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Bahrain Victorious 13 athletes are all set to make waves in the Ironman 70.3 Middle East Championship Bahrain to be held this Friday, with the returning three-time champion Holly Lawrence determined to keep her crown.
The 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Champion Lawrence, who also has 14 Ironman championships under her belt – three of which were in Bahrain from 2017 to 2019– is looking forward to competing in this year’s triathlon, which will feature 1,061 male and female competitors representing different countries.
“I want to keep my crown,” said the Briton who lives and trains in the US. “I love this race and I want my fourth victory here.”
Lawrence will be joined by Vincent Luis, Henri Schoeman, David Plese, Kristian Blummenfelt, Cassandre Beaugrand, Jan Frodeno, Alistair Brownlee and Georgia Taylor-Brown.
“It’s great to have the whole team back in Bahrain after a two-year hiatus,” said Michael Gilliam, director of Bahrain Victorious 13. “This is the highlight of the year for this team, to race.”
Michael praised His Majesty King Hamad’s representative for humanitarian work and youth affairs and Supreme Council for Youth and Sport (SCYS) chairman Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and said his vision to bring Ironman to Bahrain was part of his plan to “create a fitter and active community”.
This is the first time Luis is racing in Bahrain and he is looking to continue his winning ways.
Luis, a two-time world champion, recently kicked off two consecutive weekends of long-course racing with a win at Clash Daytona. He completed the 1.6km swim, 60km bike and 13.2km run in 2:23:48, staying on the pointy end through most of the race to seal the win with a 24-second gap with his nearest competitor.
Coming out of the water second to Bahrain Victorious 13 teammate Schoeman, who took the swim bonus, Luis stayed in the lead group throughout the bike leg held on the Daytona International Speedway race track.
Luis said post-race, “I’m really grateful to be here… In 2020 I was in the form of my life and the Olympics was postponed, and in 2021 I got injured just before the Olympics. It was a tough season and then in 2022 I got injured again: I tore my Achilles. As I said in a few interviews, I went to really dark places and winning a race again is just amazing.”
Schoeman held on in the front pack through the bike leg and partway through the run to finish in 14th.
The two athletes will toe the line alongside Bahrain resident Plese and Lawrence. This is the first time the race will be held since 2019, and it is also the first time the team has been reunited in the kingdom since the onset of the pandemic in 2020.
Schoeman is hoping for a better result to end a tough year. Frodeno, Brownlee and Taylor-Brown will be doing the swim leg in age group teams.
Shaikh Nasser will be competing at the event and Blummenfelt will be doing the run in his team.
SCYS first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa will be swimming.
Beaugrand will also be in attendance throughout the week for the team camp, and will participate in the race as part of team relays.
The Ironman 70.3 Middle East Championship starts with an expo and registration of participants begins today at The Reef Island, while the practice and main event will be held over the following two days with the main race on Friday.
The tournament will witness the participation of athletes from 77 countries. Organising committee director Ahmed Al Hajj pointed out that ‘Ironkids’ will witness a large participation of children in the running race, that will be held on December 8, starting 4pm.
The event will also feature a Physically Challenged Open Division, which is open to athletes with a medically verified visual, physical or neurological impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
As for the course, the swim section of the race is more than 1.9km, the cycling stretch is more than 90.1km, and the run section will cover 21.1km.
The one-loop swim starts at the water in front of The Reef Island. Athletes will follow the rectangular L-shaped swim layout that leads along a series of left turns and back to the lagoon’s bank before they head into the one-loop bike transition.
The bike course will feature triathletes passing iconic landmarks such as the Bahrain World Trade Centre and the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.
The route heads south of the island for one extra lap where they will bike past the BIC and Al Areen Wildlife Park and then back to The Reef Island.
Finally, athletes will compete in a four-loop run course, which starts at The Reef Island and leads towards the Bahrain Financial Harbour and then back to the starting point in Manama.
Spectators can cheer on athletes all the way back to the finish line at The Reef Island.
Two temporary race number badges will be given to competitors to put on their arms between their shoulder and elbow.
They will also be given a wristband, which will be required for medical identification purposes and allows access to banquets, transition and post-race athlete recovery areas.
For details, follow @bahrainvictorious13 or @im703middleeast on Instagram.
