Kimberley Happy To Finish 7th
In First Ever Asiad Triathlon

By Bernama Lena Liew

DOHA (Qatar), Dec 9 (Bernama) -- Swimmer-turned triathlete Kimberley Yap may have won no medal with her 7th placing in the first ever Asian Games triathlon held along the Corniche (esplanade) in Doha, but she's ecstatic nonetheless.

The Manila SEA Games gold medallist completed the Olympic distance of a 1.5km swim, 20km cycling and 10km run in 2:10:07.32s - a good 4 minutes and 32.28 seconds faster than the 2:14:39.60 she clocked in the first ever SEA Games triathlon last December.

"I had come aiming to just make the top 10 (out of 16)," said the jubilant Kimberly, who emerged first out of the water after rounding the 750m-mark buoys by two body-lengths ahead of eventual gold medallist Wang Hongni of China.

Recording a swim of 19:39.00, a stumble while running with her bicycle out of the first transition zone saw Kimberley lose ground when her pedalling shoes become dislodged and her water bottle fell off.

Wang, the International Triathlon Union's Asian No. 5, shot ahead on her bicycle and developed an unassailable lead that left Asian No. 1 and Asian Championships gold medallist Ai Ueda of Japan and her compatriot Akiko Sekine competing for the silver in the end.

Ueda proved her higher billing when she took the silver in 2:04:04.81, behind Wang's 1:59:44.27, while Sekine settled for bronze in 2:04:48.42.

Kimberley finished 5th on her bicycle clocking 1:08:17.00 over five laps of a four-kilometre route in which she was intermittently second place in a cluster of four behind Wang, and was 9th on her feet clocking 42:11.32 over two laps of a five-kilometres route.

"I guess I'm more suited for endurance racing after all," the former sprint swimmer who switched to the triathlon just one-and-a-half years ago told Bernama after the event.

Kimberley had previously won two bronze medals as part of a swimming relay in the two SEA Games before Manila, and had clocked 2.17:29 as a triathlete in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne last March.

In the men's triathlon meanwhile, Mohammad Heidilee finished 21st in a time of 2:13:20.05 while his team mate Chan Wai Yong came in two places behind in 2:16:20.92.

Former world champion Dmitriy Gaag of Kazakhstan took the gold in 1:50:53.14.

Team manager Lau Kong Yew had earlier hoped that the Malaysian men would also finish within the top 10 and clock less than two hours and 10 minutes.

-- BERNAMA