IRONMAN 70.3 winners Ellie Garrett and Konstantin Belousov.
PANAJI
Uzbekistan’s Konstantin Belousov and the United Kingdom’s Ellie Garrett won the men’s and women’s titles respectively at IRONMAN 70.3 Goa on Sunday.
The fifth edition of the event began at sunrise at Miramar Beach, flagged off in the presence of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and other officials. More than 1,300 athletes from 31 countries started the race, which consisted of a 1.9 km swim, 90 km cycling leg and a 21.1 km run.
Belousov completed the course in 4:25:47. Garrett won the women’s event in 5:18:43. The Indian Air Force swept the relay podium.
Garrett raced alongside her husband Tom Garrett, who finished eighth overall in 4:51:37. The couple chose not to take their World Championship qualification slots this year.
“That was amazing. It was the hardest 70.3 I’ve ever done, but it was just stunning. Running along and looking at the sea took some of the pain away," Ellie said. "It reminded me of the early races that had a family feel, that’s why we got into it. And when you cross the finish line, the pain just disappears, the world stops for five seconds. It’s an incredible feeling.”
Tom said, “I didn’t have my bike today, but I managed to win my age group and finish in the top 10 overall, so I’m really happy. And I’m over the moon that Ellie won the women’s race. It’s really turned my month around.
"We’ve loved every part of this trip; the people, the place, the food, the weather, everything’s exceeded our expectations. We’ve wanted to race here for years, and now that we finally have, I’m sure we’ll be back.”
Olympian swimmer-turned-coach Sandeep Sejwal competed in the relay event with colleagues from the Inspire Institute of Sport. They finished 140th in 6:07:06.
Lok Sabha MP Tejasvi Surya completed the race for the second consecutive year. K Annamalai also finished, becoming the second Indian politician to earn an IRONMAN title.
A children’s event, IRONKIDS, was held on Saturday with more than 900 participants.
RESULTS
Men (overall): 1. Konstantin Belousov (Uzbekistan) 4:25:47, 2. Michael Lehnig (Germany) 4:36:42, 3. Michael Zolcer (Czech Republic) 4:42:19
Women (overall): 1. Ellie Garrett (United Kingdom) 5:18:43, 2. Timtim Sharma (India) 5:23:27, 3. Lucy Blanchard (United Kingdom) 5:32:04
Relay (overall): 1. Indian Air Force Team 3 (4:17:20), 2. Indian Air Force Team 01 (4:17:26), 3. Indian Air Force Team 3 (4:18:12)
