Jackie Hering of the U.S. and Sam Appleton of Australia triumph at Ironman 70.3 Waco.
Women
Hering combined a women’s 3rd-best 27:04 swim, women’s 3rd-best 2:24:48 bike split and women’s-best 1:21:25 half marathon to finish in 4:18:29 with a 2 minutes margin of victory over Jeanni Seymour of South Africa and 2:35 over 3rd place finisher Alissa Doehla of the U.S.
Andrea Nunez-Smith of the U.S. led the swim in 26:00, then Jeanni Seymour of South Africa took the lead at 20 miles into the bike leg by 11 seconds over Melanie McQuaid, 23 seconds over Alissa Doehla of the U.S., and 31 seconds over Hering with Angela Naeth of Canada back in 7th place, 3:13 arrears.
After 40 miles of the bike leg, Doehla took the lead by 17 seconds over McQuaid, 19 seconds over Seymour,23 seconds over Lisa Becharas and 46 seconds over Hering. After a women’s-best 2:21:53 bike split, Doehla led the pro women into T2 by 52 seconds over Seymour, 1:00 over McQuaid, 1:26 over Becharas and 1:37 over Hering.
After 6.5 miles of the run, Doehla maintained her lead by 42 seconds over Hering and 1:02 over Seymour. After a women’s-best 1:21:25 half marathon, Hering finished in 4:18:29 with a 2 minutes margin on Seymour (1:24:17 run) and 2:35 over 3rd place finisher Doehla (1:25:31 run split).
Hering's win added to her stellar 2019 record which includes 70.3 wins at Traverse City and Steelhead, a 3rd at Texas 70.3 and 5th at St. George 70.3.
Men
After an April crash that cost him a broken collarbone, Australian Sam Appleton recovered well, taking 2nd at Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene, a win at Santa Rosa 70.3 and now Waco 70.3, his second victory of the season.
Against a deep and talented field, Appleton led the pro men out of the Brazos River with a 24:03 split that gave him a 3 seconds lead on Nicolas Johnstone-Dougall, 31 seconds on Joe Gambles of Australia, 33 seconds on Andrew Starykowicz, 1:01 on Garrick Loewen, 1:15 on Benjamin Deal, 1:18 on Matthew Perches, 1:23 on Weston Christensen, 1:24 on Lukas Siska, 1:25 on Timothy Winslow, 1:32 on Elliot Bach and 1:48 on Stephen Kilshaw.
After 20 miles of the bike leg, Appleton carved out a 47 seconds lead on Johnstone-Dougall, 1:12 on Starykowicz, 2:44 on Gambles, 4:40 on Kilshaw, 4:44 on Bach and 4:48 on Winslow.
After 40 miles of the bike, Starykowicz advanced to 2nd place, 1:01 behind Appleton, as Johnstone–Dougall trailed by 3:53, Gambles fell 4:49 arrears and Kilshaw rode in 5th, 7:39 behind the leader.
After matching race-best 2:02:17 bike splits, Appleton led Starykowicz by 33 seconds, followed by Gambles (+6:13), Johnstone-Dougall (+7:40) and Kilshaw (+10:37).
Halfway through the 13.1 mile run leg, Appleton increased his lead to 4:29 over Starykowicz, 7:11 on Gambles and 11:12 on Kilshaw.
After a race-best 1:16:22 half marathon, Appleton finished in 3:47:15 with a 4:29 margin of victory on Starykowicz (1:19:53 run split) and 7:10 on 3rd place finisher Gambles (1:17:11 run).
Bicycle World Ironman 70.3 Waco
Waco, Texas
October 27, 2019
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R `13.1 mi.
Results
Women
1, Jacalyn Hering (USA) 4:18:29 S 27:04 T1 3:02 B 2:24:48 T2 2:12 R 1:21:25
2. Jeanni Seymour (RSA) 4:20:29 S 26:02 T1 2:59 B 2:25:07 T2 2:06 R 1:24:17
3. Alissa Doehla (USA) 4:21:04 S 28:25 T1 2:59 B 2:21:53 T2 2:18 R 1:25:31
4. Melanie McQuaid (CAN) 4:28:51 S 28:31 T1 3:17 B 2:22:27 T2 2:31 R 1:32:06
5. Jessica Jones (USA) 4:39:08 S 28:36 T1 4:07 B 2:32:41 T2 2:32 R 1:31:13
Men
1. Sam Appleton (AUS) 3:47:15 S 24:03 T1 2:40 B 2:02:17 T2 1:55 R 1:16:22
2. Andrew Starykowicz (USA) 3:51:44 S 24:35 T1 2:40 B 2:02:17 T2 2:20 R 1:19:53
3. Joe Gambles (AUS) 3:54:25 S 24:33 T1 2:47 B 2:07:52 T2 2:04 R 1:17:11
4. Stephen Kilshaw (CAN) 3:58:26 S 25:50 T1 2:58 B 2:10:48 T2 1:53 R 1:17:00
5. Benjamin Deal (USA) 4:00:10 S 25:17 T1 3:22 B 2:12:37 T2 1:49 R 1:17:06
