisingly international and competitive field of athletes – some doing their best to pad their Pro Series standings, others looking to tune up before the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupo, New Zealand in a couple of weeks. You can read our race recap in the link below – and after that check out our photo gallery from race day.
All photos by Kevin Mackinnon

They’re off – the men get started next to the Busselton Jetty.

The women left five minutes later.

Dimity-Lee Duke braves the choppy water and the unique swim course that has the athletes swim under the pier.

Uber-biker Robert Kallin leads the group.

Aussie Olympian Jake Birtwhistle was with the group early, but would eventually get dropped and hit T2 five minutes behind.

New Zealand’s Teresa Adam, along with Pewag Teammate Lotte Wilms and Marta Sanchez would ride clear of the rest of the women’s field on the bike.

Fellow Kiwi Hannah Berry would spend much of the ride in fourth.

Maja Stage Nielsen was the highest ranked woman in the Pro Series coming into the race and was working hard to stay as close to the leaders as she could.

Els Visser is coming back from a stress fracture that forced her to drop out of the race in Kona, but she’s still in the hunt for valuable IRONMAN Pro Series points.

Gregory Barnaby led the men out onto the run course, determined to stay near the front of the race from start to finish.

The tale of two hard bikes – Jamie Riddle, right, would surge to the front of the race and lead for much of the half marathon. Western Australia native Nick Thompson would fade badly on the run after coming off with the leaders and end up 15th.

Aussie Olympian Jake Birtwhistle would run his way to fifth.

There was no touching Marta Sanchez once she got onto the run course.

Lotte Wilms would hang on for as long as she could in second …

… but it was Anna Bergstom who would be the best on dry land, biking and running her way to second after trailing by over five minutes after the swim

Germany’s Daniela Bleymehl made the trip to Western Australia to help with her overall Pro Series standing – she ended up eighth.

A first IRONMAN 70.3 win …

… and now first in the Pro Series standings heading into the final race of the season means Gregory Barnaby is almost guaranteed to be on the Series final podium.

Marta Sanchez’s smile says it all.

Anna Bergsten, Marta Sanchez and Lotte Wilms make up the podium.

Jamie Riddle, Gregory Barnaby and Marc Dubrick have some fun o the podium themselves.

The advantage of crossing the line first is that you are for sure there when your fiancé crosses the line – Giorgia Priarone celebrates her 15th-place finish and Gregory Barnaby’s win.
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