More than 2000 sportsmen took part in Enea IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon competition in Gdynia last weekend. The track in Tricity was very difficult, the weather wasn’t perfect, so no one expected a world record result. There was, however, one person capable of beating many triathlon records. Daniela Ryf – a multiple IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 champion showed her skills in Gdynia.
Enea IRONMAN 70.3
Last weekend the inhabitants of Tricity could experience the sixth edition of Enea IRONMAN 70.3. This challenging race consists of 3 parts – 1,9 km of swimming, 90 km of cycling and 21,1 km of running. The participants begin the race at the main beach in Gdynia. After entering the Kosciuszko Square they get bicycles to follow a big circle along streets of Tricity Landscape Park. The final part takes place on the streets of the city center of Gdynia and the Seaside Boulevard.
Favorites met the expectations
At 8 am PRO competitors entered the water. One of the favorites, Timothy O’Donnell (USA) set up the pace finishing the swimming competition in little more than 23 minutes. Right after the American, another favorite arrived at the change zone. It was Nils Frommhold from Germany, who have already won the competition in Gdynia in the past.
Timothy O’Donnell passed the finish line with 3:47:40 on the stopwatch. With this result, the American set up a new record of Enea IRONMAN 70.3 in Gdynia. Second on the finish line was Frommhold with 3:52:57, just 30 seconds another German, Markus Liebelt (3:53:27).
World Record in Gdynia
Daniela Ryf performed very well from the beginning of the race. It looked as if she had a special mission in Gdynia. Ryf finished swimming 2 minutes before other ladies. Everyone expected extraordinary performance in cycling though. Rys met the expectations well reaching an average cycling speed of some 41 km/h and finishing the part with 18 minutes advantage in her category.
Without any danger, Daniela Ryf reached the finish line in 3:57:54. This result is a new world record of women’s IRONMAN 70.3. What is more, Ryf finished the race at the 7th place of the general classification. This means only 6 men were faster than her.
Second among women was Mirinda Carfae, who finished the race in 4:20:46. The third woman at the finish line was Ewa Komander, who also became Polish Champion with the result 4:25:40.
Historical edition
The sixth edition of Enea IRONMAN 70.3 in Gdynia became historical. During three days, almost 4.000 sportsmen from more than 50 countries took part in the competition. The next edition of the race will take place in Gdynia next year.
Photo source: Enea IRONMAN 70.3 Gdynia press release
