Top Pro Male Athletes Ready For 70.3 Melbourne Battle

Saturday 09 November 2024

A field packed with some of the best young talent from Australia and abroad will battle it out for victory in the men’s professional race at Sunday’s Qatar Airways IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne.

More than 1,800 athletes will head to St Kilda for Qatar Airways IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne on Sunday 10 November, taking on a 1.9km swim, 90km ride and 21.1km run, with 27 professional male athletes set to line up.

Nick Thompson is the top seed in the men’s field, with the Perth-based athlete finishing second at the event last year. Since then, Thompson has gone on to finish third at IRONMAN Western Australia, win IRONMAN 70.3 Tasmania and finish second at IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast.

“I really enjoyed the speed of the bike and run course last year and I still got beaten by Hayden (Wilde) by eight minutes, so I think we’ll see some really fast times up and down Beach Road across both professional and age group races,” said Thompson.

Just two weeks ago Thompson lined up at his first VinFast IRONMAN World Championship in Hawai’i, where he was one of the youngest in the field, finishing 21st on the biggest stage in the sport.

“The body and mind are just starting to come around, but I still think the pace of the race coming up will be a shock to the system with a lot of people coming straight from an Olympic distance race in Noosa,” said Thompson. “I’m confident I can stay strong until the three-hour mark, but I know it will become a battle against the head and legs in the last 10km of the run.

“Reflecting on what I experienced in Hawai’i, I’m now a bit more confident that I can perform well in big races to come regardless of the dynamic of the race. It also taught me I need to get some more running in the legs but I’m looking forward to working on that over the summer and then testing the progress over an IRONMAN distance next year,” he said.

Sunday’s race marks the next step in Jake Birtwhistle’s career, with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games representative now turning his attention to long course racing full time.

Birtwhistle got his first taste of IRONMAN 70.3 at home in Tasmania last February, where he was victorious on debut.

“That was awesome, it was probably one of the most enjoyable races that I’ve done in a long time. I loved the whole event and obviously being in Tassie was special as well because I had a lot of people there that were able to support me out on the course, but also just the format of the racing I really enjoyed as well, so looking forward to getting a bit more experience in that,” he said.

Birtwhistle narrowly missed out on selection for Australia’s Paris 2024 Olympic triathlon team and while that was incredibly disappointing for him, he’s now excited by the next phase of his career.

“I’ve been racing short course since I was 16 years old, it’s been a massive part of my life for a long time and it was a strange feeling but at the end of the day, I’ve been really wanting to make the change into the middle distance and get involved in that a bit more but I was simply striving for Paris, so that was what was keeping me going in the short course world for that extra year and a half, two years. Maybe I should have made the switch already but for me the pursuit of that was worthwhile,” he said. “I’m really excited be back here and finding the love again for the sport after what was a pretty draining time over the last 12 months.

“I thinking the IRONMAN 70.3 format is going to suit me quite well, I’m excited to go out there and see, I’ve been self-coached the last few months so it will be interesting to see how that goes as well, that’s not the plan going forward but it’s how it worked out. I feel like the training has gone quite well for my limited knowledge of the IRONMAN 70.3 world,” said Birtwhistle.

South Africa’s Jamie Riddle is another athlete out to make his mark on the IRONMAN 70.3 stage, with the Paris 2024 Olympian making his debut at the distance.

Riddle finished fourth at the Garmin Noosa Triathlon last Sunday and is excited for his first taste of IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon racing.

“I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a very long time. I got into the sport of triathlon because of IRONMAN, specifically [the World Championship in] Kona,” he said. “I appreciate and value everything the short course scene gave me, but deep down I always believed that these longer, non-draft races would be my bread and butter, so to be able to finally get a crack at it is exciting to say the least.

“There are many things that excite me. First and foremost, the interaction between the pros and age groupers. The gap between the two becomes very minimised, sharing the same course but also sharing the same excitement for the race itself. I also look forward to the ability to utilise my bike power which was always blurred in the draft legal races,” said Riddle.

Riddle is looking forward to the challenge of taking on some of the best professionals on the Australian scene.

“I’m expecting a true battle. I want to make a statement, I want to win, but I know to do so, I will have to go against seasoned long course athletes and extremely strong gents,” he said. “Most importantly, I will need to overcome my own limitations and execute my race to perfection.”

The men’s field for Sunday’s race also features multiple IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race winners Matt Burton and Tim Van Berkel, IRONMAN 70.3 race winner Nicholas Free and IRONMAN World Championship representative Benjamin Hill.

IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne will see athletes hit the water of Port Phillip Bay for the swim, with the ride taking in two laps of Melbourne’s famous Beach Road, before running a half-marathon along the St Kilda and Elwood waterfront, with the event culminating at the famous IRONMAN 70.3 finish line in Catani Gardens.

The Qatar Airways IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne is supported by the Victorian Government.

