British competitors Holly Lawrence and Adam Bowden won Ironman 70.3 Dubai.
Women
Lawrence, who spent much of 2018 recovering from surgery for a broken foot, seems back on her 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championship form after two straight wins in major Mideast 70.3s. Lawrence edged fellow Brit Sarah Lewis by 53 seconds at Bahrain 70.3 in December and fought off a blistering run by Anne Haug of Germany to best her German rival by 1:38 Saturday in Dubai.
The win follows Lawrence's win at this race in 2017 and her 3rd place last year. Haug took 2nd at this race in 2017 and won last year.
After women's-best 24:24 swim and 2:11:04 bike splits, Lawrence built a 5:51 lead over defending Dubai 70.3 champion Anne Haug. While Haug, who took 3rd places at the 2018 Ironman 70.3 and Ironman World Championships, made a valiant charge with a women’s-best 1:16:23 half marathon – 4:04 faster than Lawrence – the German fell 1:38 short of Lawrence’s women’s race-record 4:00:04 winning time. Had Haug been able to match her 2018 run split of 1:14:11, she might have been the repeat winner.
Sarah Lewis, who finished second to Lawrence at Bahrain 70.3 seven weeks ago, took third place, 9:35 behind the winner.
Men
Bowden took a slim lead over the pro men’s swim wave with a 23:38 split that gave him a 1 second lead on Eric Watson, 5 seconds on Johann Ackermann of Germany, 6 seconds on Sebastien Fraysse of France, 8 seconds on Patrik Nilsson of Sweden, 13 seconds on Balazs Csoke of Hungary and 14 seconds on defending champion Kristian Blummenfelt of Norway, who won Bahrain 70.3 in December.
Bowden took off like a rocket at the start of the bike leg, pursued by Blummenfelt. However, the Norwegian star fell prey to leg cramps and soon withdrew. Halfway through the 90 kilometer bike leg, Fraysse took a 52 to 57 seconds lead on a chase pack of four that included Ackermann, Bowden, Nilsson and Watson.
After a race-best 2:01:54 split on the flat, fast, out-and-back bike leg, Fraysse fell back and Ackermann led the field into T2 by 13, 14, 16 and 20 seconds on Fraysse, Bowden, Nilsson and Watson.
On the two-lap, seaside down-and-back run leg, Bowden immediately took control, building a 1:20 gap on Nilsson, 1:45 on Ackerman and 2 minutes on Fraysee after 8 kilometers. At 13km, Bowden maintained a 1:38 lead on Nilsson, 3:51 on Fraysse and 4:07 on the gradually fading Ackermann.
After a men’s-best 1:10:35 half marathon, Bowden crossed the line in 3:40:11 with a 2:39 margin of victory on Nilsson (1:12:44 run) and 6:54 on 3rd place finisher Fraysse.
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With these wins, Lawrence and Bowden secured chances to win the Nasser Bin Hamad Triple Crown and its million-dollar bonus prize to any athlete who wins Ironman 70.3 Dubai, the Ironman 70.3 World Championship, and the Ironman 70.3 Middle East Championship in Bahrain within one calendar year. Daniela Ryf won the first Triple Crown in 2015.
Ironman 70.3 Dubai
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
February 1, 2019
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Women
1. Holly Lawrence (GBR) 4:00:04 S 24:24 T1 2:07 B 2:11:04 T2 2:04 R 1:20:27
2. Anne Haug (GER) 4:01:42 S 26:45 T1 2:17 B 2:14:25 R T2 1:54 1:16:23
3. Sarah Lewis (GBR) 4:09:39 S 27:52 T1 2:07 B 2:16:07 T2 2:15 R 1:21:20
4. Judith Corachán Vaquera (ESP) 4:14:34 S 27:53 T1 2:19 B 2:15:57 T2 2:07 R 1:26:20
5. Fenella Langridge (GBR) 4:16:18 S 26:02 T1 1:58 B 2:17:19 T2 2:01 R 1:29:00
Men
1. Adam Bowden (GBR) 3:40:11 S 23:38 T1 1:54 B 2:02:18 T2 1:47 R 1:10:35
2. Patrik Nilsson (SWE) 3:42:50 S 23:46 T1 2:00 B 2:02:06 T2 2:16 R 1:12:44
3. Sebastien Fraysse (FRA) 3:47:05 S 23:44 T1 2:05 B 2:02:01 T2 1:57 R 1:17:21
4. Johann Ackermann (GER) 3:47:32 S 23:43 T1 2:00 B 2:01:54 T2 1:47 R 1:18:11
5. Filipe Azevedo (PRT) 3:48:47 S 24:02 T1 2:04 B 2:05:57 T2 2:05 R 1:14:41
