Ironman bets feed on heavy crowd support

MANILA, Philippines — Australian Laura Wood brims with confidence days ahead of the second Regent Aguila IRONMAN 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championships powered by Philam Vitality on Sunday, upbeat of pulling off a triumphant campaign in her first stint in Cebu.

Coming into the event in top form, Wood said she’s looking forward to drawing inspiration from the fans, whose all-out support has marked every IRONMAN staging in the country’s triathlon hub that has also caught the fancy of many endurance race campaigners.

“I’m most looking forward to the spectator support in Cebu,” said Wood, seeking to finally score a breakthrough after a third place effort in IRONMAN 70.3 Subic and a runner-up finish in Davao 5150 early this year.

“This is my first time in Cebu and I’ve heard the crowds are fantastic at this event so hopefully that will give me an extra push,” added the 24-year-old campaigner, who will be up against the fancied Swiss Caroline Steffen and Dimity Lee Duke from Australia.

Former world champion and three-time IRONMAN 70.3 Philippines Cebu titlist Tim Reed of Australia has put it all in context when he said in one of his title runs: “One couldn’t stop smiling the entire way (of the race) because of the absolutely crazy support out on the course. The bike course is lined 5-6 people deep while the half marathon is an audio-visual sensory overload of music, dancing and thousands of screaming people.”

But more than crowd support, Wood also needs to dish out her best.