Baldwin completes Ironman Austria |13 July 2009
Praslinois Baldwin, who clocked 5 hours 10 minutes for third place in the 18-24 age category
His split times for the race were 1h02:46 for the 2.4-mile (3.8km) open water swim (average of 1 minute 39 seconds per 100m), 5h09:28 for the 112-mile (180km) cycle (an average of 34.90km per hour), and 3h33.43 for the 26.2-mile (42.2km) marathon (an average of 5 minutes 06 seconds per km).
Temperatures exceeding 30 degrees centigrade made conditions tough for the athletes, with some taking up to 17 hours to finish, and over 250 failing to reach the finish line.
The race was a culmination of three years’ training for Baldwin, who said: “This has been an invaluable experience, and one which will help me to further develop as an athlete.
“My passion lies with long-distance triathlon, and I look forward to representing Seychelles in my next ironman event.”
One of Europe’s most competitive triathlon events, Ironman Austria attracted the world’s best long-distance triathletes from 49 countries. The event drew over 100,000 spectators, along with worldwide media coverage.
Belgian Marino Vanhoenacker won Ironman Austria and came very close to breaking the eight-hour mark, winning in a time of 8h01:38 for a new course record.
South African James Cunnama (8h14:18) and Englishman Stephen Bayliss (8h17.06) completed the medals podium.
In the women's race it was Stephen Bayliss’ wife Bella Bayliss who took the top podium position, beating Sonja Tajsich (second with 8h59:45) and Lucie Zelenkova (third with 9h07:24).