Ferris makes winning debut, Watkinson back as champion

Australian triathlete Josh Ferris made his Ironman 70.3 Lapu-Lapu debut a memorable one, while New Zealand’s Amelia Rose Watkinson returned to the race she dominated eight years ago in glorious fashion.

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Banking on a powerful showing in the 90-kilometer bike leg of the grueling three-in-one contest that also consisted of a 1.9km swim and 21km run starting and ending at The Mactan Newtown passing through the iconic CCLEX, Ferris outpaced early favorite Mike Phillips of New Zealand en route to seizing the coveted men’s pro crown with the fastest time of three hours, 49 minutes and 11 seconds.

“The course was amazing, you know. I’ve raced all over the world and yeah, and yet this was amazing. The experience was second to none. The crowd was just insane and the course, going over the CCLEX and having everyone on the course cheering on, it was, yeah, it was really good, really amazing,” Ferris shared.