Domenica 1 dicembre 2024 è arrivata l’ennesima grande prova del nostro Gregory Barnaby, questa volta in quel di Busselton, sede dell’IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia Asia-Pacific Championship.
Foto apertura: Gregory Barnaby l’1 dicembre 2024 vince l’Ironman 70.3 Western Australia Asia-Pacific Championship (© Ironman)
L’azzurro del 707 Minini Team ha vinto la gara in 3:37:35, con due minuti di vantaggio sul sudafricano Jamie Riddle, mentre terzo ha chiuso lo statunitense Marc Dubrick.
Storica prima vittoria del circuito per Greg che balza anche in testa al prestigioso rank IRONMAN Pro Series alla vigilia dell’ultima gara della stagione: il Mondiale Ironman 70.3 di Taupo, in Nuova Zelanda, a cui il nostro portacolori prenderà parte tra due settimane (14 e 15 dicembre 2024).
Pro Race Coverage | 2024 IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia Asia-Pacific Championship
La gara femminile è stata vinta dalla spagnola Marta Sanchez, che ha preceduto Anna Bergsten (SWE) e Lotte Wilms (NLD); due le PRO azzurre in gara: Giorgia Priarone ha chiuso al 15° posto, mentre Luisa Iogna-Prat non ha terminato la prova.
Di seguito le dichiarazioni di Gregory Barnaby
«Incredibile, non ci posso credere, è la mia prima vittoria in un IRONMAN 70.3, è incredibile! Sapevo che sarebbe stata una giornata davvero, davvero dura, c’erano nuotatori veloci, ho cercato di rimanere davanti e in bici avevamo Robert Kallin e Kristian Høgenhaug, due dei migliori ciclisti del circuito, dovevo provare a rimanere davanti.»
«Il mio obiettivo per oggi era anche salire nella graduatoria IRONMAN Pro Series, ma ottenere la vittoria è stato fantastico e mi toglie un po’ di pressione: avevo bisogno di un punteggio davvero buono e penso che questo abbia probabilmente assicurato la mia posizione sul podio nell’IRONMAN Pro Series. Ora posso semplicemente andare al VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship di Taupo per provare a dare il massimo come faccio sempre, sperando di avere una possibilità di vincere.»
DI SEGUITO IL COMUNICATO IN INGLESE
GREGORY BARNABY (ITA) AND MARTA SANCHEZ (ESP) CLAIM IRONMAN 70.3 WESTERN AUSTRALIA ASIA-PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES AND MAXIMUM IRONMAN PRO SERIES POINTS
- Gregory Barnaby’s win in Busselton moves the Italian to the top of the IRONMAN Pro Series with just one race to go
- Barnaby claims his first IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon title, while Marta Sanchez secures her second of the year. As race winners, Barnaby and Sanchez earn the maximum 2,500 IRONMAN Pro Series points on offer and each take home $12,000 USD
- Jamie Riddle (ZAF) and Marc Dubrick (USA) complete the men’s IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia Asia-Pacific Championship podium, while Anna Bergsten (SWE) and Lotte Wilms (NLD) round out the women’s podium
- IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia Asia-Pacific Championship was the penultimate stop of the 2024 IRONMAN Pro Series, with the VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupō in a fortnight set to be the series decider
BUSSELTON, Australia (December 1, 2024) – Gregory Barnaby (ITA) and Marta Sanchez (ESP) have claimed victory in the men’s and women’s professional races at the IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia Asia-Pacific Championship with both athletes impressing on their way to the top step of the podium in the penultimate race in the IRONMAN Pro Series. Barnaby’s win in Busselton has resulted in a seismic shift in the race for the inaugural men’s IRONMAN Pro Series title, with the Italian jumping four places to the top of the standings with just one race to go.
Both Barnaby and Sanchez secured maximum IRONMAN Pro Series points of 2,500 and each took home $12,000 USD for their wins.
Barnaby took the win in 3:37:35 while Sanchez was victorious in 4:06:38, with both winning on their first visits to the iconic Western Australian event.
Barnaby finished two minutes clear of South Africa’s Jamie Riddle, with American Marc Dubrick rounding out the podium.
“Amazing, I can’t quite believe it, it’s my first IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon win, it feels amazing,” said Barnaby. “I knew it was going to be a really, really hard day, there were fast swimmers, I tried to stay at the front and on the bike we had Robert Kallin and Kristian Høgenhaug, two of the best IRONMAN cyclists, I knew I had to try and stay at the front.”
