Doe Wins In Canada

27th August, for immediate release

Doe Wins In Canada

New Zealand Ironman triathlete Kieran Doe has picked up his first ever Ironman victory, blitzing a strong field to win Ironman Canada today (Monday NZT).

The 26-year-old led from start to finish, establishing a massive two minute lead on the swim and powering away on the 180km bike leg in Penticton, British Columbia.

By the final transition Doe was more than eleven minutes clear and while suffering on the final ten kilometres of the marathon, he cruised home to win by more than seven minutes in a time of 8 hours, 32 minutes and 45 seconds.

Doe's performance is even more remarkable given Canada is his first race back from a horrific crash at the Tinman Triathlon in Mount Maunganui in December. He crashed head-on into another cyclist and was initially thought to have broken his femur, before x-rays revealed severe bruising.

Today's win was the result of four months recuperation and six months hard training, with Doe wary of the unknown despite feeling great leading into the race.

“I was in good shape going into it so I was definitely confident, but there was still a big unknown. I haven't raced since December when I crashed and Ironman's a funny thing, anything can happen and I really didn't know how I was going to go. But I sat down with (coach) Chris McCormack before the race and set out a plan and it went perfectly for me.''

Doe’s previous best result was last year at Quelle Challenge Roth in Germany, where he finished third. His next major event is the world long-distance championships in Texas in December.

New Zealand featured in other categories also, with Wellington’s Vicki Jones finishing 6th in the pro women’s race in 10 hours, 1 minute and 21 seconds.

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