Clayton Fettell of Australia won the men’s title by a comfortable margin and Rachel Joyce of Great Britain smashed the women’s field by 22:40 at Ironman 70.3 Kansas Sunday.

Fettell led wire-to-wire, posting the race-fastest 25:16 swim, race-best 2:09:25 bike and 5th-best 1:20:36 run to finish in 3:56:59 with a 2:34 margin over runner-up and fellow Australian Paul Ambrose and 3:44 over 3rd-place finisher Ben Hoffman of the United States.

Joyce, the 2011 ITU long distance World Champion, clocked a 2nd-best 28:02 swim, a race-fastest 2:22:10 bike split, and a race-best 1:21:21 run to finish in 4:13:46 with a 22:40 margin over runner-up Amanda Stevens and 23:46 over top amateur and 3rd place women’s overall finisher Kirsten Sass.

“Delighted to take my first 70.3 win here in Kansas,” Joyce wrote on her blog. “Tough conditions made for fair racing: choppy swim, wind on the bike, a hot run and some awesome support.”

Ironman 70.3 Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
June 10, 2012
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.

Results

Men

1. Clayton Fettell (AUS) 3:56:59
2. Paul Ambrose (AUS) 3:59:33
3. Ben Hoffman (USA) 4:00:43
4. Joe Umphenour (USA) 4:02:40
5. Freddy Lampret (USA) 4:06:55
6. Gavin Anderson (USA) 4:07:31
7. Ian Mikelson (USA) 4:09:35
8. Jonathan Shearon (USA) 4:09:48
9. Jozsef Major (HUN) 4:11:18
10. Joel Jameson (GBR) 4:12:46

Women

1. Rachel Joyce (GBR) 4:13:46
2. Amanda Stevens (USA) 4:36:26
3. Kirsten Sass (USA) 4:37:32 * F30-34
4. Lesley Smith (USA) 4:38:06
5. Mandy McLane (USA) 4:38:50
6. Missy Kuck (USA) 4:40:02
7. Morgan Chaffin (USA) 4:44:53
8. Christine Anderson (USA) 4:44:59
9. Sierra Snyder (USA) 4:46:26
10. Natasha Van Der Merwe (RSA) 4:48:56