Jackson Laundry of Canada and Meredith Kessler of the U.S. won the elite titles at Ironman 70.3 Raleigh.
Laundry overcame a 1:06 deficit incurred during a 6th-best swim with a race-best 2:06:14 bike split that gave him a 59 seconds lead over Matt Chrabot at T2. Laundry then ran a 2nd-fastest 1:20:03 half marathon to finish in 3:55:23 and stretch his margin of victory to 3 minutes over Chrabot and 4:34 over Alex Libin of the U.S., who advanced from 5th to 3rd with a race-fastest 1:16:51 run split.
Laundry’s win comes as a natural progression in the 2018 season from 7th at Ironman 70.3 Campeche, 4th at St. Anthony’s, and 2nd at Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga.
Kessler, on the rise after the birth of a baby boy in November, came to Raleigh after a 2nd place at Chattanooga 70.3, a 5th place at St. George 70.3, and a 6th at the Ironman North American Championship. She led the pro women’s swim wave with a 27:38 split that gave her a 1:10 lead on Katie Thomas, 2:04 on Holly Benner, 2:20 on Christen Brown, 3:00 on Heather Jackson, and 3:02 on Stephanie Roy of Canada.
After a women’s 2nd-fastest 2:23:53 bike split, Kessler arrived at T2 with a 49 seconds lead on Heather Jackson, who posted the women’s-best 2:21:54 bike split. After half the 21 kilometer run, Kessler had increased her lead to 1:39 over Jackson, far in front of the rest. After 10 miles, Kessler led Jackson by 3:31 and cruised to the finish with a second-best 1:20:03 half marathon to finish in 4:21:14 with a 4:31 margin over Jackson (1:30:30 run) and 5:47 over 3rd place Stephanie Roy of Canada, who closed fast with a women’s-best 1:19:10 run.
Ironman 70.3 Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
June 3, 2018
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Men
1. Jackson Laundry (CAN) 3:55:23 S 26:34 T1 1:05 B 2:06:14 T2 1:29 R 1:20:03
2. Matt Chrabot (USA) 3:58:23 S 25:29 T1 1:18 B 2:08:05 T2 1:27 R 1:22:05
3. Alex Libin (USA) 3:59:57 S 26:32 T1 1:13 B 2:13:27 T2 1:56 R 1:16:51
4. Kennett Peterson (USA) 4:00:57 S 28:55 T1 1:17 B 2:06:44 T2 1:42 R 1:22:21
5. Adam Otstot (USA) 4:02:18 S 28:52 T1 1:29 B 2:11:02 T2 1:38 R 1:19:18
Women
1. Meredith Kessler (USA) 4:21:14 S 27:38 T1 1:29 B 2:23:53 T2 1:58 R 1:26:19
2. Heather Jackson (USA) 4:25:55 S 30:37 T1 1:17 B 2:21:54 T2 1:39 R 1:30:30
3. Stephanie Roy (CAN) 4:27:01 S 30:40 T1 1:15 B 2:34:13 T2 1:45 R 1:19:10
4. Holly Benner (USA) 4:34:25 S 29:42 T1 1:23 B 2:25:39 T2 2:05 R 1:35:39
5. Christen Brown (USA) 4:38:36 S 29:57 T1 1:28 B 2:29:31 T2 1:52 R 1:35:50
