Tim Reed & Caroline Steffen Rule Cobra Ironman 70.3
- Jamil Buergo
- Aug 2, 2015
- 4 min read
Despite the scorching heat of the sun, Australian Tim Reed bested compatriot Tim Van Berkel and last year’s champ Brent McMahon at the Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines Triathlon in a race that started and ended at the Shangri-la Mactan Resorts and Spa in Cebu.
In a rare triathlon sprint battle to capture the title, Reed shrugged off his costly stumble in the finish line and still beat Van Berkel with only 2 seconds separating them. The 30-year old pro triathlete and winner of Century Tuna Ironman 70.3 in Subic early this year, built a respectable lead in the run leg’s first few kilometers but Van Berkel slowly narrowed the gap until the finish line. Tim finished the race with the time of 03:46:03 while Van Berkel had 03:46:05. Previous year’s Cobra Ironman titlist had a hard time struggled right from the swim start to defend his title and had to settle for third place with 03:50:23.
At the distaff side, Swiss Caroline Steffen captured her fourth straight Cobra Ironman Philippines Women’s Pro Title besting Beth Gerdes (USA) and Dimity-Lee Duke (AUS). Winning the title didn’t come easy for Steffen as she fell of her bike . “I think about 20 people suddenly crossed the road. I think it was someone famous racing at the other side and the people wanted to get a better view. They all crossed the road. I tried to use the brakes but I couldn’t stop so I just crashed and fell off. The marshalls came over and asked if everything was okay. I said yes and just kept on racing. I just kept on going because I wanted to finish the race.” narrated Steffen after the race. Despite the freak accident, she still managed to take care of her lead as she crossed the finish line with 04:23:54, roughly 5 minutes earlier than the second place Gerdes (04:29:07). Dimity-Lee Duke captured third honors with 04:29:36.
In what could probably be the most intense battle in this year’s edition of the Cobra Ironman, Filipino men elites August Benedicto, John Philip Duenas and Banjo Norte all had to sprint to the finish and gave their all. So intense was their battle that all of them had to be attended to by paramedics and was carried out on stretchers immediately after crossing the finish line. Benedicto, who incidentally was celebrating his birthday on race day, struggled to keep pace with his fellow Filipino elite participants as he had to overcome a seven minute lead coming out of the water and roughly 4 minute lead from the bike transition to the run leg. He sprinted and overtook Duenas just before the finish line. “I just thought I had to finish the race immediately so I could see my fiancé already in the finish line” said Benedicto in tagalog. Benedicto checked in at the finish line with 04:28:36.
Monica Torres got another top finish in the Women’s Filipino elite category with the time of 04:39:37. Coming out of the water in third place, Subic-based Monica Torres immediately worked to overcome the lead at the bike and further padded her lead in the run leg. Maria Hodges got silver with almost a 14 minute difference from Torres while LC Langit, captured third.
Title sponsor Cobra Energy Drink held a side-event called Cobra Extra Mile for tough but generous athletes. All Ironman 70.3 finishers may opt to run an extra mile (1.6 km) with no time limit. For every extra-mile runner, Cobra will donate Php 1,000 to Manipis Elementary School in Talisay Cebu. Cobra Extra Mile aims to support the improvement of the school’s facilities and provide the students a better place for learning. In the awarding ceremonies, a symbolic check was handed over to the school principal amounting to Php 300,000.
The Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines, long considered as the Crown Jewel of Asia, is a half-Ironman distance triathlon where participants do a 1.9-km swim, 90-km bike and 21-km run. The event also serves as the qualifying race for the 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championsips in Sunshine Coast, Australia where 40 age-group slots will be at stake.
From its humble beginnings of 583 participants in 2009, over 2,600 participants from 52 countries joined this year’s event. Since opening the registration in October last year, the slots were filled in just 40 minutes and even had a waiting list of 500 more participants.
With the success of Sunrise Events in staging world-class events, Ironman Asia-Pacific CEO Geoff Meyer, together with Sunrise Events president and CEO Wilfred Uytengsu announced that the Ironman Asia Pacific Championships would be held in Cebu next year. “They (the Philippines) deserve it, how it's grown, the whole atmosphere of what we've got here, we want to showcase that to the world and bring in a championship event like the Asia-Pacific," said Meyer.
Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines is produced and organized by Sunrise Events, Inc. with title sponsor Cobra Energy Drink, powered by Ford Philippines and presented by Summit Water. Other sponsors of the event are official courier and logistics partner 2Go Express, official footwear and apparel partner Asics, official sports drink Gatorade, race venue partner Shangri-la Mactan Resort and Spa, Province of Cebu and Lapu-Lapu City.
Other supporters are Kenneth Cobonpue, Prudential Guarantee, TYR, Sunlife Financial, Department of Tourism, Tourism Board of the Philippines, David’s Salon, Finisher Pix, Intercare, Alaska Milk Corporation, Timex, Shotz, Safeguard Men, Brew Kettle, Asahi, Devant, Flawress, Regent, Sante Barle, Motorace, Prozza, Omega PRO, Tisyu, hotel partners Be Resort, Crimson Resort and Spa, Movenpick Hotel and Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino, technology partner Xurpas, media center sponsor Globe Telecom, and media partners Philippine Star, ABS-CBN Sports+Action, TriLife and AsiaTri.com.
Here's my Photo Gallery of the 2015 Cobra Ironman 70.3.
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