Raelert and Vanhoenacker finish 2nd and 3rd in Hawaii

BEST Connection to Hawaii

Congratulations to Germany’s Andreas Raelert and Belgium’s Marino Vanhoenacker who placed 2nd and 3rd respectively in Saturday’s Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.

The BEST Centre played host to intensive training camps for the two, who utilized the centre’s swimming facility and excellent surrounding areas to prepare for their assault on Kona. Raelert, a great friend of the BEST Centre, raced head to head with Australia’s Chris McCormack coming into the last few miles of the marathon section. In a grandstand finish, Andreas missed gold by less than 2 minutes, after over 8 hours of racing.

Raelert spent 3 weeks at the BEST Centre in March, part of preparation that saw him win the Frankfurt Ironman and take the European Ironman title.

Vanhoenacker, meanwhile, came to the BEST Centre in August with Ironman legend Normann Stadler. The Belgian spent 3 weeks in the Colonia Sant Jordi sun swimming each morning at the BEST Centre before riding and running in a climate similar to his racing conditions in Hawaii. The 5 time Austria Ironman winner had a great day for his best placed 3rd finish in Kona.

Stadler, the two-time Hawaii winner, was up among the top 10 for much of the race before his experienced legs faded over the last few miles of the marathon to finish a credible 33rd.

Women’s European Champion Sandra Wallenhorst of Germany, who spent most of September training at the BEST Centre, was disqualified for an infringement on the bike course. We are yet to find out exactly why.

Once again, congratulations to Andreas and Marino for their amazing results.