NewsTeams set for showdown at Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore
Team TBB and Team HiPER3 Headline Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore Shootout
Published Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The 2008 Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore triathlon will feature a super team shoot out between established Team TBB and the all new super team, Team HiPER3.
Team TBB lines up with their 2007 champs, Reinaldo Colucci and Belinda Granger headlining Team TBB. Lining up for Team HiPer3 is three time World Champion and Olympian, Peter Robertson, fellow Australian Olympian and national long distance champion, Simon Thompson and multi-Ironman podium place getter, Peter Jacobs plus a quartet of younger but experienced athletes.
“Every now and then something comes along that changes people’s perception of what is possible. We at HiPer3 feel that the Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore has already changed people’s perception of triathlon across the Asian region. It has set the bench mark that all other 70.3 races should aspire to reach,” he said at the team launch in Sydney, Australia.
O’Neill added, “It is only fitting, then, that HiPer3 uses this event to change another perception. The dynamic of triathlon has long since been that it is an individual racing for their own goals and rewards. We will be bringing a concept that looks to bring a number of potential winners to a race that will not only look for individual glory, but have a focus on a wider goal of team success.”
“We have selected a range of athletes from Olympians, world champions and national champions through to those athletes with high development potential. This team has been constructed to help with not only the initial success of the athletes in the team, but for the very future of the sport that we love and race in.”
Commencing with the 2008 Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore, HiPer3 has chosen seven carefully selected Ironman races around the world. “Our aim is to create global awareness of not just triathlon, but to encourage a healthier balance for the global community at large,” says O’Neill.
It’s a massive shot in the arm for the race that in 2007 saw Team TBB debut, with stunning success, with Belinda Granger’s win. This year Granger has won Ironman Malaysia, Ironman China, Ironman Canada and Ironman 70.3 Antwerp and turns her steely resolve now to Singapore.
2008 champion, Brazil’s Reinaldo Colucci is also back to defend his Aviva Ironman 70.3 title and he’s hungry for some long distance results following his year-long Olympic campaign. And that in itself may be a warning to the new Aussie super team that is HiPer3 that the Aviva Ironman 70.3 race may be hard to conquer, as Team TBB has also strong back up in Justin Granger and Canada’s Mathieu O’Halloran.
And outside of the two super teams there’s a few athletes heading to Singapore who may be set to rain on the big team parade.
Foremost amongst these athletes is speedy Kiwi, New Zealand’s Terrenzo Bozzone who is seeded second in the field for the race, but many experts rate as the man to beat in 08.
Another Kiwi, Gina Ferguson, has also raced well this year. Also in the women’s field will be Aussies Rebekah Keat and Ali Fitch along with Japan’s Naomi Imaizumi.
On the men’s side, Ironman Canada winner Kiwi Bryan Rhodes and Australia’s Luke McKenzie also have Ironman wins this season while Germany’s Uwe Widmann is having a stellar season also.
In total there’s 30 elite athletes vying for a record prize purse of US$50,000, who will be racing with 1,500 age groupers through the two-lap swim course, (the beach is brand new), a freeway based high speed ride over three laps and a shaded multi lap run that is sure to be a huge hit with everyone.
