Dibens defends world crown
University of Bath-based triathlete Julie Dibens successfully defended her XTERRA World Championships title in Hawaii yesterday (Sunday).
The 33-year-old won the gruelling off-road race in Maui – a race that features a 1.5km rough water sea swim, a 32km mountain bike ride and a 12km trail run.
Dibens dominated the race, leading from the start and crossing the finishing line in 3:03.57 – a minute ahead of Canada’s Danelle Kabush in second place.
It means Dibens, an Athens 2004 Olympian who represented Team England in the triathlon at the Manchester and Melbourne Commonwealth Games, becomes only the second woman to win back-to-back XTERRA World Championship titles.
“I think this one was a bit harder,” said Dibens. “It definitely took more out of me.
“I was hurting out there on the run and the heat really got to me,” she added. “Just before the finish a guy passed me and said Danelle was right behind me, so I had to sprint to the finish, and that was murder.”
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Posted: Monday 27th October 2008
