Sports news / 09.08.2012
ECCO ATHLETES ARE THE ONLY TWO SCANDINAVIANS TO QUALIFY FOR IRONMAN’S FLAGSHIP EVENT
Kona, Hawaii, July 2012: Professional tri-athletes and ECCO ambassadors, Rasmus Henning and Michelle Vesterby have earned themselves a place at the World Championships in Kona, and secured a place in Scandinavia’s triathlon history as the only professional athletes from the region to qualify this year.
Rasmus qualified following an exceptional run at the half Ironman in Calgary, Canada last weekend, finishing with a 40 second lead on his nearest rival, Chris Legh, who placed second. 2012 has been a strong season for Rasmus who topped the podium at the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon in March, Challenge Fuerteventura in April and now the half Ironman in Canada.
"The transfer time from bike to run is always a crucial point for me, as a few seconds either way can make a real difference to a close race – especially in one like Kona where you’re competing against world-class elite athletes. Since I don’t have to wear socks with my ECCO BIOM’s as the sole is sewn into the uppers, it helped shave seconds off my time going into the run in Calgary and I’ll definitely be using this to my advantage in Kona.”
Michelle Vesterby qualified for Kona with very strong performances in her last two triathlons; finishing first and second at the famously grueling Ironman Lanzarote and Ironman 70.3 Haugesund respectively. It’s a fantastic achievement for the athlete who only completed her first Ironman distance in November 2011. She has now set her sights on placing in the top 10 at the world-renowned Hawaii event:
“It’s a great feeling to have qualified in the first cut. It gives me a chance to focus in on training for Hawaii. Taking into account my performance so far this season I think I stand a real chance of a top 10 finish and I’ll be going to Boulder, Colorado in August to focus all my efforts on training for the event. Being the only Scandinavian women competing at Hawaii is an amazing honour and it’s a personal achievement for me to stand on the starting line alongside the top triathletes in the world.
ECCO’s Marketing Manager Performance Matthias Schwarte added:
"We are proud that two of our athletes qualified for Kona, whilst wearing BIOM, and it is even better that they are the only Scandinavians. We are happy that our shoes could make a difference and we’ll be supporting Rasmus and Michelle all the way on their road to Kona."