Heather Jackson edged fellow American Skye Moench and U.S. competitor Sam Long took the measure of Canadian Jackson Laundry at Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga.
Jackson overcame an 11th place swim, which gave her a 2:21 deficit, with a women’s best 2:19:10 bike split to lead at T2 and a 1:22:16 half marathon to finish in 4:14:25 with a 48 seconds margin of victory over Moench and 4:28 over 3rd place Paula Findlay of Canada.
With this victory, Jackson defended her 2018 Chattanooga 70.3 title and added to recent highlights such as her 8:39:18 win at 2018 Ironman Arizona and a win at 2018 Ironman Lake Placid.
Long’s triumph came with a similar profile to Jackson’s race. He started with a 16th-best swim which left him 3:22 behind the swim leader. Halfway through the hilly 56-mile bike leg, he surged to 4th place, 1:45 behind the leader. And after a race-best 2:04:06 bike split, he arrived at T2 first with a 12 seconds advantage on Jackson Laundry of Canada. After a 2nd-fastest 1:15:22 half marathon, Long finished in 3:48:52 with a 1:53 margin of victory over Laundry.
So far this year, Long won the Napa Valley Marathon in 2:32:33 and took 5th at Ironman 70.3 St. George.
Women
Rachel Olson led the women's swim with a 24:23 split that gave her a 4 seconds lead on Erin Dolan Edminister, 6 seconds on Meredith Kessler, 17 seconds on Paula Findlay of Canada, 1:09 on Carrie Lester of Australia, 1:10 on Skye Moench, 2:21 on Heather Jackson, 2:52 on Lauren Barnett, 3:16 on Angela Naeth of Canada and 3:18 on Cecilia Davis-Hayes.
Halfway through the 56-mile bike leg, Moench led Findlay by 2 seconds while the duo opened a 46 seconds on Jackson, 1:18 on Lester and 2:04 on Naeth.
After a women’s-best 2:19:10 bike split, Jackson led into T2 with a 12 seconds lead on Moench, 15 seconds on Findlay, 1:27 on Lester, 3:31 on Naeth and 3:33 on Lauren Barnett of the U.S.
After 10 miles, Jackson ground out a 1 minute lead on Moench and 3 minutes on Findlay. After a women’s-best 1:22:16 run, Jackson finished in 4:14:25 with a 48 seconds margin of victory over Moench (1:22:29 run) and 4:28 on 3rd place Findlay (1:26:20 run split).
Men
Antoine Jolicoeur Desroches of Canada led 27 pro men out of the water with a 22:04 split that gave him a minute and more over notables Jackson Laundry (+1:50), Nicholas Chase (+1:54), Matt Hanson (+1:56), Justin Daerr of the U.S. (+2:01), Matt Russell of the U.S. (+3:17), and Sam Long (+3:22).
After 28 miles of the ride, Desroches held a 1:15 lead on Chase, 1:16 on Laundry, 1:45 on Long, 1:46 on Russell, and 1:56 on Hanson among strong runners and overall contenders.
After a men’s-best 2:04:06 bike split, Long led into T2 with a 12 seconds lead on Laundry, 27 seconds on Desroches, 40 seconds on Chase, 1:08 on Russell and 3:26 on Hanson.
After 6.88 miles of the half marathon, Long increased his lead to 58 seconds on Laundry, 3:38 on Desroches, 3:56 on Hanson, 5:52 on Chase and 6:02 on Russell.
After a 2nd-best 1:15:22 run split, Long finished in 3:48:52 with a 1:53 margin of victory over Laundry (1:16:43 run) and 3:33 on 3rd place finisher Hanson, who closed the day with a race-best 1:15:09 run split.
Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tennessee
May 19, 2019
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Women
1. Heather Jackson (USA) 4:14:25 S 28:42 T1 2:40 B 2:19:10 T2 1:39 R 1:22:16
2. Skye Moench (USA) 4:15:13 S 27:32 T1 2:57 B 2:20:15 T2 2:03 R 1:22:29
3. Paula Findlay (CAN) 4:18:53 S 26:38 T1 2:46 B 2:21:22 T2 1:49 R 1:26:20
4. Lauren Barnett (USA) 4:20:25 S 29:14 T1 2:39 B 2:22:11 T2 1:55 R 1:24:28
5. Carrie Lester (AUS) 4:22:52 S 27:30 T1 3:29 B 2:20:59 T2 2:08 R 1:28:48
Men
1. Sam Long (USA) 3:48:52 S 25:26 T1 2:27 B 2:04:06 T2 1:33 R 1:15:22
2. Jackson Laundry (CAN) 3:50:45 S 23:55 T1 2:37 B 2:05:38 T2 1:54 R 1:16:43
3. Matt Hanson (USA) 3:52:25 S 24:01 T1 2:40 B 2:08:43 T2 1:53 R 1:15:09
4. Antoine Jolicoeur Desroches (CAN) 3:53:48 S 22:06 T1 2:31 B 2:07:48 T2 1:38 R 1:19:47
5. Matt Russell (USA) 3:56:24 S 25:23 T1 2:33 B 2:05:10 T2 2:01 R 1:21:20
