In a time of 7:58:55, just under the eight-hour mark, Australia’s Max Neumann has just claimed victory at the Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship Cairns. Neumann used the day’s fastest run to take the overall victory.
During the swim, Neumann swam away from most of his competitors, although Josh Amberger, who swam 43:29 minutes, led the way with a 24-second gap over the field made up mainly of Australian and New Zealand athletes.
On the bike, Amberger stayed ahead for a long time, maintaining his lead of around half a minute. After 45 km, however, this changed and Neumann was able to close the gap. At that point, a large group, with almost all the other favorites, was riding about four minutes behind them. Amberger and Neumann stayed together until T2, increasing their lead over the chasers to 5:40.
During the run, Neumann did not hesitate for a moment and immediately ran away from Amberger. At no point did he see his lead jeopardized. Behind him things changed, though – in the end it was Tim van Berkel who took the silver medal in 8:06:39. Amberger finished third in 8:10:12.
You can read a full report on the women’s race here.
Two months ago Neumann claimed victory at Challenge Shepparton as well.
