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Bozzone, Zeiger Crowned In Ironman 70.3 Event

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By MARY SHEDDEN

mshedden@tampatrib.com

Published: November 9, 2008

CLEARWATER BEACH - For the third consecutive year, new champions were crowned and course records were set at Saturday's Foster Grant Ironman 70.3 World Championship.

New Zealand's Terenzo Bozzone (3:40:42), and Colorado resident Joanna Zeiger (4:02:48), both set course records in the third annual world championship, which started at sunrise at Pier 60 with a 1.2-mile swim. Zeiger's final race time was the fastest for a woman in an Ironman 70.3 competition.

And while Bozzone and Zeiger were among the top professionals competing in the swim and 56-mile bike ride, neither led their division until the final 13.1-mile run. Both pointed out that the glare of the rising sun made the final half of the swim uncomfortable.

"I felt confident about the run," said Zeiger, 38, a longtime Olympic and Ironman-distance competitor who recently began to focus on the 70.3 distance. She said Saturday's thrill was second only to her fourth-place triathlon finish in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

Bozzone, 23, had to hold off German Andreas Raelert's record-breaking run time to capture the title. He also won with a recently broken wrist. He practiced the last few days without a removable cast, and said the injury was a good distraction.

"The wrist hurts, so it takes the pain away from everywhere else," said Bozzone, who finished last year's world championship in ninth place.

Zeiger and Bozzone each won the $18,000 top prize. Cash awards went to the top 10 male and female finishers.

The 2007 world champions both failed in their attempts to hold onto the title. American Andy Potts finished first in the swim, but finished in sixth (3:44:30). Australian Mirinda Carfraefinished 12th (4:22:28) in the women's field.

Saturday's Ironman 70.3 event brought to Clearwater almost 1,500 of the world's best triathletes at this increasingly popular triathlon distance. The Ironman 70.3 is half of the more established 140.6-mile event best known for its Kona, Hawaii championship.

All of the participants in Saturday's race were required to qualify at other Ironman 70.3s or similar events. In the 2008 season, Bozzone and Zeiger each finished first in three different Ironman 70.3 events, which are held in the United States and around the world.

The virtual youth of the Ironman 70.3 series and Clearwater world championship translates to a lot of record breaking, but it also shows the increase in the sport's popularity. This year's championship field of 1,493 is more than 100 more than in the inaugural year. And since its inception in 2006, the Ironman 70.3 series has grown from 17 events to 29 this year.

Officials already have 32 planned for 2009.

Reporter Mary Shedden can be reached at (813) 259-7365.

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