PHUKET, 25 November 2019: The 26th Laguna Phuket Triathlon came to a close Sunday reaffirming its position as one of Thailand’s top sporting events that also boosts tourism to Phuket.
Switzerland’s Ruedi Wild and Imogen Simmonds both gave stellar performances and took the top podium, overall and in the women’s field,
Claiming his 3rd LPT championship, Wild completed the race in 02:21:07 less than two minutes ahead of his toughest contender and three-time LPT winner Michael Raelert (Germany) completed the course in 02:22:34. He was followed in third place by Krzysztof Hadas of Poland at 02:26:20.
In the women’s field, Switzerland’s Imogen Simmonds was declared the winner with a time of 02:33:14 and claimed her first LPT’s title. Followed Simmonds in second place was Emma Pallant (UK) timed 02:39:31. Australia’s Dimity Lee-Duke came in third (02:46:12).
The Phuket crowd cheered on a field of more than 1,000 triathletes, representing 51 countries, in the unique destination distance of 1.8K swim, 50K bike and 12K run, with a USD20,000 prize purse, and the short-distance “25 For 25 Sprint”.
The race started on the resort’s beachfront in mild weather conditions and relatively calm sea for the swim section. The bike and run courses became challenging as the Phuket heat kicked in.
The Thai crowd cheered defending champions in the men’s and women’s fields; Jaray Jearanai was once again the first Thai finisher (in 02:39:38), claiming his 9th consecutive LPT win (since 2011). Also defending her title as top Thai female was Nichakarn Ruttanaporn, in 03:17:06 and achieved her fourth consecutive win.
The race followed the LPT Charity Fun Run, hosted Saturday (23 November) with 1,100 runners in the 2K Kids, 5K and 10K categories.
LPT Charity Fun Run raised funds for Children First Fund in support of seven orphanages in Phuket, housing more than 400 children, and Kao Kon La Kao Foundation to help hospitals in Thailand.