Ironman WA: Best ever field eyeing record

Cracking the eight hour mark is a goal firmly in the sights of the male elite athletes competing in this year’s Ironman WA.

One of the best field’s ever seen in Busselton will be trying to pass defending champion Courtney Ogden and the course record of 8:03:56 in Sunday’s race.

At a press conference this morning, German triathlete Timo Bracht, who won the Frankfurt Ironman event this year with a personal best time of 7:59, said he was looking forward to doing another time under eight hours.

“It’s definitely a fast race ... if conditions are good then I could do another PB,” he said.

Five-time Ironman winner Luke McKenzie said it had been a goal of his for a long time to go under the eight-hour mark.

“Everyone will push themselves to that barrier and I’m looking forward to being part of it,” he said.

Defending women’s champion Kate Bevilaqua said she had made some changes to ensure she wouldn’t repeat last year’s finish which saw her collapse at the finish line.

Ironman WA starts at 5.30am Sunday morning with 3.8km swim, followed by a 180km bike ride and finishing with a 42.2km run.