Well-Fit Athletes Qualify for Ironman 70.3 World Championship
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 9:20am
Benton Harbor, MI -- Rough waters forced Steelhead Ironman 70.3 organizers to convert the triathlon to a duathlon, but that did not prevent Well-Fit athletes Geoff Mikelsons and Mandy McCarthy from qualifying for the Ford Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater, FL in November. The 1.2 mile swim was replaced with a two mile run, which was followed by the standard 56 mile bike leg and 13.1 mile run leg.
McCarthy finished the course in 4:31:21 and as the 11th female overall. Mikelsons completed the course in 4:04:30 and as the 29th overall male. Additional Well-Fit athletes put in strong performances, including Marc Robertson (4:17:21), Noelle Willhite (4:51:54) and Kenny Maruyama (4:26:30), who was competing in his first Ironman 70.3-distance race.
"Mandy and Geoff were great today," said Sharone. "I think you would have seen Noelle, Kenny and Kevin [McCarthy] qualify as well if the swim had not been canceled. Each of those athletes usual come out of the water at the front of the pack and count on that advantage to take them to the finish in top position."
McCarthy and Mikelsons join fellow Well-Fit athlete Simon Trude who qualified for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship earlier in the year at Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island.
