Subaru’s newest brand ambassador Hannah Wells has made her mark across the Tasman, comprehensively winning the Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast, in Mooloolaba, Australia today.
It was a breakthrough victory for the Tauranga-based athlete, who has twice finished on the podium in this race - second in 2017 and third last year – and she slashed her finish time down to a seriously swift 4hours:11mins:28secs.
Wells had qualified to race in the World Ironman 70.3, which was held in Nice, France today, but a mid-year illness forced her to forgo this event and focus on a half-ironman closer to home. She showed she is a force to be reckoned with, leading the pro women out of the 1.9km swim, dicing for first place over the 90km bike and pulling away on the 21.1km run to cross the finish line 3mins:17secs ahead of Swiss athlete and defending champion Caroline Steffen.
“I’m really happy with how I raced today considering I wasn’t sure how it was going to go as I haven’t raced since February. It was a nice race to come over and do as it’s close to home. Winning here today means I also qualified for the World Ironman 70.3 Championships in Taupo in November next year,” Wells (28) says.
The day began positively for her as she was first out of the one-lap swim held in perfect conditions off the Mooloolaba beach, clocking a 25mins:13sec time.
Then she began a lengthily battle with Steffen on the two-lap bike ride that included a stretch along to the Maroochydore beachfront. The strong pair pulled away from the chasing pack and were only 16 minutes race time behind the lead males as they pulled into T2 to change-over to the run.
“I had a quick transition which set me up well for the run. I settled into my rhythm early and found my legs, then started to get a bit of a lead as the run went on,” Wells says.
She turned on the afterburners and slowly but surely left Steffen in her wake. The gap between the Kiwi and the Swiss athlete gradually increasing as the run wore on.
Wells, who currently drives a Subaru XV has a full schedule, working from home as a Research Fellow at Massey University, running a new Italian cycling clothing distribution business with her partner Nick Berry and training as a professional triathlete as well.
She now heads to the United States to complete training blocks in Boise and Texas before racing in Australia and New Zealand over the summer months.
Hannah Wells' 2019 and early 2020 race calendar
Ironman Western Sydney 70.3 - 24th November
Ironman Taupo 70.3 - 7th December
Tauranga Half Ironman (NZ Middle Distance National Champs) - 11th January
Challenge Wanaka – February 15
Catherine Pattison
Public Relations
Subaru of New Zealand
M +64 (0)27 44 55 389
E catherine.pattison@subaru.co.nz
subaru.co.nz