Jocelyn McCauley of the U.S. won her second Taupo title and set a new women’s record while Mike Phillips of New Zealand ran down bike dominator Andrew Starykowicz with 5km to go to win the 35th Ironman New Zealand.

Women

McCauley overcame a 3:06 deficit after the swim with a women’s-fastest 4:57:27 bike split and 2:58:07 run split to finish in 8:53:11 with a 12:22 margin of victory over Teresa Adam of New Zealand and 18:53 over 5-time Ironman New Zealand winner Meredith Kessler of the U.S.

McCauley surpassed Kessler’s previous women’s race record set in 2016 by a 2:58 margin. The win was McCauley’s third career Ironman victory after a win at Ironman Mallorca in 2016 and an Ironman victory at this race in 2017.

Men

Andrew Starykowicz surged to a 15 minute lead after an astounding 4:12:08 bike split that was 19 minutes better than his nearest pursuer. Starky hung tough to his lead until Phillips cruised past with 3 kilometers to go. After a race-best 2:40:05 marathon, Phillips finished in 8:05:09 with a 2:24 margin of victory over Starykowicz who ran 3:00:17. Braden Currie, a top 5 finisher at Kona last October, took 3rd place in 8:09:05, 3:56 behind the winner.

While Phillips has won 4 Ironman 70.3 contests, this was his second Ironman distance victory, coming after a win at Challenge Melbourne last year.

Defending men's champion Terenzo Bozzone of New Zealand fought gamely to overcome a recent hamstring injury, but after cracking the top five, he retired on the run.

Ironman New Zealand
Taupo, New Zealand
March 2, 2019
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.

Results

Women

1. Jocelyn McCauley (USA) 8:53:11 S 52:29 T1 3:14 B 4:57:27 T2 1:55 R 2:58:07
2. Teresa Adam (NZL) 9:05:33 S 49:25 T1 3:17 B 5:07:00 T2 1:37 R 3:04:16
3. Meredith Kessler (USA) 9:12:04 S 49:23 T1 3:20 B 5:09:50 T2 1:43 R 3:07:49
4. Laura Siddall (GBR) 9:12:04 S 1:01:06 T1 3:31 B 5:02:42 T2 1:22 R 3:11:00
5. Rebecca Clarke (NZL) 9:32:14 S 49:20 T1 3:21 5:10:22 T2 1:49 R 3:27:13

Men

1. Mike Phillips (NZL) 8:05:09 S 47:58 T1 2:49 B 4:32:58 T2 1:21 R 2:40:05
2. Andrew Starykowicz (USA) 8:07:33 S 49:49 T1 3:02 B 4:12:08 T2 2:18 R 3:00:17
3. Braden Currie (NZL) 8:09:05 S 47:58 T1 3:01 B 4:31:03 T2 1:13 R 2:45:52
4. Matt Burton (AUS) 8:12:36 S 52:54 T1 3:14 B 4:25:24 T2 1:31 R 2:49:35
5. Tim Reed (AUS) 8:22:13 S 48:07 T1 2:55 B 4:37:56 T2 2:08 R 2:51:09