Sport
22 June, 2025
Yanks take out Ironman
MATTHEW Marquardt and Jackie Hering have made it an American sweep of the top step of the podium at the Cairns Airport Ironman Cairns, claiming the men’s and women’s professional titles, last Sunday.
Marquardt became the first non-Oceania male to win in Cairns, crossing the line in 7h50m41s for his maiden professional Ironman triathlon victory, while Hering was all class as she took the tape in the women’s race in 8h42m15s.
West Australian athlete Nick Thompson was second over the line, less than three minutes behind Marquardt, with Australian-based Finnish athlete Henrik Goesch rounding out the podium.
“This was my third season as a pro and I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve had a lot of podiums, but I’ve never won,” said Marquardt.
“A lot of those races were really, really close. Lake Placid last year, I was leading for seven and a half hours and then got passed in the last 30 minutes, and so it was just always being so close. So, to actually get the win is incredibly meaningful and it was definitely a memory that I’ll keep forever,” he said.
“You never know when you’re going to have another one and so I really wanted to try and cherish it as much as I could because nothing is guaranteed in life, you never know what tomorrow brings.”
In taking the victory Marquardt became the first male professional from outside Australia or New Zealand to win the event in its 14-year history.
In the women’s race Jackie Hering claimed an almost four-minute victory over defending Ironman Cairns champion Hannah Berry of New Zealand, with Australian-based Dutch athlete Lotte Wilms making it back-to-back podium finishes in Tropical North Queensland in third.
Hering’s performance on Sunday was all the more remarkable given she only made the decision to head to Cairns in the last week, after not finishing at the Qatar Airways Ironman Hamburg European Championship in Germany a fortnight ago, and she certainly made the most of her trip to Australia.
