BYRON BAY’S Tim Reed is the first Australian since 2011 to win the Ironman 70.3 world championship, beating his idol, Germany’s Sebastian Kienle, by just two seconds.
Three thousand athletes from 83 countries descended on the Sunshine Coast’s Mooloolaba yesterday, Sunday September 4, for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships.
The gruelling contest included a 2.9-kilometres swim, 90-kilometre ride, and 21.1-kilometre run
Race favourite, Germany’s Sebastian Kienle, fell behind the lead in the water leg, but made up for it with a strong cycling effort.
Byron’s Tim Reed shared the lead with Kienle during the run leg, and finally pipped Kienle at the post by 2 seconds.
The pair were never separated by more than 20 metres during the run.
“Sebastian broke from me a few times out there, but I just kept clawing my way back in,” Reed said.
“I’m still short of a few words, someone like Sebi is someone I’ve looked up to for many years.”
“Just to be even running alongside him I’m like, ‘how cool is this?'”
“To finally win a world title and achieve a real dream is just unbelievable, I really am short of words.”