1 of 1 photo
Jacqueline Godbe of Chicago, Illinois won the Women's Age Group Olympic distance 25-29 category and the Overall title with a time of 2:08:27 which gave her a 24 seconds margin of victory over 30-34 winner and overall runner-up Michelle Willcocks of Great Britain and 29 seconds on 25-29 runner-up and overall 3rd place finisher Leonie Konczalla of Germany.
Luke Harvey of Australia won the Men’s 16-19 category and the overall Age Group Men’s title at the Sprint distance with a time of 1:02:42, which gave him a 5 seconds margin of victory over fellow 16-19 competitor Reuben Trotter of Great Britain and 13 seconds over 16-19 contender and overall 3rd place finisher Adam Martin of New Zealand.
Jony Heerink gave Dutch fans a home country championship victory as she finished the sprint distance in 1:09:50, earning a 30-34 win and the women's age group overall sprint distance crown by a 57 seconds margin of victory over Kate Bramley of Australia and 1:07 over 3rd place overall Sandrine Benz of Switzerland.
There were many exceptional age group individual performances on the day. They included a women's-fastest 10k run split of 35:04 by overall winner Godbe and the women’s-best 40k bike split of 1:00:23 by 25-29 runner-up Leonie Conczalla of Germany. Nikolaus Wihlidal of Austria, the men’s 35-39 winner, set the men’s best 40-kilometer bike split with a time of 55:22 and 25-29 winner Ruben Geys of Belgium posted the fastest 10k run with a time of 31:42.
While some age group battles ended in runaways, there were several back and forth duels that came down to the wire. Madi Roberts of Australia edged Madeleine Pesch of the U.S. by 11 seconds for the women's 20-24 Olympic distance victory and Sione Jongstra edged fellow Netherlands native Sandra Wassink-Hitzel by an equal 11 seconds for the women’s Olympic distance 40-44 crown. The closest Olympic distance age group battle was in the men’s 55-59 category where Lee Walther of the U.S. beat Stuart Robinson of Great Britain by 3 seconds.
The sprint distance offered more nail-biting finishes. Axel Baumans nipped fellow Belgian Dieter Boeye by 3 seconds for the Men’s 20-24 sprint distance win. And Alfio Bulgarelli of Italy edged Rob Kwaaitaal of Netherlands by 2 seconds for the Men’s 45-49 sprint distance honors.
Former Olympians and tri stars enjoyed their professional retirements in age group battles. Two-time ITU elite Olympic distance World Champion, 2000 Olympic silver medalist and 2006 Ironman World Champion Michellie Jones won the women's 45-49 category with a 1:11:58 time which put her 10th overall in the women's sprint distance.
Rob Barel of Netherlands, 1994 ITU long distance champion, top 5 Ironman Hawaii finisher, multiple European and Netherlands Olympic distance champion and 2000 Olympic Triathlon competitor at age 42, won the ITU Age Group Olympic distance World Championship in the men’s 60-64 category in a time of 2:05:03, just 10 minutes off his Olympic time two decades ago.
Former pro Richard Stannard of Great Britain won the men’s 40-44 division in the sprint distance with a time of 1:04:29 which gave him a hard fought 14 seconds margin of victory over Renato Dantas De Lucas of Brazil.
In the women's Olympic distance 50-54 contest, 2000 Olympic gold medalist Brigitte McMahon of Switzerland won the day with a 2:15:32 time. McMahon retired from professional competition in 2005 after testing positive for a performance enhancing drug she said she took to recover from an injury.
Luke Harvey of Australia won the Men’s 16-19 category and the overall Age Group Men’s title at the Sprint distance with a time of 1:02:42, which gave him a 5 seconds margin of victory over fellow 16-19 competitor Reuben Trotter of Great Britain and 13 seconds over 16-19 contender and overall 3rd place finisher Adam Martin of New Zealand.
Jony Heerink gave Dutch fans a home country championship victory as she finished the sprint distance in 1:09:50, earning a 30-34 win and the women's age group overall sprint distance crown by a 57 seconds margin of victory over Kate Bramley of Australia and 1:07 over 3rd place overall Sandrine Benz of Switzerland.
There were many exceptional age group individual performances on the day. They included a women's-fastest 10k run split of 35:04 by overall winner Godbe and the women’s-best 40k bike split of 1:00:23 by 25-29 runner-up Leonie Conczalla of Germany. Nikolaus Wihlidal of Austria, the men’s 35-39 winner, set the men’s best 40-kilometer bike split with a time of 55:22 and 25-29 winner Ruben Geys of Belgium posted the fastest 10k run with a time of 31:42.
While some age group battles ended in runaways, there were several back and forth duels that came down to the wire. Madi Roberts of Australia edged Madeleine Pesch of the U.S. by 11 seconds for the women's 20-24 Olympic distance victory and Sione Jongstra edged fellow Netherlands native Sandra Wassink-Hitzel by an equal 11 seconds for the women’s Olympic distance 40-44 crown. The closest Olympic distance age group battle was in the men’s 55-59 category where Lee Walther of the U.S. beat Stuart Robinson of Great Britain by 3 seconds.
The sprint distance offered more nail-biting finishes. Axel Baumans nipped fellow Belgian Dieter Boeye by 3 seconds for the Men’s 20-24 sprint distance win. And Alfio Bulgarelli of Italy edged Rob Kwaaitaal of Netherlands by 2 seconds for the Men’s 45-49 sprint distance honors.
Former Olympians and tri stars enjoyed their professional retirements in age group battles. Two-time ITU elite Olympic distance World Champion, 2000 Olympic silver medalist and 2006 Ironman World Champion Michellie Jones won the women's 45-49 category with a 1:11:58 time which put her 10th overall in the women's sprint distance.
Rob Barel of Netherlands, 1994 ITU long distance champion, top 5 Ironman Hawaii finisher, multiple European and Netherlands Olympic distance champion and 2000 Olympic Triathlon competitor at age 42, won the ITU Age Group Olympic distance World Championship in the men’s 60-64 category in a time of 2:05:03, just 10 minutes off his Olympic time two decades ago.
Former pro Richard Stannard of Great Britain won the men’s 40-44 division in the sprint distance with a time of 1:04:29 which gave him a hard fought 14 seconds margin of victory over Renato Dantas De Lucas of Brazil.
In the women's Olympic distance 50-54 contest, 2000 Olympic gold medalist Brigitte McMahon of Switzerland won the day with a 2:15:32 time. McMahon retired from professional competition in 2005 after testing positive for a performance enhancing drug she said she took to recover from an injury.
