Steffen finishes second in Ironman 70.3

Manama : Switzerland’s Caroline Steffen used a strong bike and run legs to clinch a second-place finish at Ironman 70.3 California. In her first race on US soil apart from the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii.

She moved from eighth out of the water to fourth off the bike before running the day’s fastest half-marathon to grab the silver between Heather Wurtele’s gold and Heather Jackson’s bronze.

She said, “I never raced those girls before as I’ve never raced in the US before. So it was interesting to see how they react in certain situations.”

Steffen’s run before a weakness, has now become a weapon. “The run was a big battle with Heather Jackson and tough out there, but I wanted the win. You can’t always win, though I’m happy with my bike and the run and  look forward to the next race.”

Meanwhile, Sam Appleton stayed close to the front for most of the men’s  race exiting the water in the front group. The young Aussie tailed uberbiker Andreas Dreitz through a majority of the bike leg before sliding back into the chase group and ultimately finishing eighth overall. 

He said, “It was pretty tough. I raced to the best of my ability against a super-stacked field, so I’m happy to come away with a solid result. My main goal is the 70.3 Worlds in September so hopefully I can build on from here into the rest of the season.”

Fredrik Croneborg took on Asia’s hottest race at Ironman 70.3 Putrajaya, Malaysia with temperatures in the mid-30s and stayed in the mix from the swim through the bike in the chase group that included eventual champion Craig Alexander. He said, “Double weekends of racing completed! 70.3 Taiwan last week and 70.3 Putrajaya today. I did not have my best placings (6 and 6) in the results but happy with the swim-bike combo and now focus on the run in coming weeks.”

The Bahrain Endurance Team now turns its focus toward Africa and the Ironman African Championship, South Africa on April 10 which includes HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa in his bid to qualify for the Ironman World Championship.