Lee cements top Asian spot with last-gasp win
Daniel Lee Chi-wo won his second international title in eight days after a last-gasp sprint finish gave him victory in the Amakusa ITU International Triathlon in Japan yesterday.
Double Olympian Lee followed up last Sunday's successful defence of his Subic Bay title in the Philippines by out-sprinting his rivals over the final 200m to win the Japanese event, which this year celebrated its 25th anniversary.
National triathlon coach Ruth Hunt was on hand to witness Lee's impressive performance and said that things are going very well in the build up to the China National Championships, which will be held in Suixian, Henan province, on June 21.
'The conditions were near perfect for today's race and Daniel's strategy worked very well indeed,' said Hunt from the Japanese holiday island of Amakusa. 'Everything augurs well for Suixian, so Daniel and the squad are very much looking forward to the challenge.'
The Amakusa event was the first premium ranked triathlon in Asia, and Lee (pictured) picked up approximately 400 points on the ITU points list and ITU continental ranking. Yesterday's points haul also cements Lee's Asian triathlon number one ranking.
Lee, 32, came out of the water in fifth position after the 1,500m swim, and was among the lead pack going into the 40km single-lap bike section. The second pack caught the leaders at the 20km mark to form a peloton of 23 riders, which also included Lee's teammates Jason Hsieh Chun-shing and Lemuel Lau Ching-yin.
Lee timed his sprint to perfection with just 200m to go to win the event by a nose from Australia's Dane Robinson. Local favourite Ryosuke Yamamoto placed third.
