Leanda Cave won the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Las Vegas, USA, on Sunday and Jodie Stimpson claimed her first ever ITU Triathlon World Cup victory in Colombia to make it a successful weekend for British athletes.
Leanda Cave claimed another world title with an impressive win at the Ironman World Championship 70.3. Racing over a 1900m swim, 56mile bike and 13.1mile run, Cave was third to compatriot, Jodie Swallow, after the swim.
She rode to the front on the bike leg and left many of her key competitors behind. She held on during the run and claimed the world title by almost five minutes. She is now preparing for the Ironman World Championships (double the distance) in Kona on 13 October.
Happy with the win, Cave warned that there will be no time for celebrating, or even resting. She said: “There’s still some tough competition in Kona and I’m keeping my eye on the prize.”
Stimpson (pictured) got into a small lead pack on the swim and then broke away on the first lap of the tough bike course at the Guatape ITU Triathlon World Cup. The Guatape bike course, known for its challenging hills set at altitude, allowed Stimpson to break away on her own and build a lead of almost two and a half minutes.
She extended her lead even further on the run to finish nearly five minutes ahead of silver medallist, Maria Czesnik (POL) and bronze medallist Paola Diaz (MEX).
Stimpson said: "It's fantastic. The crowd was awesome. The weather was nice and warm. The course was hilly, which made it even better, it makes a proper triathlon. The run was a bit tricky, but made it interesting."
She added: “No race is ever easy, especially on a course like this. The course was really hard.”
Results Ironman World Championship 70.3, 1900m swim, 90km bike, 21km run
1. Leanda Cave GBR 4:28:05
2. Kelly Williamson USA 4:29:24
3. Heather Jackson USA 4:32:32
Results 2012 Guatape ITU Triathlon World Cup, 1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run
1. Jodie Stimpson GBR 2:12:21
2. Maria Czesnik POL 2:17:15
3. Paola Diaz MEX 2:20:42
Image: Arnold Lim/ITU
