Former Formula 1™ World Champion qualifies for IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships
If you are a regular reader of Tri247, you’ll be well aware that Jenson Button has a genuine and long-term passion for triathlon.
Initially finding the sport as a great way to achieve the fitness goals of his motor racing career, over the past six or seven years he has continued to develop into a fine age-group triathlete, including podium finishes at IRONMAN 70.3 events, including the Philippines and Oceanside.
With fewer F1 commitments this season (though he will be racing at the Monaco Grand Prix), Jenson has continued to improve further in his triathlon ambitions. His last race went well – though he was disqualified after the race for speeding at IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside – after which he said, “Ah well onto the next one!”.
Well, the next one was yesterday at IRONMAN 70.3 Santa Rosa – previously better known as Vineman – and it went well, very well – and he won the Men’s 35-39 category. That result will qualify him to take part in the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships later this season in Chattanooga.
To give some context to his performance – and just for fun – here are his times when compared the Great Britain’s IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion, Holly Lawrence, who was the women’s Pro winner yesterday.
| IRONMAN 70.3 Santa Rosa 2017 | Jenson Button | Holly Lawrence |
|---|---|---|
| Swim | 00:28:45 | 00:24:38 |
| T1 | 00:04:53 | 00:03:23 |
| Bike | 02:15:18 | 02:18:08 |
| T2 | 00:02:06 | 00:01:54 |
| Run | 01:22:52 | 01:25:17 |
| Total | 04:13:54 | 04:13:20 |
| Result | 1st M35-39 | 1st Female Pro |
While comparison of Pro times to Age-Group times is always highly variable due to the nature of start times and race dynamics, Mr Button is certainly no slouch in his swim / bike / run ambitions.
