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Shortis realizes a dream, Keat has dream debut

Australia reigned victorious in the inaugural dodo Ironman Western Australia Triathlon...

By Press Release

Australia reigned victorious in the inaugural dodo Ironman Western Australia Triathlon, with Queenslander and race favourite, 34-year-old Jason Shortis (pictured right), winning the race strongly, crossing the finishing line in eight hours and 16 minutes. Meanwhile 26-year-old Ironman newcomer and dark horse, Queensland's Rebekah Keat (pictured below), was the first woman across the line, beating women's race favourite New Zealand's Karyn Ballance by 21 minutes, with fellow country woman Fiona Docherty placing third.

23-year-old Pete Jacobs of New South Wales was second across the line with a time of eight hours and 33 minutes, followed by Luke McKenzie of Queensland, who finished in eight hours and 34 minutes.

The day started at 6am with ominous dark clouds and choppy water as more than 800 competitors started the Pura Light Start 3.8km swim of the Ironman held in Busselton yesterday.

Local Wardandi dancers officially opened the days proceedings by performing a traditional smoking ceremony on the beach before thousands of spectators who watched the exciting swim from the excellent vantage point of the historic Busselton Jetty.

A strong swimmer, Jacobs emerged from the water first, conquering the swim in 45 minutes and 25 seconds. McKenzie was close on Jacobs' tail at the end of the swim, with just four seconds between them, closely followed by Western Australia's home-grown Ironman, 23-year-old Steven Bishop of Applecross. Shortis exited the water five minutes in arrears and would lose time early on the 180km bike ride but the experienced Ironman athlete paced himself well and with 60km to ride had made up 2 minutes on the front runners.

Denmark's Lisbeth Kristensen, 32, was the first female to finish the swim with a time of 50 minutes and 43 seconds. Keat was hot on Kristensen's heels, finishing five seconds later. Sophie Delemer of France was the third female to emerge from the water, completing the swim in 50 minutes and 52 seconds.

McKenzie and Jacobs attempted to â€˜double team' Shortis riding within a few seconds of each other for the entire ride until Mckenzie broke away with 5 kilometers to go entering the run transition with a minute lead over Jacobs. Shortis would begin the marathon with just a 3 minute deficit to McKenzie and once onto the run Shortis would gain the lead within 9km. Renowned for his run strength, Shortis, who was competing in his 35th ultra distance triathlon, was never challenged, realizing a life long dream - winning an Ironman on home soil.

Keat was the first female to finish the cycle leg with a time of five hours and 35 seconds. She rode solo after Kristensen withdrew from the race approximately 95km into the cycle leg claiming she had no energy left after competing in the World Triathlon Championship held in Kona, Hawaii, six weeks ago. The second woman to finish the cycle was Ballance, followed by Delemer.

Once onto the run, Keat, who started conservatively, built her lead to complete the fastest run time of the day and finish in an incredible nine hours and 3 minutes. In what is the fastest debut Ironman time ever, the emotional Keat added the title Ironman winner to her impressive resume of recent half Ironman victories.

TOP FIVE MALE RESULTS

Pos Name Swim Cycle Run Total

1 Jason SHORTIS 0:50:25 4:40:11 2:45:23 8:16:00

2 Pete JACOBS 0:45:25 4:43:05 3:04:53 8:33:24

3 Luke MCKENZIE 0:45:29 4:42:06 3:06:47 8:34:24

4 Petr VABROUSEK 0:51:02 4:48:30 2:56:52 8:36:25

5 Markus STRINI 0:56:46 4:38:55 3:08:13 8:43:55

TOP FIVE FEMALE RESULTS

Pos Name Swim Cycle Run Total

1 Rebekah KEAT 0:50:48 5:00:35 3:12:12 9:03:37

2 Karyn BALLANCE 1:01:41 5:04:43 3:18:24 9:24:48

3 Fiona DOCHERTY 0:56:11 5:15:47 3:17:21 9:29:21