Ben Hoffman did it on the run and Jessica Meyers found her edge on the bike to win the Branson Ironman 70.3 Sunday.
Boulder, Colorado’s Hoffman combined a 2nd-best 25:18 swim and race-bests 2:24:03 bike and 1:17:31 run to finish in 4:09:02 with a winning margin of 4:49 over runner-up Matt Lieto of Bend, Oregon. Lieto matched Hoffman’s swim and bike but gave back 3:52 on the run. Karl Bordine of Carlsbad, California finished 3rd, 9:13 behind Lieto.
Meyers. 33, of Tulsa Oklahoma came out of the water 4th in 28:07, but seized control of the race with a race-best 2:48:39 bike on the demanding Branson course, then held on for the win with a 2nd-best 1:26:27 run to hit the finish in 4:45:14 with a 6:41 margin over runner-up Nina Kraft. Meyers gave up 1:39 to Kraft on the swim, took back 6:13 from Kraft on the bike, and added another 1:55 to her lead over Kraft on the run.
Mackenzie Madison placed 3rd, 1:28 behind Kraft and two time ITU Under 23 World silver medalist Jasmine Oeinck was 5th, 4:33 behind Madison.
Branson Ironman 70.3
Branson, Missouri
September 18, 2011
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Men
1. Ben Hoffman (Boulder CO) 4:09:02
2. Matt Lieto (Bend OR) 4:13:51
3. Karl Bordine (Carlsbad CA) 4:23:04
4. Ian Mikelson (Torrance CA) 4:23:25
5. Guy Crawford (NZL) 4:28:25
6. Brandon Jessop (Lakewood CO) 4:45:17
Women
1. Jessica Meyers (Tulsa OK) 4:45:14
2. Nina Kraft (GER) 4:51:59
3. Mackenzie Madison (Eugene OR) 4:53:27
4, Jasmine Oeinck (Boulder CO) 4:58:00
5. Caroline Gregory (Del Mar CA) 4:58:39