Barnaby’s result is even more important in the context of the inaugural IRONMAN Pro Series, with his 2,500 points moving him into the Series lead with one race remaining at the VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupō, New Zealand in a fortnight.
“That was my goal for today, to stay at the front of the race but to get the win is amazing, it takes a bit of pressure off myself because I needed a really good score, I think that has probably secured my podium position in the IRONMAN Pro Series and now I can just go to Taupō to try and perform at my best like I always do and hopefully have a shot for the win,” he said.
Sanchez claimed the women’s win by just over a minute from Sweden’s Anna Bergsten, with Australian-based Dutch athlete Lotte Wilms just behind in third place.
“I couldn’t imagine a better race, the target was to qualify for next year’s IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Marbella, my home, so to take the win as well is something beyond words,” said Sanchez. “It was a very good race for me, I was really focused all of the time, my mind was really into the race, I’ve been racing a lot of IRONMAN distance so this felt quite short, so I just kept that focus until the end.”
Sanchez headed to Western Australia off the back of a number of strong performances, including a sixth at the VinFast IRONMAN World Championship in France in September and a win at IRONMAN Calella-Barcelona last month.
“This year I don’t have words for it, I’m just really happy and I’m just trying to improve every year and let’s just see how next year goes,” she said. “This race gives me a lot of confidence, I’ve been training for the last block at altitude in Kenya so this is quite a good result.
“I expected it to be quite hot but for me it was the perfect weather, the water was a bit choppy but I really enjoyed it and then the bike was really fast. I have my Mum here and this week I have been involved with the local community so I heard my name all throughout the run which was a motivation. It was incredible to arrive to the finish line and have my closest friends and family there,” said Sanchez.
Top Five Female Professional Results
| Place | Name | Swim | Bike | Run | Total Time | Pro Series Points | Event Prize Money |
| 1 | Marta Sanchez (ESP) | 26:39 | 2:12:14 | 1:23:00 | 4:06:38 | 2,500 | $12,000 |
| 2 | Anna Bergsten (SWE) | 31:59 | 2:10:24 | 1:20:30 | 4:07:48 | 2,430 | $7,000 |
| 3 | Lotte Wilms (NLD) | 26:17 | 2:12:33 | 1:24:23 | 4:08:03 | 2,415 | $4,250 |
| 4 | Richelle Hill (AUS) | 26:47 | 2:16:39 | 1:21:31 | 4:09:10 | 2,348 | $3,500 |
| 5 | Grace Thek (AUS) | 28:43 | 2:15:15 | 1:20:31 | 4:09:22 | 2,336 | $2,750 |
Top Five Male Professional Results
| Place | Name (Country) | Swim | Bike | Run | Total Time | Pro Series Points | Event Prize Money |
| 1 | Gregory Barnaby (ITA) | 24:31 | 1:57:10 | 1:12:29 | 3:37:35 | 2,500 | $12,000 |
| 2 | Jamie Riddle (ZAF) | 24:25 | 1:57:08 | 1:14:22 | 3:39:35 | 2,380 | $7,000 |
| 3 | Marc Dubrick (USA) | 24:23 | 1:57:35 | 1:14:17 | 3:39:51 | 2,364 | $4,250 |
| 4 | Robert Kallin (SWE) | 25:34 | 1:55:38 | 1:16:20 | 3:41:31 | 2,264 | $3,500 |
| 5 | Jake Birtwhistle (AUS) | 25:12 | 2:01:17 | 1:12:23 | 3:42:08 | 2,227 | $2,750 |
The 2024 IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia Asia-Pacific Championship, part of the IRONMAN Pro Series, saw more than 50 professional athletes toe the start line. The event offered a professional prize purse of $75,000 USD and four female professional and four male professional qualifying slots to the 2025 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Marbella, Spain.
Race Notes
Sunday’s event was the first time that a professional race had been held as a part of IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia
Barnaby’s 2,500 IRONMAN Pro Series points for the win has given him the overall lead in the men’s championship heading into the final round in New Zealand
Kristian Høgenhaug (DNK) has moved into third in the men’s IRONMAN Pro Series standings following his 2,181 points in Busselton
Lotte Wilms (NLD) now sits fourth in the women’s IRONMAN Pro Series standings and will be looking for a strong result at the final event to solidify her spot towards the front of the field
Daniela Bleymehl (DEU), Hannah Berry (NZL) and Els Visser (NED) all made moves up the leaderboard in the women’s top 10 rankings
The biggest mover in the women’s IRONMAN Pro Series field was Grace Alexander who jumped 16 positions with her 2,171 points and is now 27th overall.
