Lightbody rises to the top of World Ironman 70.3

Peter Mallett, Staff Writer ~

Award-winning triathlete Lieutenant (Navy) Nico Lightbody is celebrating an impressive first outing at the World Ironman 70.3 Championships after a top 100 finish.

He finished the 1.9-kilometer swim, 90-km bike ride and 21.1-km run with a time of 4:16:03 in the multi-sport competition held in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa, on Sept. 1.

Lt(N) Lightbody, winner of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) 2017 male athlete of the year award, says he was encouraged with his 89th place overall finish in a field of 3,764 competitors.

“I am extremely happy about my results because the calibre of athletes at the race is extremely high and it’s nice to race against the best triathletes in the world.”

He and the rest of the competitors battled rain and slippery conditions for the cycling and running portions of the race. The good results came despite a leg cramp during the running portion, which he was eventually able to overcome.

He was especially impressed with his swimming performance, where he finished tops in his age 25 to 29 age category, recording a personal best of one minute faster than his previous time. 

As part of his New Year’s resolution, Lightbody is considering doubling down on race distances towards competing in full ironman event that involves 3.86 km of swimming, 180.25 km bicycle ride and a 42.20 marathon.