A Victory That Secures My Spot at the World Championship

Winning an IRONMAN 70.3 has always been one of my major goals. In Shanghai Chongming, everything came together perfectly, and I had the joy of crossing the finish line in first place. This victory also secured my qualification for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, which will take place this September in Nice, France.

It’s an important milestone in my journey and a moment I’ll never forget.

A Race Under Control from Start to Finish

The race started at 7:45 a.m. in the hot and humid conditions that are typical of Shanghai.

The 1.9 km swim took place without wetsuits, in water measuring 22.3°C (72.1°F). I stayed at the front of the race throughout the swim and exited the water with the lead group. I felt comfortable from the very beginning and knew that the key part of my race was still to come.

From the opening kilometres of the bike leg, I decided to set my own pace. Despite the strong wind throughout the entire 90 km, I felt particularly strong. I took the lead early and gradually increased my advantage, setting the fastest bike split of the day.

By the second transition, I had built a lead of more than seven minutes.

All that remained was to manage the half marathon. Despite the heat, I stayed focused on my pace and controlled the race all the way to the finish line.

I crossed the line in 4:05:30, claiming victory after a strong, controlled and consistent performance from start to finish.

A Victory That Rewards Months of Hard Work

What I’ll remember most is the joy of racing here in China alongside my training partners.

Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been living and training in China with my team under the guidance of Brett Sutton. The past few months have been filled with hard work and learning, and this victory is a wonderful reward for all those efforts.

For several weeks, I had been feeling really strong in training. Today, everything simply came together.

Winning an IRONMAN 70.3 and qualifying for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Nice is an important milestone in my career. It gives me a huge boost of confidence as I continue building towards the rest of the season.