Some short but steep climbs await the athletes on the bike course in Phuket
The Challenge Laguna Tri Fest has been taking place annually since 1994 at the end of November or beginning of December on the largest Thai island of Phuket , in which, within a week, initially on the short distance of the Laguna Phuket Triathlon (initiated in 1994 and thus one of the most traditional Asian triathlons) and on the next The following Sunday Ironman 70.3 Thailand will be held on the middle distance.
The Laguna Phuket Triathlon was initiated in 1994 as a joint venture between IMG and the Laguna Phuket Resort, a holiday and sports center on the northwest coast of the tourist paradise, which today includes Chris McCormack as Executive Director and Jürgen Zäck as Sports Director.
Starting in 1996, the Laguna Phuket Triathlon was awarded for four years for one of ten " International Triathlon Grand Prix " created by "OnLine Sports International" , an invitation race with twenty of the most prominent top triathletes worldwide and a prize money of 100,000 US $ in Phuket alone, added. The winner received US $ 25,000, 25% more than at the Ironman Hawaii . Participants included Mike Pigg , Greg Welch , Mark Allen , Brad Beven , Simon Lessing and Spencer Smith , and TV coverage of the event was shown by Eurosport , Network Ten in Australia and Prime Network in the US .
From the very beginning, the Laguna Phuket Triathlon was one of the qualifying competitions for the Ironman Hawaii in the 1990s. A decade later, thirty starting places were again awarded for the Ironman Hawaii in Phuket, when the Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific took place as part of the Laguna Phuket Triathlon .
Shortly before the 2012 event, the organizer and Challenge Family announced that the triathlon festival will be running from its twentieth birthday in 2013 under the name Challenge Laguna Phuket Tri Fest with the Laguna Phuket Triathlon as a prelude and the Challenge Laguna Phuket over 1.9 km swimming, 90 km cycling and 21.1 km running are the highlights. In addition, a triathlon for children and young people complements the program. The Challenge Laguna Phuket thus became the first Asian competition in the Challenge World Series.
A new name and location for the race has been announced for 2016 and the race will continue as Ironman 70.3 Thailand .
Routing
The swimming route begins on the beach between the Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket Hotel and the Outrigger Phuket Beach Resort and initially leads 1.4 km through the sea, then a beach passage follows before the last 500 m in the tropical freshwater lagoon. Wetsuits are not allowed.
From the transition area at Laguna Grove, the bike route first leads to Thalang, where the North-South Highway 402 is crossed over a pedestrian bridge. The route then leads along two loops over coastal roads, otherwise narrow, winding roads, before the 402 is again passed over the pedestrian bridge to return to Laguna Phuket. The route includes some short but steep climbs, especially on a low-traffic coastal road in the northwest of the island.
The flat running route takes the athletes north through the Laguna Phuket Resort, the Banyan Tree Resort and the beach road before they loop back to the finish at Laguna Grove.
Winners list
Middle distance
Results Ironman 70.3 Thailand
The first event was in November 2016 and the race replaced the Challenge Laguna Phuket .
The course record was set by Michael Raelert in his second victory in 2016 with a time of 2:19:13 h, thus improving the previous record from 2009 of his compatriot Jan Frodeno . At the 24th edition of the Laguna Phuket Triathlon, Michael Raelert won the race for the third time in a row in 2017.
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