It was a triumphant day ‘Down Under’ for Matthew Marquardt and Jackie Hering, as both athletes surged to victory at Ironman Cairns, securing their coveted slots for the Ironman World Championship.
Marquardt Powers Through Setbacks for Career Win
Matthew Marquardt’s win was anything but straightforward. The American was well-positioned after the swim, exiting the water in 49:35, just ten seconds behind swim leader Jamie Riddle and alongside Aussie powerhouse Josh Amberger.
But shortly after T1, Marquardt suffered a mysterious time loss – nearly six minutes vanished due to unknown reasons. His deficit ballooned to over eight minutes early on the bike, seemingly knocking him out of contention.
Undeterred, Marquardt went into damage control, then launched into full-on attack mode. By the 100km mark on the bike, he had clawed his way back to eighth, shrinking the gap to six minutes. As Nick Thompson and Jamie Riddle led up front, Marquardt kept charging. By T2, he’d ridden himself into third position, trailing only 3:27 behind leader Thompson, with Ben Hill slotting into second.
The marathon saw Thompson holding strong early, but Marquardt was relentless. By 15K, he’d overtaken Hill and began to chip away at Thompson’s lead. The decisive moment came around the 30K mark, when Marquardt finally reeled Thompson in – then surged past to take the lead for good.
Marquardt broke the tape in a stellar 7:50:41, capping a gritty comeback. Thompson held on for second in 7:53:31, while Finland’s Henrik Goesch ran his way into third with a time of 7:57:38.
Hering Delivers Patience and Precision to Win Women’s Title
In the women’s race, it was another story of patience paying off, with Jackie Hering executing a smart, calculated race to claim victory.
Hering emerged from the water in fifth, 4:15 behind New Zealand’s Rebecca Clarke, who led out ahead of Lotte Wilms, Hannah Berry, and Regan Hollioake.
Once on the bike, Dutch athlete Wilms asserted herself early and took control at the front. While the chasing pack kept rotating positions, Wilms maintained a small but steady gap. Heading into T2, her lead had grown to 2:25 over Berry, with Hering and Hollioake trailing by just over three minutes.
Drama unfolded in transition when Wilms couldn’t locate her special needs bag – reportedly containing her sports watch. She chose to wait for the bag to be found, sacrificing nearly two minutes in the process. The once-solid lead was slashed to just over 30 seconds as she began the run.
That margin evaporated quickly. Within a few kilometers, both Berry and Hering surged past Wilms. Hering proved to be the strongest of the trio, making a decisive move around the 8K mark and never looking back.
Jackie Hering claimed a well-earned win in 8:42:15, with New Zealand’s Hannah Berry finishing second in 8:46:10. Wilms hung tough to round out the podium in 8:47:04.
