Liz Blatchford won IM Philippines after a dominating performance leading the race from start to finish. The BMC-Vifit Sport athlete crossed the finish line in a time of 9:22:22. Dimity Lee Duke (AUS; 9:40:45) finished 2nd as Simone Maier (AUS; 9:47:39) crossed the line in 3rd.
Back on the top step
Liz Blatchford took control of the race from the very beginning. Halfway through the swim she had built up a lead of 40 seconds and managed to open up a gap of over 3 minutes towards the end of the swim.
From that point onwards Blatchford was in a league of her own. She continued building up a big lead, using all her experience to pace well whilst staying focused on her energy and nutrition. At the halfway point on the bike, Liz had an advantage of 8’ over Duke. After just over 5 hours, the Aussie jumped of her BMC to start the marathon with a lead of 13’.
Same story during the run. Liz kept paying attention to her energy levels and pacing, and continued extending her lead. Recording a time of 3:19:18 in the closing marathon, Blatchford broke the finish tape after 9:22:22. A dominating win posting the fastest swim, bike and run split. What a fantastic performance after giving birth to her daughter only 1 year ago.
Sweetest win to date
Afterwards Liz Blatchford couldn't be happier with her performance: "This moment... may have been what got me through. I know it sounds a little corny, but when I was 15km into the marathon today (and literally cooooooking) I knew Mahli and my husband would be at the 20km mark. So I talked myself into getting to them. Seeing them gave me the boost I needed to knuckle in and get it done. Hurt like a mofo but couldn’t be happier to come away with the win today. It may be my sweetest to date after what’s been a rollercoaster few years. Blown away by all the messages of support, Thank you so much - means a lot to know there are people all over the world in my corner.
Emma Pallant finished 4th in Challenge The Championship in Samorin, Maurice Clavel 5th, Bart Aernouts 11th
Emma Pallant finished 4th in Challenge The Championship in Samorin. She had a difficult swim and trailed the lead of the race by 4’ in 10th place. Emma managed to move up some spots after a very solid bike performance and started the run in 5th place. She dug deep in the closing half marathon to finish in 4th place. A hard fought performance only 2 weeks after winning IM70.3 Barcelona.
Maurice Clavel had a very good swim as he exited the water in the chase group. Early on the bike, he took over the lead of the race, dominating the first half of the bike leg. He started the run in the front positions as well, but then he felt he didn’t have the energy left to battle for the podium. He still gave his all and crossed the finish line in 5th place with nothing left in the tank.
Bart Aernouts had a hard day as well. He entered T1 in 20th position. He felt he wasn’t recovered from Barcelona 2 weeks ago, but still managed to move up to 13th place to start the run. In the final kilometres he made his move to finish the race in 11th place.
Solid day
Emma Pallant reflected on her performance: "Not the greatest swim today, but I had a strong bike. It didn’t work out in the run. I ran out a little bit of kilometres in the end. Still, I’m happy coming home 4th in a Championship event in a such a stacked field."
Maurice Clavel looked back at his race: "I felt really strong in the beginning of the race and took the risks to put the rest of the field under pressure. Unfortunately I paid for my efforts and started to feel weaker and weaker. It was like a real implosion, the biggest I ever had. I kept fighting and gave everything I had. 5th place, next year better, but I’m still satisfied with my race."
Bart Aernouts analysed his performance after the race: "It is a beautiful race, but I had a really bad day. I didn’t have a fresh feeling so I guess I wasn’t recovered from Barcelona 2 weeks ago."
Patrik Nilsson 3rd in Karrebeksminde Triathlon
Patrik Nilsson continued his build up to both European Championships and finished 3rd in the Non drafting Olympic distance event in Karrebeksminde in Denmark. A very solid hit out in his final preparation to the European Championship IM70.3 in Elsinore in 2 weeks time and to the European Championship Ironman in Frankfurt in a months time.
*Photo credit IM Philippines: Korupt Vision
*Photo credit The Championship: James Mitchell
