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After four previous runner-up finishes at Taupo, Kiwi Terenzo Bozzone smashed Cameron Brown’s race record with a sub-8 hour winning time at Ironman New Zealand. Laura Siddall of Great Britain topped runner-up Teresa Adam of New Zealand by 4:51 to take the women's crown.
Bozzone overcame a 3-minute deficit after the swim with a second-best 4:22:06 bike split and second–fastest 2:44:17 marathon to finish in 7:59:57 with a 5:36 margin of victory over runner-up Joe Skipper of Great Britain and 7:13 over 3rd place Cameron Brown.
Bozzone ended his frustration after four runner-up finishes to 12-time Ironman New Zealand champion Cameron Brown by breaking Brown’s 2016 8:07:57 race record by 8 minutes.
Brown paid tribute to Bozzone and Skipper on Facebook: "When you break your own course record and run a 2:41hr marathon but still end up 3rd? Well done @terenzo1 for an incredible day going under 8hrs @ironmannz that is fast on this course!! and 2nd place @notanotheraveragejoe [Joe Skipper]. 20th race for me in Taupo and continued the streak on the podium with 3rd place (12x 1st, 5x 2nd, 3x 3rd) I’ll be back again next year for sure at 46yrs of age, doing what I love!"
Siddall erased a 5:59 deficit to swim leader Teresa Adam with a women’s-best 4:54:19 bike split and a women’s-fastest 3:06:12 run to finish in 9:00:45 with a 4:51 margin of victory over Adam and 12:07 over defending champion and 3rd place finisher Jocelyn McCauley of the U.S.
Siddall’s performance was her second Ironman-distance victory after a win at Ironman Australia in 2017. It was Siddall’s second-best Ironman-distance sub-9 hours performance after an 8:51:38 runner-up finish last year at Challenge Roth.
Men
Super swimmer Dylan McNeice of New Zealand led the swim by a 2:50 margin followed by a pack led by Mike Phillips of New Zealand, Simon Cochrane, Jan Van Berkel of Switzerland, Guy Crawford of New Zealand, last year’s champion Braden Currie of New Zealand, and Bozzone. Brown trailed the leading chasers by another 2 minutes.
In the first quarter of the 180km bike leg, Currie withdrew due to the flu, while Phillips, Lachlan Kerin and McNeice led by 2:40 a second group of chasers including Bozzone, Callum Millward and Cyril Viennot, while Brown and Joe Skipper of Great Britain trailed by 4 minutes.
At the halfway point, Skipper and Bozzone led a lead pack of four men including Kerin and Phillips. By 160km, Bozzone and Skipper surged to the lead with Phillips 50 seconds back, as McNeice and Simone Cochrane were fading.
After a new race record 4:19:14 bike split, Skipper entered T2 six seconds back of Bozzone (4:22:06 bike split), 5 minutes ahead of Phillips, 9 minutes ahead of McNeice and Cochrane, and 11 minutes ahead of Cam Brown.
By 5.5km Bozzone led Skipper by 1:13 and Phillips in 3rd by 5 minutes, with Cam Brown 5th, 9:52 arrears. Halfway through the run, Bozzone led Skipper by 2:17, with Brown closing in on Phillips for 3rd place. At 33km, Bozzone led Skipper by 6:08 and Brown by 8:47.
After a second-best 2:44:17 run, Bozzone broke the tape in 7:59:57 with a 5:36 margin of victory over Skipper (2:49:47 run split) and 7:13 over 3rd place Brown, who finished with a 2:41:56 marathon, second only to Matt Hanson’s 2016 race record 2:41:19 split.
Joe Skipper also offered kudos to Bozzone on Facebook: “Really pleased to get 2nd place with what was the second fastest time ever on the course… We started the run together but Terenzo had a fantastic run and pulled away from me from the off and won it. I had to dig deep to stay ahead of Cameron but managed to and am really pleased to get 2nd. No regrets and the better man won on the day and with a sub 8 time on a course which isn’t regarded as one of the quick ones. Also on a side note I managed to get the bike course record which I’m pleased about and considering I don’t have a bike sponsor this year hopefully that will stand me in good stead with companies moving forward.”
Women
Ironman rookie Teresa Adam of New Zealand led the swim with a 49:33 split that gave her a 3:11 lead on defending women’s champion Jocelyn McCauley of the U.S., 3:16 on Alise Selsmark of Australia, 5:26 on Caroline St. Pierre of Canada, 5:42 on Indy Kraal of Australia, and 5:59 on Siddall.
Early on the bike leg, Adam led McCauley by 1:35, Siddall by 3:40 and Selsmark by 4:30. Halfway through the bike leg, McCauley led Adam and Siddall. By 140km, Siddall and McCauley were riding together in the lead with Adam 33 seconds arrears.
After women’s-best 4:54:19 and 4:57:03 bike splits, Siddall and McCauley arrived 1-2 at T2 with Adam (5:01:14 split) a minute behind in 3rd.
At 5.5km of the run, Siddall led McCauley by 17 seconds with Adam trailing by 2:43.
Soon thereafter, McCauley took the lead. At 14km, Siddall trailed by 12 seconds with Adam 3:39 arrears. For the next 9 kilometers, Siddall and McCauley battled hard, separated by no more than 20 seconds. At 23km, Siddall made a decisive move, opening a 1:14 lead on McCauley with Adam 4:02 behind.
At 36km, Adam fought back and passed McCauley for 2nd place. After a 3:06:12 marathon, Siddall finished in 9:00:45 with a 4:51 margin of victory over Adam (3:09:35 run split) and 12:07 over 3rd place McCauley (3:17:44 run).
Ironman New Zealand
Taupo, New Zealand
March 3, 2018
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
Results
Men
1. Terenzo Bozzone (NZL) 7:59:57 S 49:11 T1 3:03 B 4:22:06 T2 1:23 R 2:44:17
2. Joe Skipper (GBR) 8:05:33 S 51:48 T1 3:23 B 4:19:14 T2 1:23 R 2:49:47
3. Cameron Brown (NZL) 8:07:10 S 51:35 T1 3:05 B 4:28:58 T2 1:39 R 2:41:56
4. Jan Van Berkel (SUI) 8:10:28 S 49:06 T1 2:59 B 4:31:28 T2 1:26 R 2:45:30
5. Mike Phillips (NZL) 8:13:48 S 49:03 T1 1:32 B 4:27:41 T2 1:32 R 2:52:43
Women
1. Laura Siddall (GBR) 9:00:45 S 55:32 T1 3:26 B 4:54:19 T2 1:18 R 3:06:12
2. Teresa Adam (NZL) 9:05:36 S 49:33 T1 3:40 B 5:01:14 T2 1:36 R 3:09:35
3. Jocelyn McCauley (USA) 9:12:52 S 53:00 T1 3:24 B 4:57:03 T2 1:43 R 3:17:44
4. Alise Selsmark (AUS) 9:42:59 S 53:02 T1 3:27 B 5:21:30 T2 2:47 R 3:22:15
5. Indy Kraal (NZL) 9:44:27 S 55:26 T1 3:28 B 5:12:09 T2 1:43 R 3:31:43
