With a relatively small field lining up at Ironman 70.3 Lapu-Lapu, it was Australia’s Josh Ferris and New Zealand’s Amelia Watkinson who came out on top in the Philippines, with Watkinson in particular delivering a dominant performance.
Interestingly, Watkinson didn’t even lead out of the water. Exiting in fourth place, she faced a gap of more than two minutes to Australian leader Sophie Malowiecki. Once onto the bike, however, Watkinson quickly surged to the front, taking control of the race and steadily increasing her advantage. By the finish line, her lead had ballooned to over ten minutes.
Watkinson stopped the clock at 4:14:22, with Malowiecki taking second in 4:24:42 and Samantha Kingsford rounding out the podium in 4:27:45.
The men’s race was closer, but Ferris established control early. He led from the swim, exiting the water in 24:15 with a one-minute gap over Sam Osborne and Caleb Noble. On the bike, Ferris further extended his advantage, reaching T2 with a 4:09 lead over Mike Phillips in second place at that point.
Although his margin narrowed slightly during the run, Ferris’ victory was never in doubt. He broke the tape in 3:49:11, followed by Phillips in 3:52:41, with Osborne taking third in 4:04:06.