Heather Jackson of the U.S. and Sebastian Kienle of Germany won Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga Sunday.

Jackson overcame a 1 minute deficit after the swim with a dominating 2:17:38 bike split that covered steep hills, ran through the Chickamauga Civil War battlefield and gave her a 5:22 lead on Canadian Magali Tisseyre at T2. Jackson sealed the win with a women’s 3rd-best 1:24:03 run that brought her to the finish in 4:11:56 with a 6:37 margin of victory over Tisseyre and 7:36 over 3rd-place Mirinda Carfrae of Australia.

Jackson, 3-time Wildflower winner, two-time Oceanside 70.3 victor, Escape from Alcatraz champ, Ironman 70.3 Worlds runner-up and 5th place at the 2015 Ironman World championship, thus improved on her 3rd-place 2016 debut at Oceanside.

Kienle, 2-time Ironman 70.3 World Champion and 2014 Ironman World Champion, dueled Australian Sam Appleton through the swim (23:08 versus 23:00) and bike leg (2:03:30 versus 2:03:57). On the run, during which Appleton’s timing chip fell off and he was timed by hand, Kienle maintained a 30 seconds lead until Mile 5, when the German gradually drew away thanks with a 2nd-fastest 1:16:15 run that brought him to the finish in 3:46:48 with a 1:58 margin of victory. Ivan Tutukin of Russia, who fell 8 minutes back with a mediocre bike split, surged back to 3rd place with a race-best 1:13:40 run that left him 4:18 short of the runner-up.

Kienle, who suffered a mechanical issue that left him 12th at Oceanside 70.3 this spring, seems back on track with this win over up-and-coming Aussie star Appleton.

Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tennessee
May 22, 2016
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.

Results

Women

1. Heather Jackson (USA) 4:11:56
2. Magali Tisseyre (CAN) 4:18:33
3. Mirinda Carfrae (AUS) 4:19:32
4. Jeanni Seymour (RSA) 4:21:12
5. Lauren Barnett (USA) 4:21:22
6. Amber Ferreira (USA) 4:24:43
7. Lesley Smith (USA) 4:28:54
8. Ruth Brennan Morey (USA) 4:30:06
9. Sue Huse (USA) 4:32:44
10. Amanda Wendorff (USA) 4:34:01

Men

1. Sebastian Kienle (GER) 3:46:48
2. Sam Appleton (AUS) 3:48:46
3. Ivan Tutukin (RUS) 3:53:05
4. Justin Park (USA) 3:57:34
5. Matt Russell (USA) 3:57:51
6. Leon Griffin (AUS) 3:58:55
7. Christian Kramer (GER) 3:59:25
8. Justin Metzler (USA) 4:00:21
9. Kyle Buckingham (RSA) 4:00:28
10. Adam Ostot (USA) 4:01:22