Ironman Champ coming to Laguna Phuket

Ironman 70.3 World Champion to Race Laguna Phuket

In a major coup for Ironman 70.3 Laguna Phuket, recently-crowned 2012 Ironman 70.3 World Champion Leanda Cave has joined the ranks of top professional athletes set to appear at this year’s event.

Welsh Superstar Cave’s entry sets up Thrilling Title Duel

Cave signed up for Laguna Phuket less than 24 hours after completing her epic World Championship victory in Las Vegas on 9 October – and before resuming training for her next title bid at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii on 13 October.

Her Laguna confirmation has set up a thrilling duel with 2011 Ironman 70.3 World Champion and defending Laguna Phuket 70.3 Champion Melissa Hauschildt of Australia – beaten into fourth place in Las Vegas by Cave – who will be eager not to lose another title to the Welsh superstar.

“To have the brand new Ironman 70.3 World Champion immediately accept our invitation to race at Laguna Phuket is a testament to the drawing power and popularity which characterises our race on the pro circuit,” said Debbie Dionysius, Assistant Vice President of Destination Marketing, Laguna Phuket.

“Attracting such top talent is an indication of the international stature we’ve achieved and we’re looking forward to a fantastic display of world-class competition.”

 The competitive mix

The Laguna Phuket 2012 competitive mix is also fuelled by Czech Olympian Radka Vodickova and Australian veteran Belinda Granger – both vying to become the first women’s Triple Champion of Laguna Phuket Triathlon (LPT), a week earlier on 25 November – and also with points to prove in the 70.3.

Cave, an ITU World Long Distance Champion, is hitting peak form in the run-up to Kona and Laguna, despite an indifferent start to the year that followed a spectacular end to her 2011 season when she recorded a third-place finish at the Ironman World Championship, a win at Ironman 70.3 Miami, runner-up finish at the ITU World Long Distance Championship in Las Vegas and her first Ironman title in Arizona.

Born in the UK, Cave emigrated as a child to Australia, before moving back to the UK with her Welsh mother. She now lives and trains in Tucson, Arizona and races for both Wales and Great Britain.

Cave is no stranger to Phuket, having raced LPT in 2006 when she was second-placed behind Canadian Samantha McGlone, who then went on to become 2007 Ironman 70.3 World Champion.

Hauschildt, currently battling back from an injury-hit season, made a determined defence of her World 70.3 title in Las Vegas, but her fourth place was more than seven minutes behind Cave’s winning time of 4:28:05.

At Laguna Phuket she’ll be aiming to hold off the challenges of Cave, Rodickova, Granger and a field of other top pros to hold onto her 2011title, which she won with a course record of 4:17:01.

Phuket International Boat Show

Phuket International Boat Show

The 2013 Phuket International Boat Show (PIMEX) will showcase leading marine and lifestyle businesses, products and services from 21 – 24 March at the Royal Phuket Marina on Phuket Island, with a large in-water boat display, 2,500 sqm indoor exhibition space and marina-side activities on the boardwalk.

 The 10^th Anniversary

The 10^th Anniversary PIMEX will be the biggest and best yet, with upto 60 boats in-the-water, a packed Exhibition Hall and a new ‘Marine Market’.

Organisers moved the Show in 2012 from the traditional January slot to March, to accommodate a larger in-water display of quality boats, which proved to be a great success with the largest and highest quality boat display ever seen in Asia.

The date change in 2012 was well-received, and resulted in an increased demand for more in-water display space. The change also meant the quality of product displayed in-the-water, as well as the quality of visitors, was the highest yet,” said Andy Dowden, Show Director.

This year, the in-water area has been expanded further with space for upto 60 boats.

Asian boat show season

Strategically positioned at the start of the Asian boat show season which runs March through May, PIMEX is set to attract more top international boat and marine product brands, and will host a number of regional product launches as companies from around the world come to PIMEX to showcase their latest products for the 2012/13 Asian season.

New for this year is the Marine Market – an outdoor waterside exhibition space catering to trailer boats, marine products and widgets.

 Trailer boats and gadgets.

“We have noted a growing demand in trailer boats – both for exhibitors requiring display space, and from interested buyers. We have created an open space near the Town Square at Royal Phuket Marina which will allow sellers to display small boats on trailers, together with display areas for products, gadgets and widgets. The aim is to attract exhibitors who don’t display in the Exhibition Hall or in-the-water, and give them the chance to be a part of PIMEX,” added Dowden.

Show Director Andy Dowden

The Show will have up to 60 yachts in-the-water from 10m to 35m, power and sail, and smaller trailer yachts for the entry level visitors, with as many as 120 exhibiting companies representing over 250 brands worldwide. Products on display will range from boats to marine equipment and accessories, charter and diving and sailing holidays, technical and design services, marina construction and a wide range of water sports toys and gadgets. Alongside the marine exhibits will be a wide choice of luxury property, reasonably priced condominium projects and investment opportunities together with other iconic branded goods.

