A superb display on the bike saw China's Wang Hongni crowned the
first ever Asian Games women's triathlon champion on Friday.
In cool and overcast weather, Wang covered the Olympic distance
-- 1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run, in one hour 59 minutes and
44 seconds, beating pre-event favorite Ai Ueda of Japan to second
place in 2:04:04.
Wang, ranked 5th in Asia, emerged from the swim in Doha Bay in
second place, following Malaysia's Yap Fui Li.
But she hit the front with the quickest transition and never
looked back, pedaling out to a 5.43 minutes lead on the 40km bike
leg over Asian champion Ai Ueda.
Wang's teammate Xing Lin joined her for a brief period in the
pedaling, but the 23-year-old's power and superior technical skills
soon left Xing and the rest of the field trailing.
Ueda managed to reduce this huge gap to just under 4:21 minutes
on the final 10 km run leg, but Wang held her form throughout the
run and hit the finishing line first to the cheering of
spectators.
"I'm very happy, very excited, I just cannot express my
feelings! I feel relaxed now," said Wang, a former cyclist before
converting to triathlon.
"Cycling is my strongest point, I have the ability because I
practiced," said Wang, adding that her tactics of gaining a lead in
an early stage also helped her win.
Sekine Akiko of Japan won a bronze medal in 2:04:48. Wang's
teammate Xing Lin ended fourth in 2:05:36.77.
In men's triathlon competition on Friday, Dmitriy Gaag of
Kazakhstan won the gold medal with a time of one hour 50 minutes
and 53.14 seconds.
The silver medal was taken by Lee Chi Wo Daniel of Hong Kong,
China in 1:51:18.99, followed by Daniil Sapunov of Kazakhstan in
the third place in 1:51:20.55.
The win "certainly gives me confidence before the beginning of
the Beijing Olympic Games and it's an important victory for the
overall ranking of Kazakhstan," said Dmitriy Gaag.
Lee Chi Wo Daniel called the silver medal a "real record" for
himself. "Every one has his own goal and I wanted to win a medal,”
he said.
It is the first time that the triathlon event is included in the
Asian Games.
(Xinhua News Agency December 9, 2006)
