Luke McKenzie added another feather to his cap by winning the 2010 Busselton Half Ironman with a very strong performance. Lisa Marangon was dominant in the women's race and held off Kate Bevilaqua by 5 minutes.

Luke McKenzie led the men out of the water and onlt Paul Matthews managed to stay close to him. But once they were through T1, McKenzie was pretty much gone. His gap over pursuers Berkel, Ogden, Matthews and Crawford grew steadily and by the the time he reached the second transition with a 2:05:11 bike split, he had 5 minutes in the bank on his competitors. A brief moment of disorientation in T2 caused McKenzie to give a bit of time back, and most likely cost him the course record too, but McKenzie was not going to be denied today. He closed out the day with a 1:15:58 Half Marathon and captured the 2010 Busselton Half Ironman title in a time of 3:47:16. Right behind him Berkel and Reed were sprinting for second place with Reed managing to get to the line 2 seconds up on Berkel.

"I was stoked with the win at the Busselton Half Ironman. It is now the biggest Half Ironman in Australia and is fast becoming Australia's most popular race.," said McKenzie to slowtwitch. "I was only 15 seconds off my own course record I set last year (3.47.01) coming across the line in 3.47.16, so unfortunately the mess up in transition cost me there. I am really happy with my form leading into Ironman Brazil at the end of the month."

Just like McKenzie had done in the men's race, Lisa Marangon did in the women's event. Marangon got out of the water first after 26:11 and then she was off and gone. Her bike spit of 2:22:59 was fastest among the Pro women and that gave Marangon a nice lead going into the run. Bevilaqua managed to take 2.5 minutes back on the run but after the swim and bike, Marangon was more than 7 minutes ahead, and Bevilaque had to be content with reeling in second placed Katrina Mercer. So Marangon grabbed the title and Bevilaqua managed to get second place. Mercer held on for third.

"It was a tough day, very competitive and I pushed hard. I cramped the whole
bike and run but felt so strong," said Marangan. "So happy with win after a couple of bad races. Training now for Lake Placid to qualify for Kona."

Busselton Half Ironman
Busselton, Australia / May 1, 2010

Top 10 men

1. Luke McKenzie (AUS) 3:47:16
2. Tim Reed (AUS) 3:51:57
3. Tim Berkel (AUS) 3:51:59
4. Courtney Ogden (AUS) 3:55:35
5. Mitchell Robins (AUS) 3:56:51
6. Guy Crawford (NZL) 3:57:24
7. Paul Matthews (AUS) 4:11:27
8. Finnbar Ingram (AUS) 4:12:25
9. Johan Borg (AUS) 4:14:20 * AG M18-24
10. Troy Drinan (AUS) 4:14:25

Top 10 women

1. Lisa Marangon (AUS) 4:21:45
2. Kate Bevilaqua (AUS) 4:26:49
3. Katrina Mercer (AUS) 4:28:30
4. Nicole Ward (AUS) 4:28:40
5. Rachael Smith (AUS) 4:31:32 AG F30-34
6. Sandy Crowe (AUS) 4:36:38
7. Nera Jareb (AUS) 4:36:56
8. Rebecca Eveleigh (AUS) 4:37:39
9. Michelle Duffield (AUS) 4:39:54
10. Michelle Downs (AUS) 4:42:09