Once again the hottest race on the Ironman circuit has
attracted an impressive field - this weekend promises to be a close
battle between some of the world's premier Ironman triathletes as they
compete at Ironman Malaysia.
Leading the way on the men's side is former Ford Ironman World Champion
Faris Al-Sultan, while the women's race includes Ironman champions
Rebecca Preston and Belinda Granger. They'll hardly be outright
favorites, though, since the field includes some stiff competition
including, on the women's side, Yvonne Van Vlerken, Marilyn McDonald
and Hillary Biscay. Al-Sultan will have to get to the line ahead of
Ironman champs Petr Vabrousek, Byunghoon Park and Chris McDonald if he
is to claim the title.
The day begins with a two-loop swim in Kuah Bay next to a giant eagle
statue that dominates the Jetty Point port area. The three-loop bike
course features a few steep hills, but despite that promises to be
fast. It is the four-loop run course that makes the race in Langkawi so
tough. The terrain isn't that challenging - it's the heat that the
athletes face as they go through the marathon that makes things
difficult. The beautiful finish line at the Jetty Point area provides
welcome relief at the end of a tough day of racing.
It is a spectacular venue, but not an easy course thanks to the intense heat and humidity the athletes must face. We’ll have live coverage of this weekend’s race including live timing data, text updates and pictures, so stay tuned for an exciting weekend of racing in Malaysia.
Pro Entries:
1 Streiter, Ute AUT PRO-F
2 Preston, Rebecca AUS PRO-F
3 Chiba, Chiharu JPN PRO-F
4 Miyazaki, Yasuko JPN PRO-F
5 Van Vlerken, Yvonne NLD PRO-F
6 Fitch, Ali AUS PRO-F
7 Shigaki, Megumi JPN PRO-F
8 Granger, Belinda AUS PRO-F
9 Mcdonald, Marilyn AUS PRO-F
10 Biscay, Hillary USA PRO-F
11 Schuberth, Elmar AUT PRO-M
12 Vabrousek, Petr CZE PRO-M
13 Schioeberg, Kjell DEU PRO-M
14 Byunghoon, Park KOR PRO-M
15 Robertson, Andrew AUS PRO-M
16 Kern, Peter IRL PRO-M
17 Al-Sultan, Faris DEU PRO-M
18 Bless, Patrick USA PRO-M
19 Ohalloran, Mathieu CAN PRO-M
20 Mcdonald, Chris AUS PRO-M
21 Dragstra, Luke CAN PRO-M
