Christchurch’s Mike Phillips was the top Kiwi at Saturday’s VinFast IRONMAN World Championship men’s race in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i, crossing the line in 17th position.
Phillips completed the 3.8km swim, 180km ride and 42.2km run in 8:01:11, with Germany’s Patrick Lange claiming his third world title.
Phillips was 31st out of the water, working his way up to 26th position by the end of the run. Once on the marathon Phillips got to work, chipping away to eventually finish 17th.
Fellow Kiwi Ben Hamilton was 25th on his IRONMAN World Championship debut, finishing in 8:09:35.
“It was pretty tough, but it was pretty awesome, I learnt a lot,” said Hamilton. “The swim was ok, I had to ride pretty hard and think I did equal best power on the bike in challenging conditions. First half of the run I was feeling ok and then forgot to fuel in the Energy Lab and had a couple of tough moments coming out before I pulled it back together. I’m really proud.”
The Aucklander took a lot from his first visit to the biggest stage in the sport.
“It’s a great experience to know what you’re up against on the global stage against some of the very best in the world,” he said. “I learnt what Kona’s like, some not easy conditions but not as hot on the bike as what I expected. Just a lot of lessons that I can hopefully take forward for future years.”
Hamilton was joined in Hawai’i by family and friends with their support getting him through the 226km race.
“It gave me a boost every time, it was pretty cool seeing them out there even though I didn’t really say much to them as I ran past but I knew they were giving me their all,” he said.
Braden Currie was 28th, with the Wanaka native having a tough day out on course.
“It was not pretty out there, I really, really battled on the bike all day, I don’t really know, maybe the head just wasn’t in the game and I was struggling to find the power and hang on. I ran fine, I felt fine on the run. I’m gutted but it is what it is,” said Currie. “I think I had the thought that this will probably be the last time I do this run so I’d better get it finished so I stuck it out.”