Awesome Aussies rule Century 5150

SUBIC , Philippines   â€“ In the end, Luke McKenzie and Belinda Granger, a pair of tried and tested athletes from Australia, looked like they haven’t even started.

They smiled a lot during the post-race interview, just when the last of the competitors in the 2013 Century Tuna 5150 Triathlon summoned all their strength trying to cross the finish.

McKenzie, winner of an Ironman race in Queensland just two weeks ago, needed only one hour, 59 minutes, 25 seconds to clinch the men’s title yesterday.

Granger, winner of the Ironman 70.3 Honolulu three weeks ago and last year’s champion in this event, emerged the top female competitor with her time of 2:17.33.

It only took them that long or that short to cover the 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike and 10 km run course inside Subic Bay, formerly the United States’ largest naval base in Asia.

Some of the competitors here needed months to prepare.

“I feel fine. Right now I feel like I haven’t raced yet,” said Granger who in her forties has developed this good habit of winning the biggest triathlons in the Philippines.

In 2011 she won the Ironman 70.3 in Camarines Sur, and next month she will be back for another 70.3 event in Cebu.

“I will be back,” said Granger, who was followed to the finish by fellow Aussie Michelle Gailey (2:24:09), the United Kingdom’s Jacqui Slack (2:26:05) and the Philippines’ Monica Torres (2:28:19).

The race that drew over 900 participants was fired off at 6:30 a.m. under gray clouds and some drizzle. On the eve of the race, this former naval base was under heavy rains.

Granger said the cool weather helped a lot as compared to last year when it was terribly hot.

“It was a great day for racing. It was so much different than last year when I was pouring as much water on myself as I could,” she said.

Like Granger, the 31-year-old McKenzie didn’t have much trouble. He got off the swim leg in fourth place but got going once he hit the airport runway for the start of the bike leg.

“I didn’t have a good swim but then I felt good with the bike and established a lead as soon as I got off the runway. I just made sure I stayed solo on the way to the transition.

“That’s where I made space but still I thought I needed to run strong. So, I just kept on running strong. I built a good gap with over seven kilometers left,” said McKenzie.

The winner of Ironman races in Malaysia, Japan, China and Brazil said he felt even better seeing the crowd that lined up the streets in the final three kilometers.

“It was just amazing seeing so many people. Everyone was so supportive and everyone was smiling,” said McKenzie.

Coming in next in the men’s side were Aussies Ben Allen (2:02:40) and Michael Murphy (2:05:46), Sweden’s Fredrik Croneberg (2:08:02), the Philippines’ John Chicano (2:09:45), Jonard Saim (2:10:29) and Nikko Huelgas (2:11:00), Justin Granger (2:13:22), again local bets Banjo Norte (2:13:36), Augusto Benedicto (2:15:18) and Mathieu O’Halloran (2:16:00), Robinson Esteves (2:16:50) and Philip Duenas (2:17:01), Aussie Luke Gillmer (2:17:06) and Filipino George Vilog (2:17:21). 

Chris McCormack, the two-time Ironman World Champion from Australia, arrived here on the night before the race and never had the chance to check the route.

He developed problems with his bike early on and did not finish the race.

McKenzie described the course as “very challenging” and the swim leg at Subic Bay’s Hanjin Port all the way to the All Hands Beach as the “most difficult.”

Both McKenzie and Granger said the swim leg felt “longer” than it really was.

“Overall it was a good day. We’re lucky it didn’t rain,” said McKenzie.

He should thank the heavens for that.