Ronnie Schildknecht wins 7 in a row at Ironman Switzerland, plus we have race updates from Ironman Lake Placid, Challenge Vitoria, 70.3 Calgary, 5i50 Giant Eagle, the Norseman crew event and much more.
Seven in a row for Ronnie Schildknecht and a first win for Anja Beranek at Ironman Switzerland
The Ironman Switzerland event may soon have to be renamed "Ironman Ron Schildknecht" as this humble and fast Swiss Pro now managed to grab 7 titles in as many attempts, and that is a feat no other Pro has managed to date and is highly unlikely to follow. Cameron Brown actually has 10 Ironman New Zealand wins but his winning streak from 2001 to 2011 was interrupted by the weather shortened 2006 event where he finished second. Swiss talent Jan Van Berkel led the men's event for a while but the unusually hot conditions ended his race early, leaving the door open for Schildknecht to strike a 7th time. German Pro Anja Beranek held off Switzerland's Céline Schärer in the women's race to take her first Ironman title in 9:21:31.
Ironman Switzerland
Zürich, Switzerland / July 28, 2013
2.4m swim / 112m bike / 26.2m run
Top men
1. Ronnie Schildknecht (SUI) 8:33:39
2. Ivan Raña (ESP) 8:40:55
3. Per Bittner (GER) 8:46:23
4. Maxim Kriat (RUS) 8:47:54
5. Marko Albert (EST) 8:50:15
Top women
1. Anja Beranek (GER) 9:21:31
2. Céline Schärer (SUI) 9:28:28
3. Erika Csomor (HUN) 9:33:17
4. Sofie Goos (BEL) 9:39:14
5. Emma Pooley (GBR) 9:44:57
Challenge Vitoria wins for Pedro Gomes and Ana Casares
Portuguese Pro Pedro Gomez surprised the local favorites to take the win at the inaugural Challenge Vitoria with a solid performance in all 3 disciplines but it was his race best bike split offered him that very fine cushion. Brit Yvette Grice was the women's favorite going in but no one gave that memo to Ana Casaras. The Spanish Pro overcame a weak swim with a strong bike to pull even with Grice and then stormed away on the run to take the women's title.
Challenge Vitoria
Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain / July 28, 2013
3.8km swim / 180km bike / 42.2km run
Top men
1. Pedro Gomes (POR) 8:38:36
2. Alejandro Santamaría (ESP) 8:51:36
3. Carlos López (ESP) 8:52:29
4. Jose Luis Villanueva (ESP) 9:02:42
5. Carlos Gallego (ESP) 9:07:34
Top women
1. Ana Casares (ESP) 9:52:39
2. Gurutze Fratzes (ESP) 9:54:28
3. Yvette Grice (GBR) 10:03:19
The Norseman Crew Race
The weekend before the annual Norseman Extreme Triathlon, a good portion of the crew races on the course to check out what the competitors will experience a week later and get a good workout in before the hard work starts. 9 athletes went on the the unique journey and all 9 finished. 8 of them earned the highly sought after black t-shirt that will also be the goal next week for the 250 starters.
Calgary wins to Tim Don and Heather Wurtele
After a back and forth on the swim and bike Tim Don ran quicker than Trevor Wurtele to take the win at the 2013 Ironman 70.3 Calgary event. Wurtele's 2:02:58 bike split overcame his almost 3 minute disadvantage after the swim, but in the end Tim Don ran a fine 1:14:50 that gave him the title. In the women's race Heather Wurtele managed to take the top spot, but she had to run down Rachel McBride with a 1:23:48 run. Mandy McLane's 4:14:11 gave her the final podium spot and prevented a Canadian sweep.
Ironman 70.3 Calgary
Calgary, Canada / July 28, 2013
1.2m swim / 56m bike / 13.1m run
Top men
1. Tim Don (GBR) 3:42:22
2. Trevor Wurtele (CAN) 3:42:57
3. Tyler Butterfield (BER) 3:43:39
4. Matt Reed (USA) 3:49:09
5. Grant Burwash (CAN) 3:51:48
Top women
1. Heather Wurtele (CAN) 4:11:42
2. Rachel McBride (CAN) 4:13:49
3. Mandy McLane (USA) 4:14:11
4. Lisa Mensink (CAN) 4:18:36
5. Tenille Hoogland (CAN) 4:23:02
Ben Collins and Laurel Wassner rule 5i50 Giant Eagle
A smoking fast 50:51 bike split gave Ben Collins a solid advantage as he started the run, and with only 10k to go he had the race pretty much in his bank. Kaleb Vanort's race best 31:56 run was 3:18 quicker than the time of Collins, but still 49 seconds shy of the win. We had no splits for Laurel Wassner, but she did take the 5i50 Giant Eagle women's title with a 56 second advantage over Jennifer Spieldenner.
Giant Eagle Multisport Festival 5i50
Columbus, OH, USA / July 28, 2013
1.5k swim / 40k bike / 10k run
Top men
1. Ben Collins (USA) 1:42:20
2. Kaleb Vanort (USA) 1:43:09
3. Brooks Cowan (USA) 1:44:21
4. Karl Kahsar (USA) 1:44:36
5. Ryan Bice (USA) 1:44:57
Top women
1. Laurel Wassner (USA) 1:54:37
2. Jennifer Spieldenner (USA) 1:55:33
3. Julie Patterson (USA) 1:58:12
4. Jillian Petersen (USA) 1:59:18
5. Isabelle Rouleau (CAN) 2:05:35
Andy Potts and Jennie Hansen take Lake Placid
The competition at Ironman Lake Placid only got to be near Andy Potts at the swim start and afterwards they only saw his backside. Potts successfully defended his title, but his 2013 winning time was about 18 minutes slower than the 8:25:00 of 2012. He however did not need to go faster to take the victory. Jennie Hansen improved her time from 2012 by 21:34 and that allowed her to capture the women's title in 9:35:06. Hansen had been the runner-up at Ironman Lake Placid and Ironman Texas last year, so this top podium finish hit the spot for the Rochester, NY native and gave Hansen her first Ironman title.
Ironman Lake Placid
Lake Placid, NY, USA / July 28, 2013
2.4m swim / 112m bike / 26.2m swim
Top men
1. Andy Potts (USA) 8:43:29
2. Daniel Fontana (ITA) 8:48:29
3. Ian Mikelson (USA) 8:51:07
4. Balazs Csoke (HUN) 8:55:55
5. Ryan Cain (CAN) 8:55:57
Top women
1. Jennie Hansen (USA) 9:35:06
2. Katy Blakemore (USA) 9:42:35
3. Carrie Lester (AUS) 9:47:59
4. Kristin Andrews (USA) 9:50:34
5. Danielle Kehoe (USA) 9:56:33
A family addition for Sarah Haskins and Nate Kortuem
We are very happy for Sarah Haskins and her husband Nate Kortuem who welcomed a new addition to their family.
"Caroline Elizabeth Kortuem joined us July 18th at 8:27pm. The first few days have been full of feeding, sleeping and pooping. Nate and I thoroughly enjoy being parents even on the late nights. We are very excited for the future and can't wait to see the person she grows to be," said Haskins to slowtwitch.
Happy Birthday Jordan Rapp
Jordan Rapp celebrated his birthday today by competing at the Giant Eagle Multisport Festival 5i50 in Columbus, Ohio and finished 6th in this short course race with strong competition. His birthday treat however was Jeni's Ice Cream, which he clearly deserved.
