After dropping out during the Lode Willems Challenge Wanaka a few weeks ago, the Dutch great athlete has clearly taken steps towards the new season: he finished third last night in the Ironman 70.3 Geelong (Dutch time, ed.).

Wilms immediately began the swim in Australia – the country she also lives in – and it’s no surprise that she was the first to emerge from the water: she did so after 26:04 minutes. She was followed by ‘good old’ Radka Kahlefeld in ten seconds and Grace Thake and Stephanie Demestisas in 46 seconds. Wilms was the only non-Australian participant, although Kahlefeldt was not Australian.

Wilms and Kahlefeldt immediately came together on the bike, and Tecum took thirty kilometers to join the then leading duo. All the other women were already far behind; Renee Kiley was almost two minutes behind, and then it took more than four minutes to wait for the first followers. Wilms, Kahlefeldt and Thek then stayed together until the end of the cycle leg and entered T2. A strong cycling performance by Kiley saw him close to the leaders; She changed in 1:04 minutes.

Nevertheless, the race ultimately came down to Thak, Kahlefeld and Wilms, who also crossed the finish line in that order and ran in that order throughout the half marathon. Thake was slowly but surely a few seconds away from Kahlefeldt, while Wilms could only hope for bronze as he fell further behind early in the race. Kahlefeldt quickly lost time in the final stages.

Tech finished the race in 4:10:10. Kahlefeld was second, 2:28 minutes behind, and Wilms was 4:17 minutes back.