The
past two Aquathlon championships have been dominated
by two of New Zealand’s best in Shane Reed and
Rina Hill — both clinching the crown over the
past two years. However, with neither of the current
champs making the trip to Mexico — their reign
was destined to end.
The
course for today’s event took athletes over a
flat, fast 2.5km run, then onto a 1km swim in the
crystal blue Caribbean ocean, before a final 2.5km
run to the finish.
In
the women’s event, Spaniard, Anna Burgos took
the early lead, setting a blistering pace over the
first run leg. Behind her, fellow Spaniards, Maribel
Blanco and Pilar Hidalgo stayed in touch with Australia’s
Pip Taylor hanging on to fourth. The women entered
the water in this order but it was Hidalgo who came
out in the lead with Taylor on her heels. Over the
final 2.5km, Hidalgo proved why she is fast becoming
a force to be reckoned with as she easily pulled away
from the chasing field. Early leader, Burgos, also
put in an exceptional run to pull herself from third
after the swim to second place, while Taylor held
on to third. Hidalgo’s win gives Spain its first
World Championship crown and Hidalgo her first International
title.
On
the men’s side, the field stayed close together
over the first 2.5km with little space separating
the first five men heading into the swim. Russian,
Leonid Ivanov was first into the water, followed by
Antonio Manssur (BRA), Carlos Gil from Spain and the
younger brother of last year’s winner, Matt Reed
(NZL). Similar to the women’s event, the swim
proved the deciding factor for the men as Reed pulled
himself from fifth to first out of the water. On his
heels was Brazilian Paulo Miyasiro, Richard Stannard
from Great Britain and Csaba Kuttor from Hungary.
Miyasiro managed to catch Reed near the 600m mark
of the final run stage but Reed, determined to keep
the championship crown in the family, surged back
for an easy victory. Australian newcomer, Brad Kahlefeldt,
with an equally impressive swim also came through
over the final 2.5km to take second place, while Miyasiro
held on for third. Reed’s victory marks the third
Aquathlon crown in a row for New Zealand men and keeps
the championship crown in the Reed family, following
brother Shane’s consecutive victories in 1998
and 1999.
Athletes
in today’s event now have a week to rest up for
the final ITU World Cup event of the season on November
5th and the Pan American Championships
on November 4th, both also in Cancun. A
pre-event release and provisional start list for next
weekend’s race will be distributed on Monday.
(Click
here
for results)
