Kendrick Louis has launched a stunning comeback during the final swim leg to take out round three of the Ironman series at Surfers Paradise Beach.
Last year's champion and round two winner Shannon Eckstein held a convincing 30 second lead for most of the race and looked set for the win until Louis and Matt Poole came home strongly to relegate him to third place. It was a remarkable victory for Louis who won his first race at Surfers Paradise two years ago. "The final swim leg was a bit of a blur. My coach said 'You can do this' and in my head I knew I could, but knew it was going to hurt," he said. Poole fought hard for the win but couldn't pass Louis while Eckstein admitted sinus problems had affected him. "I was dreading the race as I wasn't feeling 100 per cent. I held the lead for most of the race but was trying to conserve a bit for the end. The series is now wide open," Eckstein said. Meanwhile Liz Pluimers won the women's event.
After a spectacular final swim leg tussle with Maddy Dunn and Rebecca Creedy, who came second and third respectively, Pluimers continued to show her dominance in the field, following her wins in rounds one and two at Smiths Beach in Western Australia.
Creedy led the Surfers Paradise race from the first swim leg, taking on the best swimmers in the field - Dunn, Pluimers and Brown.
Entering the water in third, Pluimers chased Creedy and Dunn down in the final leg to pass Dunn before the final sprint to the finish.
"I was really hurting and it seemed like every time we were coming in, I was stuck in the impact zone and everyone would come down the wave behind me.
"But I was the one coming down that wave in that final leg and it was just perfect timing," Creedy said.
Dunn, who won at Surfers Paradise two years ago, had a strong race and showed she'd taken her swimming to another level.
"I was coming fourth in that final swim, I caught a great wave in the final leg and Liz was behind me. Then she got on that final wave to take the win," said Dunn.
Both Creedy and Brown maintain their consistently high placings to remain in contention for the series title, with last year's winner Courtney Hancock placing eighth.
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