Rasmus Henning of Denmark and Magali Tisseyre of Canada won the men’s and women’s titles at Ironman 70.3 Calgary.
Henning’s 22:50 swim put 4:12 on Chris Legh, who cut all but 9 seconds back from Henning with a 2nd-fastest 2:07:07 bike split. At the end, Henning outran Legh 1:15:08 to 1:15:36 to take the win by 40 seconds.
Tisseyre’s duel with Heather Jackson played out in similar fashion, as the Canadian earned a big lead in the swim then held off Jackson’s charge on the bike and run to hit the finish in 4:17:24 with a 48 seconds margin of victory.
The Men
Rarely is a pro 70.3 race won on the swim, but Denmark’s Rasmus Henning may have done it today in Calgary. While Henning emerged from the water 3 seconds back of Joseph Lampe, he had a significant advantage on more dangerous overall contenders – 1:49 on the Brit Rich Allen, 2:37 on Canada's Jeffrey Symonds, 3:59 on Tom Lowe of Great Britain and, most significantly, 4:12 on 40-year-old and recent Ironman 70.3 winner Chris Legh of Australia.
On the bike, Richard Allen stormed to the front with a 4th-fastest 2:08:57 split that brought him to T2 in 2:33:36, just 6 seconds ahead of Tom Lowe and his race-fastest 2:06:53 bike split. Close on their heels were Rasmus Henning (6th fastest 2:11:10 bike) in 2:34:00, Jeff Symonds in 2:34:02, and Legh (2nd-fastest 2:07:07 bike split) in 2:34:09.
With just 33 seconds separating the top 5 after the bike, the 13.1-mile run would settle all bets. Henning’s race-best 1:15:08 half marathon topped Chris Legh’s run by 28 seconds and brought the Dane to the line in 3:51:02 with a 40 seconds margin of victory over runner-up Legh. Symonds’ third-best 1:16:15 run brought the Canadian home third, 54 seconds back of Legh.
The win was Henning's third of the season, following victories at the Abu Dhabi International and Half Challenge Fuerteventura, plus a recent 2nd place at Ironman 70.3 Haugesund.
The Women
Tisseyre’s 26:45 swim trailed Lisa Mensink by 2 seconds, but the Canadian’s effort put a crucial 1:34 on Melanie McQuaid and 2:33 on Heather Jackson. On the bike, McQuaid’s race-best 2:20:26 split brought her to T2 in 2:48:45 with a 35 seconds lead on Tisseyre (2:22:35 bike split) and 2:02 on Jackson (2:21:29 bike split).
On the run, McQuaid fell back to third on her way to a 7th-best 1:32:03 split. Jackson’s race-best 1:24:41 run cut 34 seconds off Tisseyre’e advantage, but Jackson fell 48 seconds short of the winner at the finish. McQuaid finished 4:57 back of Jackson to take third place.
The win was Tisseyre's third Ironman 70.3 victory of the season, following wins at Mt. Tremblant and Mooseman. Tisseyre also took 3rd at Wildflower and 4th at Ironman 70.3 San Juan.
Viterra Ironman 70.3 Calgary
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
July 29, 2012
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Men
1. Rasmus Henning (DEN) 3:51:02
2. Chris Legh (AUS) 3:51:42
3. Jeffrey Symonds (CAN) 3:52:36
4. Rich Allen (GBR) 3:54:00
5. Tom Lowe (GBR) 3:55:08
6. Shannon Stallard (NZL) 4:02:26
7. Olly Piggin (CAN) 4:04:16
8. Derek Garcia (USA) 4:08:43
9. Brendan Halpin (USA) 4:10:41
10. Damon Barnett (USA) 4:12:10
Women
1. Magali Tisseyre (CAN) 4:17:24
2. Heather Jackson (USA) 4:18:12
3. Melanie McQuaid (CAN) 4:23:09
4. Sara Gross (CAN) 4:25:18
5. Lisa Mensink (CAN) 4:26:17
6. Mackenzie Madison (USA) 4:30:20
7. Haley Cooper-Scott (USA) 4:31:56
8. Danelle Kabush (CAN) 4:34:29
9. Janelle Morrison (CAN) 4:35:02
10. Heather Leiggi (USA) 4:37:05
