Australian Penny Slater has claimed a career-best finish at the IRONMAN World Championship, crossing the line in seventh in Nice, France on Sunday.
Slater, from Canberra, pushed hard all day, fighting back from being 25th at the end of the 3.8km swim to cross the finish line in 9:21:47, with Germany’s Laura Philipp winning the World Championship title in 8:45:15.
Cooler conditions during the week meant that the water temperature in the Mediterranean Sea dropped enough to result in a wetsuit legal swim on race morning. Once in the water, the 41 professional triathletes that lined up on the shores of the Plage des Ponchettes were faced with choppier than expected conditions, with the swell mixing up the swim dynamics from the opening strokes.
Slater exited the water in 25th position, more than seven and a half minutes off the lead and got to work immediately at the start of the 180km bike leg. The 28-year-old was impressive throughout the ride, working her way throughout the field, returning to Nice in ninth place.
Once onto the run Slater got into a rhythm early, moving into seventh in the first half of the marathon and holding on to have best ever result on the biggest stage in the sport.
“I still can’t quite believe it, I knew that I was a bit underdone going into this, just because of having the injury earlier in the year, but I just held it together for that marathon as best I could,” Slater said.
“We know I’m not the greatest swimmer in the world but to be fair my swim was good for me, I wasn’t that far down compared to what I have been on other girls previously.
“My coach just said to me before the start that my job is just to chase all day and never give up and I was thinking that, I actually really enjoyed the bike course, obviously I know it well because I’ve been here for quite a while and I climbed way better than I expected to which made it much nicer because the climbs are very long here.
“Then I just wish I had a better marathon in me but it’s probably a fair marathon based on where I’m at with my running, I started vomiting and fell apart a bit but got some coke into me and I was alright.”
Slater said that the final stages of the run were incredibly tough but the support out on the crowd-lined course got her to the line.
“From about 27km I was holding on for dear life and I didn’t let myself feel that finish line until I got into the chute but it’s amazing, the crowd was awesome, you kind of just let yourself believe that I actually achieved the goal that I came here for to do, it’s amazing, it’s amazing to have my Mum and my partner here and heaps of Aussies out on the course cheering for me, it was awesome,” Slater said.
Fellow Australian Kylie Simpson finished in 24th position, covering the 226km course in 10:03:50. Simpson was 34th out of the water, before dropping to 37th by the finish of the ride. But it was on the run where Simpson came into her own, setting the fourth faster run split of the day and charging her way through the field and into 24th.
This year, Nice hosted the dedicated women’s IRONMAN World Championship race day for the first time, while male triathletes will line up in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i on 26 October.
The most iconic endurance event in the world brought together more than 50 of the world’s top professional female triathletes to compete for the coveted title of IRONMAN World Champion and a piece of the $375,000 USD professional prize purse, with Laura Philipp taking home $125,000 USD.
The IRONMAN Pro Series™ added another exciting layer to race day, with 6,000 points on offer to the winner. The IRONMAN Pro Series is a year-long performance-based world series that sees professional triathletes earn points at 20 select races in 19 locations globally to vie for the title of IRONMAN Pro Series Champion and a share of the lucrative $1.7 million USD year-end bonus prize pool.
Following Sunday’s World Championship race Simpson finds herself 11th in the IRONMAN Pro Series, while Slater is just behind her in 12th.
Beginning with the Mediterranean Sea swim, athletes entered and exited the water from the Promenade des Anglais, before embarking on one of the most iconic bike courses in all of the triathlon world. Technical and challenging but rewarding in its beauty, it featured up to 2,400m of elevation. The flat four lap run course took runners up and down the Promenade des Anglais. Adorned with palm trees and noisy spectators, athletes enjoyed a true hero’s welcome home as they ran down the magic red carpet to finish their IRONMAN World Championship journey.
