Jan Frodeno broke the men’s run record with a 2:39:06 marathon on his way to his second victory at this race while Daniela Ryf annihilated the women’s field with a record 4:40:55 bike split on a 5 kilometer longer than standard bike leg at the Ironman European Championship at Frankfurt, Germany.
Men
Frodeno combined a 48:42 swim split with a 4:28:36 bike split and a 2:39:06 marathon to finish in 8:00:59 with a 7:16 margin of victory over Patrik Nilsson of Sweden and 8:27 over 2017 Ironman World Champion Patrick Lange of Germany.
In a key element of his victory, Frodeno outran Kona run record holder Lange by 8:09, underlining Frodeno’s pre-race aim: “I wanted to beat Patrick (Lange) at his own game,” said the 2015 Ironman Frankfurt winner and 2015 and 2016 Ironman World Champion. Frodeno’s performance was even more remarkable considering that he smashed his face in a bike crash two weeks before this race.
Women
Daniela Ryf, the current three-time defending champion at Kona, made a resounding statement that the Swiss champion is better than ever with a race record smashing 8:38:44 finish that gave her a 26:35 margin of victory over Sarah True of the U.S. Ryf secured the victory with a race record smashing 4:40:55 bike split – 8 minutes faster than previous women’s bike course holder Natasha Badmann and 30 minutes and 1 second faster than True.
The immensity of Ryf’s performance was underlined by the fact that her time was 7th best including all the men and just 38 minutes back of men’s winner Jan Frodeno.
In her first Ironman, True impressed with a 2:54:58 marathon that was 3:55 better than Ryf. Last year’s Ironman Frankfurt champion Sarah Crowley of Australia took 3rd place, 32:47 behind Ryf and 6:12 behind True. .
When asked if winning by a 23 minute margin was one of her best races, Ryf said: “I’ve been this fit before but at this moment it all fits together. I was feeling strong on the bike and the result shows it. I hope this is just beginning.” Ominous words for her rivals who wish they could stop her quest for a 4th straight Kona title.
Ryf did not have a flawless race. “I lost my bottle at the end of bike and my energy level dropped off, but I still wanted to see how fast I could go,” she said. “So yes, this was one of the best races of my life.”
Anne Haug of Germany, also in her first Ironman, survived an early flat tire that cost her an estimated 7 minutes to finish 4th – one place out of a secured Kona qualifying mark, 2:35 behind Sarah Crowley.
To be updated
Ironman European Championship
Frankfurt, Germany
July 8, 2018
S 2.4 mi. / B 115.1 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
Results
Men
1. Jan Frodeno (GER) 8:00:59 S 48:42 T1 2:55 B 4:28:36 T2 1:40 R 2:39:06
2. Patrik Nilsson (SWE) 8:08:15 S 48:46 T1 3:00 B 4:28:45 T2 1:44 R 2:46:02
3. Patrick Lange (GER) 8:09:26 S 48:43 T1 2:51 B 4:29:01 T2 1:38 R 2:47:15
4. Nick Kastelein (AUS) 8:18:45 S 48:43 T1 3:01 B 4:32:44 T2 1:46 R 2:52:33
5. Josh Amberger (AUS) 8:26:16 S 46:53 T1 3:08 B 4:29:53 T2 1:44 R 3:04:40
6. Philipp Koutny (SUI) 8:32:13 S 52:50 T1 3:15 B 4:34:33 T2 2:08 R 2:59:29
7. Tyler Butterfield (BER) 8:38:55 S 49:34 T1 3:00 B 4:33:30 T2 10:02 R 3:02:53
8. Mark Bowstead (NZL) 8:40:31
9. David Berthou (FRA) 8:48:13
10. Philipp Mock (GER) 8:48:42
Women
1. Daniela Ryf (SUI) 8:38:44 S 53:11 T 1 3:35 B 4:40:55 T2 2:12 R 2:58:53
2. Sarah True (USA) 9:05:19 S 53:09 T1 3:41 B 5:10:56 T2 2:38 R 2:54:58
3. Sarah Crowley (AUS) 9:11:31 S 55:35 T1 3:57 B 5:05:37 T2 1:48 R 3:04:36
4. Anne Haug (GER) 9:14:06 S 56:28 T1 3:10 B 5:08:08 T2 1:50 R 3:04:32
5. Katja Konschak (GER) 9:36:11 S 55:28 T1 3:39 B 5:28:31 T2 2:43 R 3:05:52
6. Rachel McBride (CAN) 9:42:11
7. Skye Moensch (USA) 9:42:26
8. Bruna Mahn (BRA) 9:43:14
9. Saleta Castro Nogueira (ESP) 9:44:22
10. Marta Bernardi (ITA) 9:55:33
