A smile flitted across Anne Haug’s face long before the blue carpet this time, then she quickly took off her sunglasses and grabbed the finish tape.
The 40-year-old Ironman World Champion has delivered yet another demonstration of her greatest strength in triathlon. After 2 kilometers of swimming and 80.2 kilometers on the bike, the Bayreuth native started the 17.8 kilometer long run to catch up and win the PTO European Open in Ibiza.
“I’m really happy with my race,” said Haug: “It was the first race of the year against the best in the world. I always believed that I could do it.” After a total of 100 kilometers and 3:38:01 hours, Haug was almost two and a half minutes ahead of Australian Ashleigh Gentle on Saturday. Long-time leader three-time Hawaii runner-up Lucy Charles-Barclay finished third.
Haug could once again rely on her exceptional running qualities. She came out of the water in 17th place, 2:44 minutes behind top swimmers Charles-Barclay. The 29-year-old Briton also defended her lead on the bike course. Haug, 1.64 meters tall and weighing around 51 kilograms, overtook Charles-Barclay while running ten kilometers from the finish. Both high-five respectfully. The Brit was also passed by Gentle.
Haug needed 1:02:55 hours for the running distance. Men’s winner Max Neumann from Australia had previously needed just under four minutes less, 14 of the 26 professional men had been slower than Haug.
Haug won the Ironman 70.3 Lanzarote in March, followed by victory in the Challenge Gran Canaria in April. And now the success on Ibiza, for which she received a prize money of 100,000 US dollars: “It’s about consistency,” emphasized Haug. After another strong performance, Haug is not only the top favorite at her home race, the Challenge Roth, this year. The 2019 World Champion can also be expected in Hawaii in October, where this time only the title will be awarded to women.