Australian, Irish athletes take titles at Ironman 70.3 in Xiamen

Sam Betten of Australia and Eimear Mullan of Ireland won the men's and women's professional titles at the Ironman 70.3 Xiamen race held here on Sunday.

Betten finished in 3 hours, 53 minutes and 30 seconds in the pro men's competition of Ironman 70.3 Xiamen, which consists of a 1.9-kilometer swimming, a 90-kilometer bike riding and a 21.1-kilometer marathon run.

The United States had a 2-3 finish with Justin Metzler in 3:53:45 and Jonathan Shearon in 3:55:01.

In the women's race, Mullan was the first to cross the finish line, clocking 4:14:22. Imogen Simmonds from Switzerland won the second place with a time of 4:14:34 and American Haley Chura ended third in 4:18:28.

Ironman 70.3 Xiamen offers 50 qualifying slots for the 2018 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa and 30 qualifying slots for the 2018 Ironman World Championships at Kailua-Kona, United States.

Over 1,500 athletes from 55 countries and regions participated in this year's event.