Germans Michael Raelert and Natascha Schmitt won the second edition of Ironman 70.3 Ruegen.
Men
Raelert bounced back from a disappointing 5th place finish at Ironman 70.3 Worlds with a race-fastest 25:32 swim, swiftest 2:03:43 bike leg and 3rd-best 1:16:48 run to finish in 3:50:01, and he lead a 1-2-3 German finish with a 4:54 margin of victory over Horst Reichel and 6:06 over 3rd-place finisher Timo Bracht.
Raelert defended his 2014 Ruegen title which was changed to a duathlon due to inclement weather.
Women
Schmitt’s journey to the win was not as comfortable as Raelert’s. Fellow German Suse Werner led the swim in 29:55 with Schmitt next and trailing by 23 seconds, while Yvonne Van Vlerken started her race with a 3:58 deficit out of the water and Annett Finger another 12 seconds arrears.
By 61 km into the bike leg, Schmitt maintained a 4:31 lead on Van Vlerken, 5:42 on Finger, and 6:40 on a fast-fading Werner. After her race-best 2:22:41 bike split, Van Vlerken shaved Schmitt’s lead to 3:03, while Finger’s 3rd-best 2:24:44 split left her 5:23 behind the leader.
Finally, Van Vlerken ran out of real estate. The Dutch dynamo’s women's best 1:26:54 half marathon took another 2 minutes from Schmitt but left her 1:03 short of the win - and short of defending her 2014 Ruegen title. Finger closed with a 2nd-best 1:28:38 to finish 3rd, 4:04 back of Van Vlerken.
Strandräuber Ironman 70.3 Ruegen
Ruegen, Germany
September 13, 2015
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Men
1. Michael Raelert (GER) 3:50:01
2. Horst Reichel (GER) 3:54:55
3. Timo Bracht (GER) 3:56:07
4. Stenn Goetstouwers (BEL) 3:58:46
5. Mauro Bartsch (SUI) 3:59:34
6. David Breuer (GER) 4:00:29
7. Sebastian Veith (GER) 4:03:23
8. Per Bittner (GER) 4:04:18
9. Tobias Drachler (GER 4:06:29 * M25-29
10. Christian Hoerper (GER) 4:07:37
Women
1. Natascha Schmitt (GER) 4:26:56
2. Yvonne Van Vlerken (NED) 4:27:59
3. Annett Finger (GER) 4:32:03
4. Suse Werner (GER) 4:38:49
5. Anni Antikainen (FIN) 4:58:37 * F25-29
6. Madlen Nehring (GER) 5:04:43 * F35-39
7. Silvia Noya Crespo (GER) 5:08:13 * F35-39
8. Sophie Margue (LUX) 5:11:32 * F25-29
9. Paule Kremer (LUX) 5:11:53 * F25-29
10. Anja Wittwer (GER) 5:12:27 * F30-34