For more on the Qatar Airways IROMMAN 70.3 Melbourne visit: https://www.ironman.com/im703-melbourne

QATAR AIRWAYS IRONMAN 70.3 MELBOURNE – PROFESSIONAL MEN’S START LIST

  1. Nick Thompson – Australia
  2. Jake Birtwhistle – Australia
  3. Kurt McDonald – Australia
  4. Matt Burton – Australia
  5. Jamie Riddle – South Africa
  6. Mitch Kibby – Australia
  7. Caleb Noble – Australia
  8. Tim Van Berkel – Australia
  9. Benjamin Hill – Australia
  10. Matt Kerr – New Zealand
  11. Calvin Amos – Australia
  12. Michael Boult – Australia
  13. Nick Bensley – Australia
  14. Joe Begbie – Australia
  15. Samuel Doggett – Australia
  16. Matthew De Vroet – Netherlands
  17. Nicholas Free – Australia
  18. Levi Hauwert – Australia
  19. Jarrod Osborne – Australia
  20. Jye Spriggs – Australia
  21. Matthew Tonge – Australia
  22. Kyle Tremayne – Australia
  23. Brodie Talbot – Australia
  24. Martin Ulloa – Chile
  25. Edward Vining – Australia
  26. Fraser Walsh – Australia
  27. Joel Woodridge – Australia
IRONMAN Triathlon


Coming Triathlon Events View all

eagleXman

Assergi, Italy

TriBourne 226

Eastbourne, United Kingdom

Kaike triathlon

Yonago, Tottori, Japan

Outlaw Triathlon

Nottingham, United Kingdom

Wild Siberia Xtreme

Lake Cheybek-Kohl, Siberia, Russian Federation

Starvation Extreme

Starvation Reservoir, Utah, United States

Norseman Xtreme

Geilo, Norway

Ostseeman

Glucksburg, Germany

Slovakman 226

Pieštany, Slovakia

Greatman Kornik

Kornik, Poland

Ironman Lake Placid

Lake Placid, United States

Ironman Leeds

Leeds, United Kingdom

Ironman Canada Ottawa

Ottowa, Canada

Ironman Kalmar Sweden

Kalmar, Sweden

Ironman Copenhagen

Copenhagen, Denmark

Ironman Tallinn

Tallinn, Estonia

Ironman Switzerland

Thun, Switzerland

Ironman Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin, United States

IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPS MEN

Nice, France

Ironman Japan South Hokkaido

Hokkaido, Japan

TRI Boulder

Boulder, CO, United States

Castle to Coast

Windsor to Brighton, United Kingdom

Sourdough Triathlon

Chatanika, Alaska, United States

Timisoara Triathlon

Timisoara, Romania

The Gauntlet Belvoir Castle Triathlon

Belvoir Castle, United Kingdom

Trumer Triathlon

Obertrum am See, Austria

Honeymoon Half Gravel Tri

Honeymoon Bay BC, Canada

TriBourne 113

Eastbourne, United Kingdom

Garmin Tri Tour Goldap

Goldap, Poland

Route 66 Half

Springfield, IL, United States

70.3 Ecuador

Manta, Ecuador

70.3 Oregon

Salem OR, United States

70.3 Ohio

Sandusky, United States

70.3 Boise

Boise Idaho, United States

70.3 Maine

Augusta, United States

70.3 Calgary

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

70.3 Krakow

Kraków, Poland

70.3 Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

70.3 Lapu Lapu

Cebu, Philippines

70.3 Hradec Kralove

Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic

Triathlon News & Media Blogs View all

IRONMAN Lake Placid Pro Series Start List

IRONMAN Lake Placid Pro Series Start List

Friday 18 Jul 2025 [Triathlon News]

On Sunday, July 20, the IRONMAN® Pro Series™ returns to New York’s Adirondack Mountains when over 80 of the world’s top professional triathletes toe the start line at the iconic Athletic Brewing IRONMAN® Lake Placid triathlon. The event will offer a maximum of 5,000 points towards IRONMAN® Pro Series standings, a $125,000 USD event total pro prize purse, and four qualifying slots for each gender to the 2025 IRONMAN World Championship® triathlon in Nice, France (men’s race) and Kona, Hawai`i (wom more

70.3 Ecuador Pro Start List

70.3 Ecuador Pro Start List

Friday 18 Jul 2025 [Triathlon News]

Welcome to a very special edition! In 2025, we celebrate 10 years of history, dedication, and passion—a decade filled with emotions, con- quered challenges, and thousands of athletes crossing a finish line that has become a symbol of pride for the entire region. more

Little Elm, Texas to Host New IRONMAN 70.3 Triathlon in 2026

Little Elm, Texas to Host New IRONMAN 70.3 Triathlon in 2026

Monday 14 Jul 2025 [Triathlon News]

IRONMAN®, the global leader in long-distance triathlon, announced today that it will host the new IRONMAN® 70.3® Dallas-Little Elm triathlon in 2026. The new event is scheduled to make its debut on Sunday, March 15, 2026, beginning at Little Elm Park and traversing through the town of Little Elm and the North Texas countryside. General registration for the new event opens on July 23, 2025, more

Julie Derron Wins IRONMAN Vitoria Gasteiz 2025

Julie Derron Wins IRONMAN Vitoria Gasteiz 2025

Monday 14 Jul 2025 [Triathlon News]

The 2025 IRONMAN Vitoria-Gasteiz, held on Sunday, July 13th in the Basque Country of Spain, saw a commanding victory in the women's professional race and some fierce competition in the age-group categories. more

Kat Matthews, Harry Palmer Crowned IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea Champions

Kat Matthews, Harry Palmer Crowned IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea Champions

Sunday 13 Jul 2025 [Triathlon News]

The South Coast of Wales was the sunny setting for this weekend’s race, as the IRONMAN Pro Series™ landed in the UK for the first time ever. Harry Palmer of Great Britain retained his IRONMAN® 70.3® Swansea title, while Kat Matthews claimed her second IRONMAN Pro Series win of the season. more

Facebook


YouTube


Sign up for FREE NEWSLETTER:

We will never share your email address or spam you.