Fisher hooks win in Japan
Coast triathlete’s first 70.3 success
RYAN Fisher says he overcame his biggest halfironman test to date on the way to locking in his place at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
The Gold Coast triathlete won his first ITU World Cup in Japan in 2013 and returned on Sunday to record his first half-ironman win at 70.3 Japan in just his third shot at the longer distance format.
It moved Fisher up to 33rd on the world rankings and ensured his place at September’s world titles in the US.
“Winning any race is great but to win my first ironman 70.3 was pretty cool,” Fisher said.
“That was my third halfironman race and I had finished second (at 70.3 Western Sydney) and third (70.3 Busselton) previously so it was nice to win this time round.
“Ironically I won my first ITU World Cup in Japan back in 2013 so I’ve got some good memories racing there now.”
Fisher put together the fastest 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run of this week’s event near Nagoya to win in 3 hours 58 minutes and 11 seconds.
The 26-year-old said he used his dominance to test his endurance and pacing on the bike leg before saving energy on the run in order to ensure he recovered quickly.
“I had a pretty good day all round and was happy with how I held up both physically and mentally,” Fisher said.
“I really wanted to ride strongly to test myself where I’m at and prove to myself that I could time-trial 90km without others to feed off which was as much mental as it was physical.
“This allowed me to run conservatively, so that I can now hopefully recover that bit quicker and won’t be so susceptible to illness which has been something I’ve struggled with travelling post-race.
“In my training I felt I was ready to race and wanted to give myself a good test and it was exactly what I needed and now gives me a good stepping stone for the rest of my season.”
Fisher is considering travelling to the Philippines to compete in 70.3 Cebu on August 6 in what will likely be his final race before tackling the world championships in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on September 10.