Perak Amanjaya Eco Race 2009
Swedes Triumph and Bag $15,000 Prize
06.12.2009
<b>PANGKOR ISLAND, PERAK</b> The exciting final leg of the inaugural Perak Amanjaya International Eco Adventure 2009 (PAIEA 2009) went down right to the wire with Team Worldofmultisport.com from Sweden emerging overall champions to bag the grand prize of USD 15,000 at Pangkor Island, Perak. The mixed pair, comprising Martin Flinta and Eva Nystrom, won the 68km final leg in four hours 25 minutes and 42 seconds with a total accumulated time of 15:30:07 in the four-day endurance race, beating their nearest rivals by slightly over 20 minutes.
They etched their names into the first chapter of the PAIEA 2009 by beating 15 other world-class teams from 15 countries, including Malaysia and claimed the lions share of the total prize purse of USD 40,000.
Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr. Zambry Abd. Kadir was present to officiate at the closing ceremony and presented the grand prize and medals to the champions and first runner-up at Dataran Pangkor, Pulau Pangkor. Meanwhile, State Culture, Youth and Sports EXCO Zainol Fadzi Paharudin gave away the mock cheque and medals to the overall second runner-ups.
The first runner-up went to French-Australian Team Chiru Racing Bikes who picked up a cash prize of USD7,000 and completed the entire race with an accumulated time of 15:50:36.
Overall second runner-up position was won by the mixed pair Team Tecnu Extreme/Asolo Adventure Racing of USA who finished in a total accumulated time of 15:51:53 and went home with a cash prize of USD 5,000.
Apart from the Swedish pair celebrating a double joy in the final leg which started from Pasir Salak to Pangkor Island, the American team of Asia Pacific Adventure finished second in 4:26:29. Third position was picked up by the mixed pair American team of Team Tecnu Extreme/ Asolo Adventure Racing in 4:30:29.
Eva Nystrom of Worldofmultisport.com attributed the win to their consistency, mental strength and confidence to overcome the tough challenges and climatic conditions.
She said the Perak Amanjaya International Eco Adventure 200 is one of the best and toughest eco-adventure courses in the world. “All the teams are ranked among the best in the world and experienced. It was our strong will to add another feather to our cap that enabled us to successfully emerge as the inaugural winner of this challenging race,� said a jubilant Eva.
It was an unfortunate day for the Malaysian team who slipped behind in the middle of the race today to finish in sixth spot. Mohd Puzi Dolah and Heidilee Mohammad racing under the umbrella of “Salomon TLDM�, who started the final leg in third overall placing yesterday fell a rung to finish fourth overall with an accumulated time of 15:54:53.
The 68 km final stage of the four-day eco-adventure, which started in Pasir Salak and ended in Pangkor Island involved mountain-biking, kayaking, abseiling, running, and a duathlon of biking and running.
Harvey Davis, Vice-President, Event Management Group, ESPN STAR Sports, said he was delighted that the overall organisation of the entire race went well with few hitches.
“All the participants were highly impressed with the organisation of this event despite the short time frame of five weeks to put everything into place. We are confident that next year’s event would be much better planned and attract stronger interest from the world’s best multi-sports athletes,� added Davis. See All Event Posts
