Australian Brad Kahlefeidt triumphs in Hefei IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon (Guo Chen/Xinhua)

HEFEI, China, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Brad Kahlefeidt won the pro men's title at the inaugural Hefei Wanda City IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon here on Sunday.

On the strength of a 23:50 swim, 2:12:52 bike, and 1:15:02 marathon, Kahlefeidt posted a time of 3 hours 55 minutes and 31 seconds to finish first in the debut race of the world-famous IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon series in China.

Britain's Stuart Hayes was second in 3:56:45, while Brad Williams, also a Briton, held off Luke Bell for the third place in a sprint finish.

In the pro women's race, Radka Vodickova of the Czech Republic claimed her second IRONMAN 70.3 victory of the year after winning at Putrajaya. She finished in 4:13:49 on the back of a 24:58 swim, 2:22:15 bike and 1:22:58 run.

Emma Pallant of Britain came second in 4:16:54, followed by American Robin Pomeroy in 4:21:46.

Vodickova has enjoyed a consistently high level of performance this year with second placing at the IRONMAN Asia Pacific Championship, as well as at Subic Bay and Vietnam and third at Barcelona and top-10 at the world championship. She went in to this race fifth in the world rankings over this distance.

On Sunday, athletes began with a one-loop 1.2-mile counterclockwise swim in beautiful Swan Lake before embarking on a 56-mile bike ride that heads south through the city of Hefei, to Chaohu Lake and back to the Wanda Cultural and Tourism City. Participants concluded the three-discipline race with a 13.1-mile run along Chaohu Lake and through the Wanda Cultural and Tourism City in the heart of the city.

Apart from 50 slots for the 2017 IRONMAN World Championship, IRONMAN 70.3 Hefei also offers 50 slots to qualify for the 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship which will be held in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the United States.

IRONMAN, a crown jewel of endurance sports, makes a giant step forward in expanding its brand with the IRONMAN 70.3 event in Hefei and then later in Xiamen of Fujian province in November.

The IRONMAN 70.3 Xiamen triathlon slated for November 13 will offer 40 qualiyfing slots to the 2017 IRONMAN World Championship. (By Li Houru)