Kimberley Morrison wins the inaugural IRONMAN 70.3 Finland

A third career IRONMAN 70.3 title for Kimberley Morrsion

Great Britain’s Kimberley Morrison completed part one of what she hopes will be a Scandinavian double, winning the first edition of IRONMAN 70.3 Finland in Lahti on Saturday afternoon. With a 4pm start time, the race continues to midnight in Finland, taking advantage of the nordic midnight sun. This coming weekend Morrsion will be racing at IRONMAN 70.3 Jönköping in Sweden, a race she has finished third at for the past two seasons.

On Saturday Morrison lead the way from the start, her 28:51 opening swim the fastest of the day, before her trump card, the bike, allowing her to extend her lead to more than seven minutes at T2, over Minna Koistinen (FIN). Morrison rode 2:19:34, more than five minutes quicker than Koistinen, who was the second quickest on two wheels.

my first #firstoutthewater in @blueseventy #allfortheswim @ironmanfinland #champion

photo credit 📷@LauriIlola pic.twitter.com/lSyrXzPt4W

— Kimberley MORRISON (@TriathlonKim) July 1, 2018

Once on the run, a consistent 1:29:03 half marathon was more than enough to take victory by five minutes over Koistinen, who was thrilled with her performance on home soil. The fastest run of the day came from Camilla Lindholm Borg (SWE), who clocked a 1:23:47 which earned her the final spot on the podium, despite having been the last Pro out of the opening 1.9km swim.

Morrison adds Finland to previous IRONMAN 70.3 wins in Buenos Aires (2016) and Texas (2017). Asked about the race conditions after the race, she said “It’s been cool, a bit of rain and a little windy – absolutely perfect for a girl from England!”

So soo delighted ❤️ to take the #TopStep racing into the midnight Sun here in Lahti, Finland 🇫🇮 the county and people are so beautiful and this result has put a lovely spring in my step… next stop Sweden 🇸🇪 pic.twitter.com/eGzZlkGXMj

— Kimberley MORRISON (@TriathlonKim) June 30, 2018

The men’s title in Lahti went to South Africa’s Matt Trautman, a previous winner of IRONMAN Wales. 40 seconds down on Manuel Kueng (SUI) through the swim, he reach T2 with a trio including Johannes Moldan (GER) and Kuneg, before a strong 1:18:18 run soon saw him clear a the front and pulling away to a three minute winning margin. Another athlete who went survived a terrible bike crash in January 2017, his return to fitness and winning ways has been exceptionally impressive.

Nokian Tyres IRONMAN 70.3 Finland, Lahti – Saturday 30th June 2018
1.9km / 90km / 21.1km

PRO WOMEN

1st – Kimberley Morrison (GBR) – 4:21:53
2nd – Minna Koistinen (FIN) – 4:26:50
3rd – Camilla Lindholm BORG (SWE) – 4:32:30
4th – Joanna Soltysiak (POL) – 4:33:47
5th – Eloise Du Luart (GBR) – 4:42:14

8th – Frankie Sanjana (GBR) – 4:48:06

Thank you @ironmanfinland ❤ Its been a blast and amazing to share it with this Champ @TriathlonKim 🇫🇮🌲 #IM703Finland #overandout pic.twitter.com/kYm7L3VtEs

— Eloise du Luart (@eloisedulu) July 1, 2018

PRO MEN

1st – Matt Trautman (RSA) – 3:54:35
2nd – Manuel Kueng (SUI) – 3:57:46
3rd – Christian Kramer (GER) – 3:58:42
4th – Darby Thomas (FIN) – 4:03:34
5th – Martijn Dekker (NED) – 4:03:56