Loo Chuan Rong and Tan Cheng Yin are fastest Singaporeans at Ironman 70.3

East Coast Park, Sunday, March 21, 2010 – Loo Chuan Rong and Tan Cheng Yin were the fastest Singaporeans at the Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore triathlon.

Loo Chuan Rong, 27 topped the male 25 to 29-year-old category with a time of 4h 35min 26sec while Tan Cheng Yin, 35, won the female 35 to 39-year-old category with a time of 5h 22min 40sec.

A record 1,400 triathletes from 61 countries competed in this year's Ironman 70.3 Singapore.

Commenting on her performance, Cheng Yin said, "I was really happy with my timing today. The heat was almost unbearable out there, but thankfully there were plenty of water stations to keep me hydrated."

"I had a great experience today and I'm definitely looking forward to taking part again next year," she added.

Ironman World Champion Craig Alexander conquered intense heat and a slow start to emerge as overall champion of Ironman 70.3 Singapore for the second consecutive year.

Despite coming out of the 1.9km swim leg in fifth position, the hot favourite clawed his way back to thid coming out of the 90.1km cycling leg, and turned in a fine performance during the 21.1km run to beat the 15 other elite male athletes to the crown.

Completing the race in a time of 3 hours 53 minutes and 31 seconds, around six minutes slower than his winning time of 3:47:24 last year, the Australian was drenched in sweat and visibly affected by the blazing morning temperature of 33 degrees Celsius as he crossed the finish line.

"The conditions this year were a bit tougher, as it wasn't this humid last year. It was also a more competitive race this year, and I was up against a strong pool of elites, so I'm really pleased to have won," said 37-year-old Alexander.

Alexander beat 27-year-old James Cunnama of South Africa by a mere 52 seconds. Cunnama came in second with a time of 3hr 54min 23sec, and 29-year-old Australian Aaron Farlow finished third with a time of 3hr 55min 45sec.

The race between the female elites was a less competitive affair, as Swiss Caroline Steffen continued her recent fine form to claim the women's title in her first Ironman 70.3 Singapore.

Coming off a win in the 2010 Ironman 70.3 Geelong last month, Steffen persevered despite a bad jellyfish sting on her right arm during the swim leg to complete the race in 4hr 18min 14sec to Jodie Swallow’s 2009 record by 57 seconds.

Steffen topped the pool of 11 female elites, blowing the competition away by crossing the finish line around eight minutes earlier than second-placed Jodie Swallow of the United Kingdom, who completed the race in 4h 26min 32 sec. American Margaret Shapiro came in third with a time of 4h 31min 37sec.

"This was an unexpected victory for me as it is my first time taking part in the race in Singapore. I believe my recent training and competition in Thailand helped me to acclimatise to the weather condition here and gave me an edge today," said Steffen.

Steffen and Alexander earned for themselves prize money of USD$5,000 each, and secured slots in the 2010 Foster Grant World Ironman 70.3 Championship in Clearwater, Florida this November.

Men's Professional Results
1st Craig Alexander (Australia) – 3:53:31
2nd James Cunnama (South Africa) – 3:54:23
3rd Aaron Farlow (Australia) – 3:55:45

Women's Professional Results
1st Caroline Steffen (Switzerland) – 4:18:14
2nd Jodie Swallow (Great Britain) – 4:26:32
3rd Margaret Shapiro (United States) – 4:31:37

Singapore Men's Results
1st Loo Chuan Rong (Male 25 – 29) – 4:35:26
2nd Ashley Liew (Male 18 - 24) – 4:48:40
3rd Shem Leong (Male 30 – 34) – 4:52:56

Singapore Women's Results

1st Tan Cheng Yin (Female 35 - 39) – 5:22:40
2nd Elvia Suryadi (Female 30 - 34) – 5:28:13
3rd Ping Hui (Female) – 5:30:43