Ben Hoffman of Boulder, Colorado and Heather Wurtele of Kelowna, B.C. Canada won Ironman Coeur d’Alene on a hot muggy Sunday in Idaho.
Men
Hoffman took his 4th Ironman crown with a strong, consistent performance that included a 2nd best 50:24 swim, race-best 4:30:47 bike split and a 3rd-fastest 2:52:54 marathon that brought him to the finish in 8:17:31 with a 8:30 margin of victory over multiple Ironman winner Viktor Zyemtsev of the Ukraine and 14:38 over TJ Tollakson of the U.S.
Zyemtsev and Tollakson dropped 1:07 and 1:05 respectively to Hoffman on the swim. Zyemtsev dropped off the radar as his 4:40:58 bike split lost another 10:11 to the flying wheels of Hoffman. Tollakson remained in range with a typically strong 4:34:14 bike split.
Zyemtsev gained back 2:53 on the run – not enough to challenge Hoffman’s lead, but his 2nd-best 2:50:01 marathon was good enough to catch and drop Tollakson’s 3:02:41 and take permanent hold of 2nd place in a time of 8:26:01. Tollakson held the final spot on the podium, 6:08 back of Zyemtsev.
Matthew Russell of the U.S. was 4th in 8:40:25. Australian Chris McDonald fought his way back from a disastrous 4:56:24 bike split with a race-fastest 2:49:09 run to finish 5th in 8:42:10.
"After a good swim, I got on the bike and knew it was going to be a golden day. The course played to my strengths, and I kept on the gas all the way to finish with an eye on Crowie's course record," said Hoffman to slowtwitch. "Couldn't be happier... Such an amazing venue and incredibly well-run and supported event. Congrats to all the guys who pushed me, and a big thanks to all of my support crew!"
Women
Heather Wurtele continued her 2013 hot streak that includes wins at Rev3 Quassy and Ironman 70.3 Panama and a 2nd place at Ironman 70.3 California with a dominant victory at Coeur d’Alene – her 4th Ironman crown. Wurtele combined a 4th-best 55:40 swim, a race-dominating 5:07:03 bike split and a 3rd best 3:09:01 run to finish in 9:16:02 with a 12:34 margin of victory over Caitlin Snow and 17 minutes over Uli Bromme. The bike split of Wurtele was especially impressive when considering that she dealt with a flat front tire and had to stop for an unrelated accident.
Wurtele also broke Julie Dibens's 2011 race record by 38 seconds.
Ashley Clifford started her day with a race-best 55:04 swim, fell back with a 5:31:22 bike split and roared back to 4th place with a 2nd-best 3:05:59 run.
Caitlin Snow’s 2nd place day was highlighted by a race-best 3:05:21 run. Uli Bromme’s 5:11:40 bike split was the only competitor to stay within the same area code as Wurtele and her 3rd-best 3:14:05 run helped her hold on to the final spot on the podium 4:26 back of Snow and 4:32 ahead of 4th-place Ashley Clifford.
"Mostly I'm just thrilled to have had a solid performance and to get rid of all the bad vibes from last year! Those memories were difficult for me early in the week but I found a positive place and was just excited to get to the finish line," said Wurtele to slowtwitch. "It also put the day's challenges in perspective and I was amazed at the support and cheers on course. It felt like the whole community was gunning for me to win and that was super uplifting!"
Ironman Coeur d’Alene
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
June 23, 2013
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
Results
Men
1. Ben Hoffman (USA) 8:17:34
2. Viktor Zyemtsev (UKR) 8:26:02
3. TJ Tollakson (USA) 8:32:11
4. Matthew Russell (USA) 8:40:26
5. Chris McDonald (AUS) 8:42:10
6. Jozsef Major (HUN) 8:57:37
7. Thomas Gerlach (USA) 9:00:02
8. Jim Lubinski (USA) 9:00:47
9. Adam O’Meara (CAN) 9:04:33
10. Ben Cotter (CAN) 9:08:50
Women
1. Heather Wurtele (CAN) 9:16:02
2. Caitlin Snow (USA) 9:28:35
3. Uli Bromme (USA) 9:33:02
4. Ashley Clifford (USA) 9:37:34
5. Candice Hammond (NZL) 9:43:44
6. Kathleen Calkins (USA) 9:45:44
7. Bree Wee (USA) 9:53:35
8. Oleysa Prystayko (UKR) 9:58:50
9. Christine Anderson (USA) 10:06:51
10. Trish Deim (USA) 10:09:48
