Bella steeled for Hawaii Ironman

comerford and fiance bayliss both aiming for top-10 as she harbours world title aspirations

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TROPICAL RIDER: Bella Comerford reckons winning in Hawaii would be the ultimate achievement

Aberdeenshire athlete Bella Comerford believes she can win the Ironman world triathlon title some day but would settle for a top-10 position when this year’s championships take place at Kona, Hawaii tomorrow.

The 30-year-old, from Tarland, has carved out a successful career as one of the world’s leading long distance competitors.

The gruelling Ironman event, where competitors tackle a 2.4-mile swim followed by a 112-mile cycling stage before finishing off with a 26.2-mile marathon run, suits her perfectly.

This year she has won the Ironman UK, Lanzarote and South Africa titles. She also set one of the quickest times by a woman when finishing second in the Ironman Austria race.

She said: “I believe in years to come I could win Hawaii. You never know. It is possible this year but I doubt it.

“I’m aiming for the top 10 and I believe that’s an achievable goal. Anything better would be brilliant. If I got on the podium it would be amazing. Winning Hawaii would be the ultimate.”

Comerford is in great shape following her victory in the Ironman UK race last month. She added: “My training has gone very well. The UK race was very tough and I was tired afterwards but I recovered fast.

“My fiance Stephen Bayliss and I travelled to Jeju, an island off the south of South Korea, to join six of our team-mates who were also training for Hawaii.

“The weather conditions are similar to Hawaii and training facilities are great for us. It is a beautiful island and at the same time it is quiet.”

Bayliss is also competing in Hawaii and Comerford expects him to do well.

She said: “I believe Stephen will have a great race. He is very fit and strong. He has been continually improving since his first Ironman four years ago. He’s aiming for the top 10.”

One of Bayliss’s opponents in this weekend’s men’s race is Aberdeen’s Scott Neyedli.

The two have already competed in the Ironman UK race, with Bayliss toppling Neyedli from his position as national champion.

Neyedli has also travelled abroad to complete his preparations. He has spent the last two weeks training in San Diego and is looking forward to another tough race.