Belgium's van Lierde wins Ironman

24/02/2003

BELGIAN Luc van Lierde was only 85 percent prepared for the 2003 Langkawi
Ironman triathlon but he still managed to finish first with a time of
eight hours, 31 minutes and 16 seconds.
The Belgian was a cool 20 minutes ahead of second-placed compatriot
Marino van Hoenacker who clocked 8:51:29.
Third was Japan's Yoshinori Tamura with a time of 8:52:39.
Van Lierde did not compete the last two years as both his kneecaps
underwent corrective surgery. Thus, his winning time was quite remarkable.
The world record holder, who clocked 7:15:27 in 1997 in Europe, also
declared that he would be back next year to defend his title and possibly
dip below eight hours.
The conditions were so bad yesterday that two-time Langkawi champion
Bryan Rhodes of New Zealand gave up after completing the 3.8km swim and
the 180.2km cycle due to stomach cramps.
Swimming is the Belgian's strongest event and he took his chances well.
In the women's professional category, Langkawi saw a new champion for
the fourth straight year when Gillian Bakker from Canada clocked 10:01:33.
In the Malaysian men's category, Mohamed Razani Hussain won again,
snatching the ticket to the World Championships at the end of the year.
Results - Men's Professional category: 1 Luc van Lierde (Bel) 8:31:16, 2
Marino van Hoenacker (Bel) 8:51:29, 3 Yoshinori Tamura (Jpn) 8:53:39, 4
Petr Vabrousek (Cze) 9:04:49.
Women's Professional category: 1 Gillian Bakker (Can) 10:01:33, 2
Belinda Granger (Aus) 10:09:22, 3 Susan Peter (Aus) 10:21:24.
Malaysian category - Men: 1 Mohamed Razani Hussain 10:37:29.
Women: 1 Fiona Lim 12:26:12.
(END)