Carfrae, O’Donnell take Calgary 70.3

Timothy O’Donnell broke away on the swim and run to take a 7-minute margin of victory over Ben Hoffman; Mirinda Carfrae dominated the field to finish in 4:11:05 for a 10-minute margin of victory over Magali Tisseyre.

The women

Except for an upset loss to Catriona Morrison at St. Croix 70.3, Mirinda Carfrae would have had a perfect season as she dominated the field at the Viterra Ironman 70.3 Calgary where she finished in 4:11:05 for her 5th victory in 6 starts for 2009.

Carfrae finished precisely 10 minutes ahead of runner-up Magali Tisseyre of Canada to add to her wins at California Ironman 70.3, the Rev3 half Ironman in Connecticut, Eagleman 70.3, and the Aflac Iron Girl in Atlanta.

Carfrae started the day with a third-best 27:29, then put the hammer down with a race-best 2:20:20 bike and finished it off with a 1:19:45 run that was 2:05 faster than celebrated runner Catriona Morrison and only two minutes slower than men’s winner Timothy O’Donnell.

The men

U.S. Naval Academy graduate Timothy O’Donnell added another win to his most successful season yet with a 3:55:28 clocking which gave him a 7-minute 23-second margin of victory at Calgary over runner-up Ben Hoffman of Durango, California.

O’Donnell put almost three minutes on his closest rivals with a race-best 24:34 swim, held even with second place Ben Hoffman with a race-best 2:10:03 ride, and polished off the day with a men’s best 1:17:45 run.

After near-breakthrough second places last year at Buffalo Springs and the Boulder 5430 half Ironman tests, O’Donnell has staked a claim to be among the very best in non-drafting triathlon in 2009 with wins at St. Croix and Boulder Peak, a second at Kansas Ironman 70.3, and third places at the ITU Pan Am Championships in Oklahoma City, New Orleans ironman 70.3 and the Rev3 Half-Iron distance test in Connecticut.

Viterra Ironman 70.3 Calgary
Calgary, Canada
August 2, 2009
S 1.2 mi./ B 56 mi./ R 13.1 mi.

Results

Men

1. Timothy O’Donnell (USA) 3:55:28
2. Ben Hoffman (USA) 4:02:51
3. Jamie Whyte (NZL) 4:03:58
4. Kirk Nelson (USA) 4:04:14
5. James Hadley (GBR) 4:06:49
6. Brent Poulsen (CAN) 4:09:29
7. James Cotter (USA) 4:10:03
8. Stephen Hackett (AUS) 4:10:21
9. Christopher Thomas (USA) 4:11:01
10. Michael Simpson (CAN) 4:11:17

Women

1. Mirinda Carfrae (AUS) 4:11:05
2. Magali Tisseyre (CAN) 4:21:05
3. Catriona Morrison (GBR) 4:21:30
4. Lisa Mensink (CAN) 4:25:36
5. Linsey Corbin (USA) 4:26:15
6. Amelia Pearson (AUS) 4:30:59
7. Danelle Kabush (CAN) 4:33:26
8. Sara Gross (CAN) 4:35:14
9. Rosemarie Gerspacher (CAN) 4:35:46
10. Ayesha Rollinson (CAN ) 4:36:23
11. Lisa Bentley (CAN) 4:38:26