Jake Birtwhistle claims Ironman 70.3 Tasmania win on home soil
It was a story that went perfectly to script with Tasmanian Jake Birtwhistle claiming victory in the first Ironman 70.3 Tasmania. SEE THE PHOTO GALLERIES >>
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It was a story that went perfectly to script with Tasmanian Jake Birtwhistle claiming victory in the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Tasmania event.
The Olympian was the first overall and male competitor across the finish line at PW1 on Sunday with a time of 3:49:21, finishing 15 seconds clear of Mitch Kibby.
It was a history making race for the 28-year-old who went in with little to no expectations but swam, pedalled and ran his way to victory in his first ever ironman event on home soil.
“I’m stoked. That was a really cool race and to win on debut is pretty special and to do it at home in Tasmania is something even cooler,” an exhausted Birtwhistle said at the finish line.
“It’s the first event of the ironman (series) in Tasmania so I’m really stoked to put my name first on that list of winners and hopefully to come back in future years.”
Birtwhistle put together the perfect race, kicking things off with a strong 22 minute swim off Brooke Street Pier followed by just over a two hour cycle from the city to Old Beach and back.
He entered the run around Hobart within striking distance of first place, eventually snatching the lead with around 5kms to go before storming home to the cheers and admiration of his fellow Tasmanians ready and waiting at the finish line.
“I really had no idea what was going to happen out there today,” Birtwhistle said.
“My plan was to just follow and see what happened and I kind of found myself at the front with Josh (Amberger) for a while there and the rest caught us around 80km into the bike so I thought we’d done all of it for nothing.
“I tried to just stay cool on that run for the first lap and stick to my pace and hope that I would be able to bring Caleb (Noble) back on the last lap and thankfully I was able to do that.
“It was my first time racing this kind of distance and I didn’t want to go too early so even when I hit the lead and passed Caleb and I wanted to turn the screws a bit all of a sudden I started cramping instantly so I ended up trying to get away with a lead and battling myself to keep running for a while.
“Mitch was coming really hot in that last kilometre so I had to really keep pushing through”
With the 2024 Paris Olympics now firmly in his sights, Birtwhistle said it was nice to get a taste of what an event of this stature had to offer as he looks to make them a more regular occurrence on his calendar.
“I’m definitely keen to do more of these kind of events but for now the focus shifts back to Olympics,” Birtwhistle said.
“Selection this year and race next year and then after that this will kind of be my bread and butter and I’ll make the switch and go long. It’s really exciting to get a taste of what’s to come today.
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