Former Winners to Battle in Highly Competitive Women’s Field at Ironman 70.3 Geelong 2023

Why it matters: The women’s professional field at the 2023 Ironman 70.3 Geelong is expected to be highly competitive, with former winners and podium finishers lining up on the start line.

Setting the pace: Defending champion Lotte Wilms, the top seed, is in good form and hopes to build on her 2022 success, in which she won the Ironman 70.3 Geelong and Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast titles. Victoria’s Grace Thek, who has finished on the podium every year she has raced as a professional in Geelong, is aiming for the top step of the stage. Penny Slater, who finished third at Ironman South Africa and Ironman 70.3 Tasmania, is also one to watch.

What they say:

Lotte Wilms: “I feel good. I had a long break after Busselton and needed time to build my fitness back up, but everything is going as planned. It was great to have a hit at the Mooloolaba Tri.” .. I love it Ironman races…Last year in Geelong the support from the local community was so great, I love it when there are so many people on the sidelines to cheer on the athletes.” Grace Thek: “I’m really excited to go to Ironman 70.3 Geelong for my sixth year in a row… I also consider it my hometown race and just love racing in front of family and friends in Geelong… I had a great three-week block of training and feel a lot more confident going into Geelong.”Penny Slater: “I’m very happy with how my season has started…I’ve been able to put together some consistent performances and that gave me a lot of confidence…I’m really looking forward to racing. in Geelong and see what I can do.”

Triathlon all-time: The Ironman 70.3 Geelong event has been held annually since 2006, and the women’s course record is held by Annabel Luxford of Australia. She set the record in 2012 with a time of 4:13:45.

In the past 10 years, the women’s winning times have ranged from 4:13:45 to 4:29:07, with an average winning time of around 4:20:00. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was canceled and no winners were crowned.

It’s worth noting that the Ironman 70.3 Geelong event has had a relatively short history compared to other triathlons, and as such the women’s winning times have remained relatively consistent over the years. However, as the sport continues to evolve and new talent emerges, it is possible that we may see faster winning times in the future.

Women’s Professional Start List

21 – Lotte Wilms (Netherlands)

22 – Grace Thek (Australia)

23 – Radka Kahledfeldt (Australia)

24 – Penny Slater (Australia)

25 – Sophie Perry (Australia)

27 – Stephanie Demestichas (Australia)

28 – Laura Dennis (Australia)

29 – Kate Gillespie-Jones (Australia)

31 – Renee Kiley (Australia)

32 – Cassandra Heaslip (Australia)