Big Day For Kiwis As Phillips, Watkinson Claim Victories At 2017 Ironman 70.3 Bintan

By Wires August 20, 2017

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Bintan provided a perfect day and beautiful race scenery for athletes all around Asia today at the 2017 Ironman 70.3 Bintan. New Zealand had a perfect day in Bintan as Mike Phillips and Amelia Watkinson each won their respective elite categories.

Phillips battled a competitive men’s professional field to win in 3:54:37, a 2 minutes and 41 second winning margin over the comebacking Italian Domenico Passuello. Passuello finished in 3:57:18 while defending champion Fredrik Croneberg of Sweden completed podium by finishing 3^rd with a time of 4:01:55.

“Bintan is a beautiful place, a lovely beach, one of the best swim and bike course I have done. The bike is really challenging, with fast roads as well, and a great course overall” said 2017 champion Mike Phillips.

Amelia Watkinson followed up her strong showing in Ironman 70.3 Philippines, by winning another title in Asia, finishing in 4:20:54. Watkinson dominated the women’s field by a winning margin of 12 minutes and 19 seconds over Anna Eberhardt (HUN). Eberhardt finished in 4:33:13 while defending champion Kate Bevilaqua (AUS) rounded up third place podium by finishing in 4:41:46.

Mike Phillips win 2017 Ironman 70.3 Bintan

Top 5 Professional Men’s Results

				Swim	Bike	Run
1	Mike Phillips	NZL	3:54:37	0:23:49	2:06:35	1:21:44
2	Domenico Passuello	ITA	3:57:18	0:26:10	2:07:23	1:20:53
3	Fredrik Croneberg	SUI	4:01:55	0:25:56	2:10:19	1:23:07
4	Guy Crawford	NZL	4:09:24	0:25:29	2:10:34	1:30:36
5	Alexander Polizzi	AUS	4:15:26	0:23:53	2:12:26	1:36:06

Top 5 Professional Women’s Results

				Swim	Bike	Run
1	Amelia Watkinson	NZL	4:20:54	0:26:28	2:22:04	1:29:23
2	Anna Eberhardt	HUN	4:33:13	0:32:57	2:25:09	1:31:59
3	Kate Bevilaqua	AUS	4:41:46	0:28:31	2:32:46	1:36:54
4	Laura Dennis	AUS	4:47:20	0:26:23	2:30:42	1:47:11
5	Karen Toumlin	NZL	5:11:42	0:32:56	2:35:11	1:53:24

The 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 Bintan saw more than 1,150 athletes representing 39 countries start the race Encouraged by the 95% athlete satisfaction rating in the 2016 global Ironman 70.3 survey that placed the event 1^st in Asia, the event saw a 25% growth in this year’s registration. Competitors ranged from 18-80 years old, one of which was 80 year old Yee Sze Mun from Malaysia, one of Asia’s oldest triathletes.

One of more than 100 events in the global IRONMAN 70.3 Series, the 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 Bintan triathlon took the athletes along a 1.9-km swim, 90-km bike and 21-km run on the beautiful island course of Bintan, Indonesia. Athletes began their day in the white sand beach of Bintan and took off in a 1 lap swim. The swim course, voted as Asia’s best by AsiaTRI.com, was characterized as having excellent visibility with calm, no-swell conditions. The triathletes were greeted by Asia’s best bike course (as awarded again by AsiaTRI.com) on a single lap of endless views of lush, dense green forest to fantastic coastal scenery. The triathletes ended their day in a new run course that offered a more varied scenery. A long out and back section also gave participants the opportunity to see their fellow athletes. Fun spectating spots were also introduced this year to enhance the experience both for athletes and spectators.

The event offered a total male professional prize purse of $15,000 and qualifying points for the 2018 Ironman 70.3 World Championship to be held in South Africa.