Brandon, Polyanskaya win Palembang Triathlon

Barett Brandon of the United States and Anastasia Polyanskaya of Russia won Sunday's men's and women's international triathlon, respectively, in the South Sumatra capital of Palembang.

Brandon recorded 1 hour 56 minutes and 35.301 seconds for the three competitions - a 1.5-kilometer swim, cycling and then a 10-kilometer run.

Trailing in second place was Dimitry Polyansiy of Russia (1:56:55.013) while Steven Richard Hewick of Canada finished third (2:00:27.782).

"I didn't expect to be able to race against him *Polyansiy* but closer to the finish line I saw his physical performance had started to fall," Brandon said.

Polyansiy said Palembang's heat and humidity was his toughest challenge during the competition.

"Brandon has been here days before the event started while I just arrived a day before the race. I think he had more time to adapt to the weather here. I have to say that it's very hot," he said.

In the women's section, Polyanskaya finished first after recording 2:11:51.554. Ivanovskaya Lubov of Russia was second with 2:11:56.432 followed by Lea Colins Langit of the Philippines (2:16:04.793).

The winners bagged US$1,400 in cash prizes while runners-up and those placed third won $900 and $500, respectively.

South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin expressed hope that the annual event would attract more international athletes in future. "We need this event to help us prepare to host the 2011 SEA Games," he said.