Reigning Women’s Podium Back in Action at Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast

The 2021 champion, Lotte Wilms, along with second and third place getters Kirralee Seidel and Hannah Wells, will be back in action, highlighting the women’s professional field set to start on Mooloolaba Beach on Sunday morning.

Queensland-based Dutch athlete Lotte Wilms won on her IRONMAN 70.3 debut on the Sunshine Coast last year and is looking forward to racing this weekend.

“I feel happy, fresh and fit heading into Sunday,” said Wilms. “Since last year, the Sunshine Coast is now my home and I’m looking forward to racing at home.”

Last September’s IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast win meant a lot to Wilms as it signalled her move to middle-distance racing, having focused on qualifying for the Olympics for the Netherlands previously.

“Last year’s win meant more than I thought it would,” said Wilms. “Firstly, I was not focused on winning but just putting a good performance together. Like so many millions of other people we were still in the middle of COVID. I was in Cairns for three months, qualified for the Olympics but could not get there, my Grandpa just passed away a week before the race and in that time my home was Sydney and I couldn’t go back.

“Coming over that finish line and get rewarded with a win was an amazing feeling and proof of believing and staying patient will pay off one day,” she said.

Wilms has spent much of this year racing overseas and is keen to get back to racing in Australia.

“I’m looking forward to racing in Australia because the crowd and community is amazing,” she said. “The sport culture is amazing, to see all the people and athletes, not only the Pros, line up and achieve their goal is something special to witness. I’m thankful I’m able to do what I do, I’m a very lucky lady and excited to put a good performance together in the country I love.”

New Zealand’s Hannah Wells has had success on the Sunshine Coast in the past, winning the event in 2019 and finishing on the podium in 2021, 2018 and 2017, and is keen to return this weekend.

“I’m feeling more confident about Sunshine Coast than any other race so far this year,” said Wells. “My fitness has been moving in the right direction all year and I’m finally at a stage where I am hitting some harder run sessions now, so I’m hoping that will set me up for my best run so far this year. I still think I have some way to go to get to peak fitness, but at least I can look for progress in this race.

“I love the atmosphere and beachy vibe of the race venue and town of Mooloolaba,” she said. “It’s also a race that is relatively easy to get to, so everything around the race seems to run smoothly, so that makes it easier to race well come race day.”

Wells has just returned from a racing and training block in the United States, taking the opportunity to line up against some of the best triathletes in the world.

“It was great to get the opportunity to gain more international experience. I feel like New Zealand and Australian athletes have missed out on some opportunities over the last couple of years due to COVID travel restrictions, so I was eager to head overseas and do a few races to get a feel for the racing over there,” said Wells. “While my fitness has been building across this first half of the year and I haven’t felt like I have been at peak race form going into the races, I was still in a position to do well enough to be towards the front of the races and learnt a lot as a result, so I am really glad I went over.

“Seeing the level of racing over there has made me more motivated to work hard and go back next year and try to do even better,” she said. “I also had the opportunity to experience training and racing at some altitude for the first time and we learnt a lot there that will be hugely beneficial moving forward for race preparations.”

Wells is looking forward to getting back to the Sunshine Coast, and a win on Sunday would be a special one for her.

“It would mean so much. I love this race, it was my first pro race and first ever IRONMAN 70.3, so it always means a lot to race well at this one,” she said. “It has been a while since I have taken the tape in an IRONMAN 70.3 and it has been a long build back to fitness for me after an injury at the end of last year, so to win would mean so much at the moment.”

Also set to line up on the beach in Mooloolaba on Sunday morning is reigning GWM IRONMAN Western Australia champion Kylie Simpson and IRONMAN Western Australia podium finisher Sarah Thomas.