Ashleigh Gentle crossed the finish line in third place after a spirited run. (AAP Photo/Ironman Group Oceania: Fiona Goodall)
In short:
Ashleigh Gentle finished third at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in 4:03.01.
Ellie Salthouse and Grace Thek also made the top 10.
What’s next?
The men’s competition will be held on Sunday.
Australian Ashleigh Gentle won bronze at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Taupo, New Zealand, after leading the way to a podium finish.
Gentle competed in her first Ironman 70.3 World Championships and crossed the finish line in 4 hours, 3 minutes and 1 second.
Taylor Knibb of the United States (3:57.34) won gold, and Kate Matthews of Britain (3:58.49) took silver.
The world’s top female swimmers descended on Lake Taupo on Saturday and after completing the 1.9km swim, Ginter finished 17th, 44 seconds behind her peers.
She began to close the gap on the bike and moved up to eighth place by the end of the 90 km stage.
But it was in the run that Gentle showed her strength, as the two-time Olympian raced her way to the top of the podium.
“I’m very relieved,” said Ginter, who represented Australia in triathlon at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.
“I really didn’t know how it was going to go, but I was really proud of myself for sticking with it.
“Being on the podium is just the icing on the cake.”
Gentle’s fellow Australian Ellie Salthouse achieved her best time at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships, finishing seventh in 4:07:48.
Grace Thek of Melbourne was 10th in 4:09:08.
The men’s competition will be held on Sunday.
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