Bahrain Endurance 13 Elite team in host of tourneys

Manama

 Following the directives of HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and President of Bahrain Olympic Committee, Bahrain Endurance 13 Elite Team members took part in several international championships during the past week.

At Challenge Denmark, team manager Chris McCormack “Macca” finished in a strong fifth place, while Jodie Swallow, Ben Hoffman, and Paul Ambrose recorded finishes in the top ten at Ironman 70.3 Boulder, Colorado in the US.

Swallow was fifth in the women’s race and Ambrose who was seventh and felt out of depth in the altitude after spending most of his time after Ironman Australia at sea level. Hoffman put a positive spin on his fifth-place finish. He said, “It was nice to race here at home in Boulder.

On the other side of the world, Sam Appleton and Caroline Steffen won the respective men's and women's titles at last weekend's Ironman 70.3 Cairns, Australia in the half triathlon challenge, comprising a 1.9km swim, 80km cycling and 21.11km run.

James Cunnama racing in the Cairns, Ironman pulled out on the run due to medical issues. He said, “I ended up doing a marathon in the medical tent rather than on the road. Very disappointed as I was in good shape for this one, but that’s sport. Of course this means back to the drawing board for the season plans, but I'll sit down with the coach and work out where we go from here.”

The weekend ended on a high note in Europe with Javier Gomez’s win at Ironman 70.3 Staffordshire. Gomez swam well but played conservative on the bike, which paid off when he took the lead on the run.

Domenico Passuello’s third place at Ironman 70.3 Italy wrapped up the racing for the Bahrain Endurance 13 Elite Team. The podium spot secured with the race’s best bike split bodes well for his campaign at Ironman France in two weeks’ time.