In a tune-up for Kona three weeks hence, wife Mirinda Carfrae and husband Timothy O’Donnell showed excellent form in victories against strong fields at Ironman 70.3 Augusta.

Women

Carfrae combined a 3rd-best 23:56 swim that left her 2:38 behind swim leader Haley Chura, and a race-best 2:17:42 bike split that gave her a 2 minutes lead on Jeanni Seymour of South Africa. While Seymour outran Carfrae by 42 seconds, the three-time Ironman World Champion and 2007 Ironman 70.3 World Champion had enough time in the bank that her 1:21:11 half marathon brought her to the line in 4:05:38 with a 1:22 margin of victory over Seymour and 7:40 over 3rd place Lauren Barnett of the U.S.

For their efforts, Carfrae and O’Donnell got to share a hug with daughter Izzy at the finish.

Men

O’Donnell emerged from the water with a 17 seconds deficit to swim leader Hunter Lussi of the U.S. and a 41 seconds lead on Kevin Collington of the U.S., 53 seconds on Canadian Jackson Laundry, 57 seconds on Ivan Tutukin of Russia, and 1:01 on Matt Hanson of the U.S.

After a second-fastest 2:04:36 bike split – 56 seconds slower than Laundry – O’Donnell entered T2 with Hunter Lussi just behind Laundry.

O’Donnell broke out front at a 5:25 per mile pace and at 10k led Laundry by 90 seconds and had 4 minutes on Collington, Tutukin and Alex Libin. Due to an unusually slow 2:11:51 bike split, Hanson fell to 19th place.

After a 2nd best 1:14:27 run, O’Donnell finished in 3:42:07 with a 2:43 margin of victory over Laundry (1:17:12 run) and 3:55 over 3rd place Ivan Tutukin of Russia. Hanson got his act together on the run and finished with a race-best 1:12:10 half marathon to take 5th place, 1:48 behind 4th place Kevin Collington.

Ironman 70.3Augusta
Augusta, Georgia
September 23, 2018
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.

Results

Women

1. Mirinda Carfrae (AUS) 4:05:36 S 23:56 T1 2:27 B 2:17:42 T2 00:22 R 1:21:11
2. Jeanni Seymour (RSA) 4:06:58 S 22:57 T1 2:23 B 2:20:49 T2 00:22 R 1:20:29
3. Lauren Barnett (USA) 4:13:16 S 23:59 T1 2:38 B 2:20:51 T2 00:23R 1:25:28
4. Haley Chura (USA) 4:16:51 S 21:17 T1 2:29 B 2:25:36 T2 00:23 R 1:27:08
5. Jodie Robertson (USA) 4:21:24 S 24:58 T1 3:18 B 2:25:49 T2 00:29 R 1:26:51

Men

1. Timothy O’Donnell (USA) 3:42:07 S 20:26 T1 2:20 B 2:04:36 T2 00:20 R 1:14:27
2. Jackson Laundry (CAN) 3:44:50 S 21:18 T1 2:21 B 2:03:40 T2 00:20 R 1:17:12
3. Ivan Tutukin (RUS) 3:46:02 S 21:22 T1 2:23 B 2:07:21 T2 00:20 R 1:14:38
4. Kevin Collington (USA) 3:46:26 S 21:06 T1 2:19 B 2:07:38 T2 00:21 R 1:15:24
5. Matt Hanson (USA) 3:48:14 S 21:27 T1 2:24 B 2:11:51 T2 00:24 R 1:12:10