Athletes at Altitude: Fast & Furious Finishes
Crowie Crowned Champion at Subic Bay
In only his second race in the last seven months, the two-time IRONMAN 70.3 champion, Craig “Crowie” Alexander, resumed his winning ways at IRONMAN 70.3 Subic Bay in the Philippines.
From start to finish, Crowie hung with the main pack before erasing Patrick Lange’s three-minute gap on the run. Crowie’s run split of 1:17:04 was the fastest of the day and helped him pass Lange and cross the finish line in 3:48:56, winning by almost two minutes.
Working hard and hangin’ tough with the lead pack all day was Aussie, and Boulder-trainee, Tim Van Berkel, who finished fourth on the day. Van Berkel’s solid all-around effort in each discipline kept him a contender from start to finish as he turned in a final time of 3:53:19.
Duffy Flies in Abu Dhabi
In just her first ITU race of the year, Flora Duffy did not waste any time to show how hard she worked in the off-season. The two-time Olympian turned in a solid day at ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi, finishing in 1:56:43, which was good enough for fourth place.
According to Duffy’s Facebook page, she was pleased to start the year off with the fourth place finish. She noted her running is slowly but surely coming along. If running a 35:37 split is “coming along,” then we can’t wait to see Duffy unleash more speed throughout the season. Well done, Flora!
Mehnert, Von Berg Challenge Themselves in Clermont
Boulder had a male and female pro in the Draft Legal Clermont Challenge this past weekend and both finished in the top 15 in two tough fields.
On the women’s side, former University of Illinois swimmer, Michelle Mehnert, turned in a 15th place finish thanks to her 10:20 swim time, which set her up for a fast 15th place finish in 1:01:34.
In the men’s field Rudy Von Berg finished 11th overall. He, too, was quick through the water in just 9:23 which helped him to a strong finishing time of 54:10 on the day.