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WHITE AND MARANGON FIRE UP FOR 10^TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF CAPRICORN RESORT HALF IRONMAN TRIATHLON

Matty White (SA) and Lisa Marangon (NSW) have won the tenth anniversary edition of the Capricorn Resort Half Ironman, held Sunday in Yeppoon, central Queensland, in near picture perfect conditions.

Comprising the 1.9km Aqua Shop swim, 90.1km Capricorn Resort ride and the 21.1km X-Tri run, the tenth anniversary event served as Round Two of the Australian Half Ironman Series and the QLD Long Distance Championships.

The event was raced in very warm and humid conditions, and clear skies – emulating the famed Hawaiian Ironman and the Ironman World Championships 70.3, in Clearwater Florida.

Attracting its biggest ever field ever, the sold out race saw over 700 triathletes, including almost 30 in the open men’s and women’s categories take on the central QLD based course.

For 31 year old Matty White, the win marked his break-through into the national Half Ironman Series, whilst continuing a proud tradition of race in displaying new national talent in Half Ironman racein. A full-time fire fighter, White demonstrated that he is right on track for his first attempt at the holy grail of Ironman triathlon – the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii – later this year.

White qualified for Hawaii when he finished eighth at Ironman Australia (Port Macquarie) in April. Following the Port Macquarie race, he took a five week break from training, which included a sneaky visit to Kona, Hawaii to check out the course of arguably the world’s most gruelling sports event.

“This is my first professional win in the Australian Half Ironman Series and I’m stoked. Coming from the South Australian winter, it’s great to know that I can race well in the heat,” said an ecstatic White at the finish. He then gave full credit to NZ’s Duncan Milne, who achieved an early solo breakaway on the 90.1km bike course. Milne had a lead of some three minutes heading in to the bike, but White’s patience in the hot conditions paid off and he was able to take the lead 7km into the 21km run leg.

Hoping to enjoy every moment of his inaugural victory run down the finish chute, White checked over his shoulder with one kilometre to go, only to see Tim Berkel chasing hard just 50 metres behind. The two pushed each other all the way to the finish, crossing the line just 13 seconds apart after more than four hours of hard racing.

Next up for White is a four week acclimatisation trip to Port Douglas, where he will have one final race hit-out before heading to Kona in October.

Berkel was also delighted with his performance today. He has just returned to training following a brief recovery from his recent racing stint in Europe and the US. He will now be focusing on the Australian Half Ironman Series as he prepares to defend his title at Ironman Western Australia in December.

In the women’s race, NSW’s ultra-consistent Lisa Marangon raced to an emphatic victory, her first at the Capricorn race after five attempts, leading all the way to consolidate her lead in the national series. Unable to stay for the presentation, she did however leave an emotional note of thanks to her fellow competitors, the race volunteers and all associated with the event.

NSW’s Nicole Ward also delivered a consistent race to place second from Queensland’s Carrie Lester, with Kirsten Molloy completing the top five just seconds apart.

Molloy was also the fastest age grouper in the race; with Jarrod Owen the fastest male age grouper.

The final finisher in the race was 80 year old Bob Southwell; with Toowoomba’s Clynton Barnes, and Mackay’s Adrian Ellul the sole nine times finishers in this event once again making to the finish line to notch up number ten!

The 10^th Anniversary race was supported by the Capricorn Resort – Yeppoon, Enervit, Tri Travel, Tri Shave, Blue Seventy / Aqua Shop, Tropical Auto Group, Wurth’s Motorcycles and organized by X-Tri Australia.