Schoeman, Visser conquer IRONMAN 70.3 Lapu-lapu
CEBU – Rio Olympics bronze medalist Henri Schoeman and Els Visser of the Netherlands showcased their dominance in the waters and the challenging terrain of the IRONMAN 70.3 Lapu-lapu, emerging victorious in an exhilarating display of endurance and skill in Mactan here Sunday, April 21.
Schoeman engaged in a fierce battle with Brit Thomas Bishop and Kiwi Sam Osborne during the swim leg in the men’s pro division, while Visser dominated her side of the battle in the opening leg. The duo sustained their form all the way to the finish, securing wire-to-wire triumphs in the premier category of the 1.9k swim-90k bike21k run race presented by Megaworld The Mactan Newtown.
Each pocketed $5,500 for their remarkable performances.
Barely emerging on top of the swim (00:24:15), Schoeman established a commanding lead of nearly three minutes over Bishop and Osborne after an impressive bike leg (02:08:48) and enduring the punishing run (01:24:29) in scorching conditions to claim the title in 04:02:31.
Osborne outpaced Bishop in the closing run and took runner-up honors in 04:06:40 with leg times of 00:25:44. 02:10:44 and 01:25:12, while Bishop settled for third in 04:11:01 with leg clocking of 00:25:18, 02:10:54 and 01:29:10.
In the women’s pro division. Visser finished with a time of 04:21:29, triumphing over Germany’s Anne Reischmann (04:24:39) and
Hungary’s Zsanett Bragmayer
(04:36:41).
Visser, runner-up in the recent IRONMAN New Zealand, delivered an impressive performance in the swim leg, clocking 00:29:53 and building an early cushion over Reischmann, a consistent Top 10 finisher in the last three World Championships who timed 00:32:05.