Joe Gambles and Heather Wurtele won the men’s and women’s titles at Ironman 70.3 Timberman Sunday in Gilford, New Hampshire.
The Men
Gambles broke open a race-long duel with fellow Australian Leon Griffin with a race-best 1:13:31 run that brought him to the finish in 3:48:30 with a 2:23 margin of victory over Griffin and 12:40 over 3rd-place Kevin Collington of the U.S.
Gambles' winning time was 2:21 faster than Andy Potts' 2010 winning time and 5:11 faster than Rasmus Henning's 2011 victorious finish.
David Kahn of the U.S. led the swim with a 23:36 split, followed by Collington (24:17), Gambles (24:57), Griffin (25:06), Matt Lieto of the U.S. (25:14) and Freddy Lampret of South Africa (25:15). Gambles and Griffin immediately took charge on the bike as they put 7-plus minutes on the field with 2:07:24 (Griffin) and 2:07:26 (Gambles) splits.
Gambles, coming off a strong stretch where he placed 3rd at Rev3 Quassy, 1st at Syracuse 70.3, 2nd at Vineman 70.3 and won Boulder 70.3, hammered his way to a 1:13:31 run that outpaced Griffin by 2:19 and sealed the victory. Kevin Collington combined a 2nd-best 24:17 swim, 5th-fastest 2:16:09 bike split and 3rd-best 1:17:42 run to finish 3rd overall.
The Women
Wurtele swam 26:41 and emerged third out of the water behind the U.S.’s Caitlin Snow (26:18) and Canada’s Miranda Tomenson-Bharadwaj (26:35) – and 1:16 ahead of Montanan Linsey Corbin and her dangerous bike-run.
Wurtele then unleashed a powerful 2:25:20 bike that was 6:02 faster than Snow, 2:21 quicker than Corbin, and about 8 and a half minutes better than U.S. contenders Beth Walsh and Jennifer Luebke.
Starting her run with a 3:37 lead on Corbin and 5:39 on Snow, Wurtele posted a 4th-best 1:25:22 run that held off super-runner Snow’s race-best 1:20:04 half marathon by 13 seconds and Corbin’s 2nd-fastest 1:24:42 run by 3:02 at the finish. Wurtele's win was well earned, but her overall time was 10:37 slower than Chrissie Wellington's 2010 race record.
Wurtele’s win adds luster to her 2012 season that includes an 8th at Ironman Frankfurt and a 2nd place at the swim-canceled Ironman 70.3 New Orleans – ahead of Mirinda Carfrae, Amy Marsh, Caitlin Snow and Magali Tisseyre.
Ironman 70.3 Timberman
Gilford, New Hampshire
August 19, 2012
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Men
1. Joe Gambles (AUS) 3:48:30
2. Leon Griffin (AUS) 3:50:53
3. Kevin Collington (ISA) 4:01:10
4. James Bowstead (NZL) 4:04:17
5. David Kahn (USA) 4:05:36
6. Mike Caiazzo (USA) 4:09:33
7. Matt Lieto (USA) 4:10:01
8. Freddy Lampret (RSA) 4:13:52
9. Steven Rosinski (USA) (4:14:32
10. Erick Anderson (USA) 4:15:58
Women
1. Heather Wurtele (CAN) 4:20:48
2. Caitlin Snow (USA) 4:21:01
3. Linsey Corbin (USA) 4:23:50
4. Beth Walsh (USA) 4:31:32
5. Christine Fletcher (USA) 4:34:18
6. Tamara Kozulina (UKR) 4:36:50
7. Miranda Tomenson-Bharadwaj (CAN) 4:38:56
8. Jennifer Luebke (USA) 4:48:11
9. Florence Chretien (USA) 4:58:00
10. Shannon Cutting (USA) 5:00:42 *F45-49