 Already 30% of the in-water space is booked and the Exhibition Hall space has seen early reservations in excess of 20%.

For more information, visit www.phuketboatshow.com.

Phuket FM radio 91.5 FM is delighted to be an official media partner with the Phuket International Boat Show

Phuket Peace and Reconciliation

Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket News.

Welcome The Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council (APRC)

Mr Peter Komposch, General Manager (3rd left) of Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket, is honoured to welcome Asian statespeople and leading international politicians, the founding members of the Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council (APRC).

These include the former president of East Timor H.E. Jose Ramos Horta (5th right); Pakistan’s former prime minister H.E. Shaukat Aziz (2nd left); Austria’s former chancellor H.E. Dr Alfred Gusenbauer (2nd right); the Philippines’ former house speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.(3rd right); Thailand’s former deputy premier and foreign minister H.E. Dr Surakiart Sathirathai (centre); General Manager of PACTA Mr Juha Christensen (3rd left, far behind) ; and Thailand’s former Minister of Tourism and Sport of Thailand H.E. Mr. Weerasak Kowsurat, (4th right, far behind);

The council recently visited Phuket on 5-7 September 2012.

Visit the Phuket Radio News site here for more upto date news stories.

Laguna Phuket Triathlon

Phuket Triathlon News

Granger and Vodickova to Challenge for Unique Honour 

 This year’s Laguna Phuket Triathlon (LPT) will see an intriguing battle when two elite pro athletes face-off to become the first-ever women’s triple Champion of the iconic event.

Australian Belinda Granger and Czech Olympian Radka Vodickova are among the first pro registrations for LPT 2012 on Sunday 25 November and the Ironman 70.3 Laguna Phuket a week later on Sunday 2 December.

The enduring appeal of LPT, now in its 19^th year, and the unique challenges of Laguna Phuket’s Ironman 70.3 are attracting entries from leading international pro athlete personalities, as well as age groupers worldwide.

In LPT, Laguna veteran Granger, champion in 2008 and 2010, will again find her bid to lift a unique third title threatened by the younger Vodickova, who beat her into second place last year by just over three minutes.

And Vodickova, still buzzing from her London Olympic Games experience with the Czech triathlon team, is keen to repeat her 2009 and 2011wins to crown a memorable season and become LPT’s first three-time women’s Champion, a year after Italian Massimo Cigana achieved that feat in the men’s field.

 Australian Legend.

“To compete for this honour against the legendary Belinda Granger will make it a fantastic race,” she said.

“Belinda was a big part of my first LPT victory – I was inexperienced with the distance and unsure on the bike course, so I just tried to follow Belinda and hoped I could survive her pace.

Ironman 70.3 Champion to Defend Title

In the Ironman 70.3 Laguna Phuket, 2011Champion Melissa Rollison of Australia – now racing under her married name of Melissa Hauschildt – has registered to return to defend her title.

She’s set to face strong challenges from a field that will include Vodickova and Granger, who finished third and eighth respectively last year.

Phuket gets a new Triathlon

PHUKET, 

Hot on the heels of the London 2012 Olympics, the Governor of Phuket together with the Absolute World Group, International Sports Events Consulting (ISEC) and the International Triathlon Union (ITU), announce Phuket will host the Absolute Phuket ITU LD World Series Triathlon 2013. One of only eight in the prestigious ITU Long Distance World Triathlon Series, the Phuket Triathlon will take place 4^th and 5^th May 2013 in Patong.

The event expects over 600 athletes including top professional athletes, Olympians and World Champions who will line-up alongside amateurs to participate in Phuket’s first ITU triathlon event, the Absolute Phuket ITU LD World Series Triathlon 2013.

The Absolute Phuket ITU LD World Series Triathlon 2013 is strategically positioned in the global triathlon calendar, at the beginning of the Europe and USA seasons, and will attract many elite and amateur triathletes to compete in Phuket’s warmer climate, together with a large showing from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, Japan, Australia and Thailand. More than 25 countries will be represented in the first year.

 The Course.

The course runs though Phuket’s stunning coastline and west coast beaches of the Andaman Sea. Athletes start with an open water swim off Patong Beach, transition to their bikes and race south past Karon Beach to Kata Beach, and back – a technical and hilly route, where one lap is approximately 25km. The run is a flat road race around Patong, heading south along the beachfront, with one lap approximately 5km. The finish will be on Bangla Road, in the heart of Patong.

Taking place over the weekend of 4^th and 5^th May. Consisting of three disciplines – swim/ bike/ run – the two days will include a number of distances and race formats, including Sprint (750m/ 20km/ 5km), Olympic Distance (1.5km/ 40km/ 10km), team relay, celebrity relay and ITU Kids. On Sunday 5^th May, the main event will be the Double Olympic Distance race (3km/ 80km/ 20km).