Marc Dubrick (USA) had the fastest professional men’s swim of the day with a 24:23, with Lotte Wilms (NLD) the fastest professional female with a 26:17
Sweden’s Anna Bergsten set the fastest time in the women’s field on the 90km bike course with a 2:10:24, while Høgenhaug was the fastest male athlete with a 1:55:33
Jarrod Osborne (AUS) was the fastest on the run in Busselton, covering the 21.1km in 1:10:22, following his win at IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne two weeks ago, Daniela Kleiser (DEU) was the quickest female with a 1:17:56
IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia was also the Asia-Pacific Championship with Barnaby and Sanchez claiming the regional titles
IRONMAN Pro Series Standings
The IRONMAN Pro Series™ is a year-long performance-based triathlon race series that will see professional triathletes earn points at 20 select races in 19 locations globally. Open to approximately 1,000 eligible professional triathletes worldwide, the IRONMAN Pro Series ushers in a new era of IRONMAN racing where Every Second Matters™ with every second behind the race winner equating to a point earned or lost. How it works can be found here.
Victories for Sanchez and Barnaby ensured both athletes walked away with the maximum IRONMAN Pro Series points available for an IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon of 2,500. Sanchez now sits 23rd in the overall IRONMAN Pro Series standings, while Barnaby has taken the overall lead in the men’s series. Athletes finishing behind the race winner saw their points diminish with every second that ticked off behind the race winner.
IRONMAN Pro Series Overall Standings – Top Five Females (After 18 events)
| Rank | Name (Country) | Total IRONMAN Pro series Points (Max Top 5 Events) | Total Eligible Races Scored | Eligible IRONMAN Races Scored | Eligible IRONMAN 70.3 Races Scored |
| 1 | Jackie Hering (USA) | 18,093 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 2 | Kat Matthews (GBR) | 17,836 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | Maja Stage Nielsen (DNK) | 15,999 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 4 | Lotte Wilms (NLD) | 15,703 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 5 | Danielle Lewis (USA) | 15,416 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
IRONMAN Pro Series Overall Standings – Top Five Males (After 18 events)
| Rank | Name (Country) | Total IRONMAN Pro series Points (Max Top 5 Events) | Total Eligible Races Scored | Eligible IRONMAN Races Scored | Eligible IRONMAN 70.3 Races Scored |
| 1 | Gregory Barnaby (ITA) | 19,060 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 2 | Patrick Lange (DEU) | 18,623 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 3 | Kristian Høgenhaug (DNK) | 18,472 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 4 | Matt Hanson (USA) | 17,853 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 5 | Bradley Weiss (ZAF) | 17,350 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
Full IRONMAN Pro Series standings can be found at https://proseries.ironman.com/
Overall IRONMAN Pro Series Event Prize Money
In addition to the IRONMAN Pro Series’ $1.7M year-end bonus prize pool, there is an event pro prize purse payout of $2,575,000, distributed across IRONMAN Pro Series events.
Top Five Female Prize Money Earned (After 18 events)
| Rank | Name | Country | IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia Prize Money | Total Prize Money USD |
| 1 | Laura Philipp | DEU | 0 | $130,000 |
| 2 | Kat Matthews | GBR | 0 | $118,000 |
| 3 | Jackie Hering | USA | 0 | $60,750 |
| 4 | Hannah Berry | NZL | $2,000 | $46,500 |
| 5 | Chelsea Sodaro | USA | 0 | $45,000 |
Top Five Male Prize Money Earned (After 18 events)
| Rank | Name | Country | IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia Prize Money | Total Prize Money USD |
| 1 | Patrick Lange | DEU | 0 | $156,000 |
| 2 | Magnus Ditlev | DNK | 0 | $65,000 |
| 3 | Gregory Barnaby | TA | $12,000 | $47,250 |
| 4 | Rudy Von Berg | USA | 0 | $45,000 |
| 5 | Matt Hanson | USA | 0 | $32,500 |
Next Events Coming Up
The 2024 IRONMAN Pro Series heads to New Zealand for the final round, with the VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship to be held on December 14 and 15.
