Baldwin makes Ironman history

— Nick Baldwin of Seychelles made history for his country after bagging the first 2018 Century Tuna Ironman Philippines crown amid unpredictable weather conditions at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone here.

The 30-year-old Baldwin negotiated the grueling 3.8-kilometer swim, 180-km bike, 42.2-km run race with a time of 8 hours, 50 minutes and 13 seconds, edging New Zealand veterans Cameron Brown (8:56:49) and Simon Cochrane (8:58:58).

Not only did Baldwin earn the distinction of winning the country’s inaugural stage, but he also became Seychelles’ first Ironman winner. His best finish came in the 2017 race in Malaysia when he placed fifth.

A certified bike fitter, the Australianbased Baldwin banked on his cycling skills and pulled away at the 123.1-km mark of the wet and rainy bike leg after coming in second in the swim course.

He led by 11 minutes entering the crucial 42.2-km run leg as participants were greeted by the searing midday heat, and hung tough as Brown, known as one of the fastest runners in the sport, slowly inched closer by as close as 100 meters at the 25km mark.

“It was absolutely a hard race. I suffered so much on the run and gave everything on that last half and managed to hold on,” said Baldwin, who came with his fiancée, Kate.

Liz Blatchford of Australia, in her first Ironman race since giving birth to her daughter a year ago, dominated the women’s side in 9:22:22.