A day of firsts

Ironman champ Nicholas Baldwin. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

SUBIC—The Philippines’ first full-distance Ironman produced another first, a winner in Nicholas Baldwin.

A native of little-known Seychelles, Baldwin, behind the fancied Simon Cochrane of New Zealand by four minutes after the 3.86-kilometer (2.4 miles) swim, got off the bike first and then played catchup in the 42-kilometer run before ruling the Century Tuna Ironman Philippines here in eight hours, 50 minutes and 13 seconds to finally break through.

The 30-year-old Baldwin poured it all near the final 15-km mark to overtake another pre-race favorite in Cameron Brown for good as the event provided all the drama.

Brown, who turns 46 on June 20, clocked 8:56:49 for second place. He was tagged as the most likely winner by virtue of his 12 New Zealand Ironman victories and two (2001 and 2005) Kona worlds runner-up finishes.

Cochrane came in third in 8:58:58.

Equally impressive was female pro winner and fourth fastest overall Liz Blatchford of Australia, winning in 9:22:22.

The 38-year-old Blatchford, a marine biologist who was born in Great Britain, was worlds third placer in 2013 and 2015.

“I was running scared,” said Baldwin, who took a leisurely walk before crossing the finish line while carrying the multi-colored Seychelles flag.

“Running is not my best suit so I was really scared that Cameron (Brown) will sneak up on me any time.”

Brown did appear ready to frustrate Baldwin when he surged ahead in the 29-km mark of the 42.195-km (26.22-mile) run.

But Baldwin was not to be denied. He protected his lead all the way to the finish line at Remy Field here, which experienced heavy drizzles in the morning but was sunny just as the top three finishers were about to wind up the 226-km event participated in by 1,155 triathletes.

Baldwin dropped to the ground where fiancée Kate met him and joined other supporters in dousing him with ice-cold water.

Fred Uytengsu, founder of organizer Sunrise Events Inc., was also among the first to greet Baldwin.

“I’m the first from our country to win an Ironman. There’s not much of us. This is my first full Ironman win after 25 finishes. The first full Ironman in the Philippines. I couldn’t be happier,” said Baldwin, who completed degrees in business economics and advanced personal training while fulfilling his passion for endurance sports.

As of 2016, Seychelles’ population was less than 95,000. The republic is a 115-island country east of mainland East Africa.

“The rain made the (180.25-km) bike leg difficult and it started to get hot,” added Baldwin, who started the marathon leg a little past noon when the temperature peaked past 30 degrees Celsius.

Finishing 2-3 in the female pro field were Australia’s Dimity Lee Duke (9:40:45), a regular runner in Philippine races, and NZ’s Simone Maier (9:47:39).