It is a race where big names compete every year and where even bigger names have won in the past: men like Jan Frodeno and Craig Alexander and women like Paula Newby-Fraser and Michellie Jones, for example. The Laguna Phuket Triathlon has always attracted professional athletes, and this year the wins went to Hayden Wilde and Kate Waugh.
The non-drafting race over 1800 meters of swimming, 50 kilometers of cycling and 12 kilometers of running was thus for Wilde, who gives an already wonderful season extra shine with this victory. After the swim it was still Thomas Bishop who led the dance, but on the bike Wilde took over the initiative and back in T2 his lead over compatriot Tayler Reid, who was then in second position, had already increased to 1:15 minute. Nothing changed during the run, except that Wilde’s lead only increased. Wilde won the race in 2:19:03, while Reid finished second with a 3:10 minutes deficit. Ukrainian Rostyslav Petsov finished third at 4:00 minutes behind.
In the women’s race, the win went to Kate Waugh. After the swim, Waugh, Alanis Siffert, Sian Rainsley and also the Belgian Claire Michel – racing her last year as a professional athlete – were together, but on the bike Siffert stood out. Waugh still managed to limit the damage and could start an impressive catch-up race during the run. When Waugh won the race in 2:35:39, it was 4:15 minutes before Siffert came in second and 8:02 minutes before Rainsley took the bronze. Michel finished fourth at 10:59 minutes behind.
