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Taiwan Sports Wrap

Indoor ironman triathlon

Taiwan's first indoor ironman triathlon crowned its champions on Wednesday as competitors sweated their way through the 25.8km course on stationary bikes, treadmills and in an indoor pool.

Wei Chen-chan (魏振展) took the men's title with a time of one hour and 14 seconds, while Chiang Yi-wen (江旖文) led the women's field at one hour and 13 minutes. Hsieh Chao (謝超), president of the Chinese Taipei Triathlon Association also participated, finishing in one hour and 23 minutes.

The finalists of the "Nuskin Cup Indoor Ironman Triathlon" were whittled down from an original field of 196 competitors over six days. The course was divided into a 800m swim, 20km bike ride and a 5km run.

Competitors said that that the indoor event was even harder than a traditional triathlon in some ways.

"The stationary bike doesn't carry any momentum, you have to pedal each stroke yourself. The treadmill has speed limits so you can't control the pace easily as you go along. Only the swimming pool was a bit simpler," Wei said.

Chiang commented that as the running and biking sections were both completely flat, there was no opportunity to rest on downhill sections as there would be outside, and that the speed limit on the treadmill was too slow.

Hsieh said he would work to promote the event to ironmen who were put off by the prospect of having to race outside in the rain and swim in cold water.

Chang now No. 1

Chang Shu-han (張舒涵) is now the No. 1 female pool player in the country after winning two of the six rounds of the national ranking competition.

Chang won a tie-breaker against second-ranked Tsai Pei-chen (蔡佩真) 3-0 on Wednesday to take the top spot.

The two now qualify to represent Taiwan at the Amway WPA Women's World Nine-Ball Championship in Taoyuan next month as well as various other events later this year.
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