Craig Alexander wins Ironman 70.3 Singapore

Contributed by Cheryl Ng

East Coast Park, Sunday, March 22, 2009 – Current Ironman World Champion Craig Alexander, from Sydney, was crowned champion after 3 hours 47 minutes and 24 seconds, edging out his closest rival for the title by 3 minutes and 18 seconds. Alexander displayed his championship form in style, shaving 8 minutes and 16 seconds off defending champion Simon Thompson's winning time of 3 hours 55 minutes and 40 seconds last year.

Second across the finishing line was Chris McCormack, the man whom ?Alexander dethroned as Ironman World Champion last year. McCormack kept pace with the champion throughout most part of the ?race but faded towards the end, crossing the finishing line in a time of 3 hours 50 minutes and 42 seconds.

Defending Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore champion Simon Thompson completed the victorious Australian trio at the podium, with a timing of 3 hours 54 minutes and 28 seconds.

"I am very happy to win the race and this was a really prestigious win for me as it was a great race with an extremely high calibre group of athletes," said Alexander.

"I think it was great that the organisers managed to attract so many big names for the race, as it is not often that you get such a great group of athletes together due to different race and training schedules. What makes a race difficult is not the terrain but the quality of the field, so winning the race today against such strong competitors was a fantastic feeling for me," he added.

In the women’s category, dark horse Jodie Swallow from Britain, 3-time London Triathlon winner, scorched her way to the win, with a time of 4 hours 19 minutes and 11 seconds. Andrea Hewitt, from New Zealand, came in second (4 hours 30 minutes and 25 seconds) with Tereza Macel, from the Czech Republic, trailing in her wake (4 hours 30 minutes and 42 seconds).

"It was so hot out there," said the physically exhausted winner, "I was stung by jelly fish and I missed drinks on the run and it was so humid."

Swallow took some time to recover after the finish line but spoke of a tough race. "I wanted it to rain so badly, but it didn't. This made it such a tough race, so tough. But I'm so glad I won!"

Jeanette Wang topped the local women's category, beating 29 others to become Singapore's fastest female Ironman, with a time of 5 hours 29 minutes and 46 seconds. Yong Chun Seng topped the local men's category with a time of 5 hours 9 minutes and 42 seconds.

From as early as 710am, close to 1,000 triathletes plunged into the seas off the Playground @ Big Splash in East Coast Park for a 1.9km swim. Once out of the water, the participants mounted their bikes for an arduous 90.1km cycle along the airport-bound direction of the East Coast Parkway. The final leg of the Ironman, the 21.1km run, was along the scenic beach front of East Coast Park.

Although only in its third year of being held here, the Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore this year drew a stellar cast of triathletes, including five Olympians – the first time any Ironman race worldwide has drawn that many Olympians – thus cementing its place as one of the major legs of the global qualifying series.

Both the male and female champion walked away with the top prize money of USD $5,000 each,sponsored by event organiser Hi-Tri (Singapore) Pte Ltd. Both also booked their qualifying slots in the 70.3 Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 to be held in Clearwater, Florida later this year.

Event organisers Hi-Tri were extremely pleased with the smooth running and success of the race. "The success of the Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore today would not be possible without the support of our sponsors, Aviva, as well as the government. We are very happy that the Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore has managed to live up to its reputation as a well run event not to be missed on the Ironman 70.3 circuit, with a great course that provides excellent racing," said Jeffrey Foo, Director of Hi-Tri.

Shaun Meadows, CEO of Aviva Singapore, Hong Kong and Middle East, was left amazed at the efforts put in by, not only the top triathletes, but also the amateur competitors who displayed true grit and spirit to complete the race. Partnering the Yellow Ribbon Project once again this year as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts, Aviva donated $10,000 to Team Yellow Ribbon Project, which was led by ex-offender Hanniel Choong in the run leg of the race.

Said Meadows: “We are happy to donate $10,000 to the Yellow Ribbon Project because we recognise the inspirational effort that Hanniel has put in to overcome great adversity and challenges in life. Although Team Yellow Ribbon Project did not manage to beat last year's timing of 5 hours and 15 minutes, we feel that they have done a commendable job to finish the race in 5 hrs and 38 minutes and we want to recognise the worthwhile efforts of an organisation that helps people who have faced hard times rise to the challenge of creating a better life for themselves."