Atkinson tops Ironman 70.3 tilt

LAPU-LAPU CITY—Two-time Olympian Courtney Atkinson validated his status as the rising star of the Ironman circuit by stealing the thunder from his more experienced Australian compatriots in the centerpiece men’s Pro race yesterday of the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines here.

Competing in only his second Ironman event, Atkinson completed a wire-to-wire victory in three hours, 58 minutes and seven seconds, dethroning three-time champion Pete Jacobs before a roaring crowd at the posh Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort.

Admittedly starting out flat in the bike stage, Jacobs showed resiliency in the run, coming up with the fastest clocking to finish second, just a minute and two seconds behind Atkinson.

“It was a surprise for me because it’s my first time to race here and this is such a world-class field,” said the 34-year-old Atkinson, who came here on the back of a victory in the Cairns Australia 70.3 four weeks ago.

“But the crowd here is amazing. I was racing by myself most of the time and they helped push me.”

Caroline Steffen of Switzerland ruled the women’s Pro division for the second straight year, clocking 4:16.12.

The women’s race produced no surprise with American Bree Wee (4:27:49) and Australian Belinda Granger (4:33:50) coming in second and third, just like last year.

Rain fell for the second straight morning here, making conditions less grueling and resulting in a faster race. In fact, Jacobs and Steffen’s clockings were faster than their winning times last year.

Filipino Monica Torres, the four-time Elite division champion, who moved up to the pro ranks this year, clocked 4:52:08 to finish fifth in the women’s race.

“This win means a lot as it’s not easy to defend a title,” said Steffen of Team Alaska TBB, who bucked a swollen thigh to prevail.

David Dellow completed a 1-2-3 finish for athletes Down Under in the 111.9 km men’s Pro race by checking in at 4:02:22.

Two-time world champion Chris McCormack, whose duel with fellow Jacobs occupied much of the pre-race hype, ended up fourth in 4:03:15.

Groomed by Team Alaska TBB as a future international star, Banjo Norte emerged as the top finisher in the Filipino Elite race, clocking 4:26:44, good for 13th overall.

The 20-year-old Cagayan de Oro athlete, a standout swimmer in high school, finally got the reward for his extensive training in Laguna for the past three months.

Augusto Benedicto, the former ice delivery boy, who topped the race last year, endured mechanical problems in the bike leg that cost him almost 10 minutes. Still, he finished second in 4:32:38.

Alessandra Araullo-Gonzales checked in at 5:05:33 to top the women’s Elite with the returning Jenny Guerrero coming in second at 05:20:02.

Cheered on by a huge gallery throughout, Atkinson started strong in the swim leg, taking a slender three-second lead over Jacobs out of the water and was racing by himself for almost the entire way.

Jacobs made up some ground in the run, where he clocked 1:15:37—almost three minutes better than the time of Atkinson.

“I’m not sad handing over the title to Courtney,” said Jacobs, “I didn’t feel good on the bike today. But I was happy with the way I finished the race.”