Bay of Plenty's Hannah Wells has finished second at Qatar Airways IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast in Australia, just behind winner Lotte Wilms.

Hannah finished the race in 4:01:53, just over a minute and half behind Dutch athlete Lotte Wilms, with Australia's Penny Slater a further minute back in third.

Sunday's second place finish made it back-to-back podiums for Hannah on the Sunshine Coast, after finishing third in 2021.

'I put together a solid day out there, Lotte obviously put together a better day so congratulations to her, she had a strong swim, bike and run, it's always a tough race against her and I knew I was coming into a battle,” says Hannah. 'We all did really well out there, all three of us on the podium, so I think we're all really happy.

'It was nice and close which kept it interesting, it was a good battle between us all, and it was a fast day out there as well, perfect conditions for us."

Hannah finished the 1.9km swim off Mooloolaba Beach two minutes behind Wilms and slowly ate into her lead over the 90km ride, getting to within 30 seconds of the front of the field as they made their way up the Sunshine Motorway.

Lotte kicked ahead over the closing stages of the ride, and started the run more than two minutes clear of Hannah, but the Kiwi steadily closed the gap, taking the lead about 10kms in. The two front runners we neck and neck from there on, with Lotte retaking the lead with about 5kms to go, powering ahead to take victory.

'I felt really good on the run, I was comfortable and surprised myself with the pace, I caught up to Lotte and I think maybe she was holding back a little and then upped the pace as soon as I got to her, I didn't have anything in my legs by that point and she got me at the end there but it was a good battle,” says Hannah.

Hannah is enjoying being back on familiar turf after spending time racing and training in America recently.

'It feels good to be home, we had a great trip away and a great experience racing over there but nothing beats racing here in Australia and New Zealand,” says Hannah. 'IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne is next up for me, I'm heading back home, will put in a solid training block and then hopefully look to improve again at the next one.”

The three winners of the Qatar Airways IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast in Australia on Sunday. Photo: Supplied/Sportograf.

New Zealand's Mike Phillips also made the trip across the Tasman for IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast, with the Christchurch native finishing sixth overall.

Mike crossed the line in 3:35:02, just over five minutes behind the winner, Brisbane's Max Neumann, with Steve McKenna second and Nicholas Free third.

The 2019 Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand champion has been recovering from injury in recent months, with the result a strong one as he returns to full fitness.

The 2022 Qatar Airways IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast is a sold out event, with more than 2,000 athletes contesting a 1.9km swim starting and finishing on Mooloolaba Beach, a 90km ride taking in the Sunshine Motorway and a 21.1km run finishing on the Mooloolaba Esplanade.

Qatar Airways IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland and features on the It's Live! in Queensland events calendar.

For more information on Qatar Airways IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast visit https://www.ironman.com/im703-sunshine-coast