After finishing last year in fifth place at her debut race on Big Island, the Finnish athlete Kaisa Sali proved once more this year that she belongs to the best long distance triathletes in the world. It was a very hard race and she was very happy to reach the finish line after 9:04:40 hours in fifth place.
With a gap of nine minutes to the fastest swimmer Lucy Charles of Great Britain, Sali jumped on her bike. "The swim wasn't as planned. I had hoped to lose less time on the leading group in order to start the bike part in a better position. So I had to spend a lot of energy to make up places and close the gap to the podium positions. Unfortunately a stomach issue kept me from riding faster", the TEAM SPORT FOR GOOD athlete sums up the first two disciplines.
A little more than eleven minutes on the eventual World Champion Daniela Ryf from Switzerland and five minutes behind a top 5 position, the winner of Ironman South Africa eventually changed onto the running course and tried everything to push forward. "I really gave it all to catch up with the girls in front of me. In the end I ran the second fastest marathon among the professional women, but even that was not enough to advance to the podium. Today I left all my energy on the course and I am very proud to have performed so well once again. To be among the best long distance triathletes in the world is a privilege that I enjoy a lot. It is always nice to see that all the hard work of the last months has paid off", Sali said, visibly happy with her race.
After another excellent race, Sali is considered as the most successful Finnish long distance triathlete. Another interesting fact is that she was ten minutes faster than the year before. This is also largely due to Sali's new coach, Siri Lindley, with whom she has been working for almost a year.
The race was won by Daniela Ryf, followed by Lucy Charles, Sarah Crowley and Heather Jackson from the US. Winner of the men's race was the German Patrick Lange, followed by Lionel Sanders and David McNamee.