Aussies Steven McKenna and Ellie Salthouse earned home country triumphs at IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne with dominant half marathons.

In triathlon’s version of Joe Namath’s 1969 pre-race Super Bowl victory guarantee, McKenna made a brave brag before the race: “I’m as fit as I’ve ever been,” he said. “I am confident, confident. If I am to win, it is going to be in the last quarter of the run I would say.”

With six kilometers left McKenna turned a 25-second deficit into a lead of 3:11 over Charlie Quin at the finish. McKenna’s race-best 1:09:23 half marathon was 3:23 faster than his nearest rival. The win was McKenna’s first since his 2021 victory in March at Geelong 70.3.

Salthouse finished with pride that she had overcome a season long slump, returning to her multiple-win 2021 form with a 1:42 margin over New Zealander Amelia Watkinson and 3:14 over 3rd-place Netherlander Lotte Wilms.

Salthouse was 13th Ironman 70.3 Worlds two weeks prior, and declared before her Melbourne start: “I just want to have a race I am proud of and have a performance that reflects the training I have done.”

Women's Race Recap

Lotte Wilms of Netherlands opened the day with a 23:38 swim that gave her a 1-minute lead on Salthouse, 1:25 on Radka Kahlefeldt of the Czech Republic, 1:29 on Vanessa Murray of Australia, 1:52 on Amelia Watkinson and Hannah Wells of New Zealand.

Australia-based Dutch star Wilms continued her lead on the bike to the halfway point, whereupon Salthouse and Watkinson caught up and formed a trio at the front all the way to T2.

Salthouse was third right out of T2, but soon thereafter took the lead on her way to a women’s-fastest 1:21:28 half marathon and 4:03:18 at the finish, which gave her a 1:42 margin over Watkinson (1:23:16, run split) and 3:14 over third place finisher Wilms (1:24:42 run).

Men's Race Recap

Kurt Fryer and Matt Lewis led the swim with identical 23:01 splits that gave them 2 seconds leads on McKenna, 5 seconds on Sam Osborne of New Zealand, 6 seconds on Charlie Quin, 11 seconds on Fraser Walsh and 17 seconds on Nicholas Free.

McKenna remained in the lead group throughout the bike, then rocketed away to victory.

“The swim felt pretty controlled,” he told Ironman media. “I do not think anyone pushed the pace too hard, and then the bike it is a hard course to get away and no one could. Once we realized that it got a bit messy, it is still a fast time. You could soft pedal and go 40km/h here, the roads are beautiful and flat, we got lucky with no wind.”

McKenna was modest about his spectacular run. “It was a well-paced and I felt good until about 4 km to go when I was just able to calm down and look back a few times. Then I realized I had won and I was able to relax.”

McKenna said he had a hard time traveling early twice this year. “I needed to keep it simple. I did not travel well and got sick both times and could not get on the time zone, eventually things went well and then I needed to make some money, so I raced every weekend and I came fifth at the North American Championships.”

IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne

Melbourne, Australia
November 13, 2022
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.

Men's Results

1. Steven McKenna (AUS) S 23:03 T1 2:20 B 2:03:23 T2 1:02 R 1:09:22 TOT 3:39:12
2. Charlie Quin (AUS) S 23:07 T1 2:q22 B 2:03:12 T2 00:54 R 1:12:45 TOT 3:42:23
3. Nicholas Free (AUS) S 23:18 T1 2:17 B 2:03:18 T2 01:18 R 1:12:50 TOT 3:43:04
4. Kieran Storch (AUS) S 25:34 T1 2:49 B 2:00:21 T2 1:18 R 1:14:19 TOT 3:44:23
5. Fraser Walsh (AUS) S 23:12 T1 2:11 B 2:03:23 T2 1:11 R 1:16:33 TOT 3:46:33
6. Sam Osborne (NZL) S 23:06 T1 2:19 B 2:08:36 T2 1:09 R 1:13:06 TOT 3:49:21
7. Jarrod Osborne (AUS) S 25:34 T1 2:29 B 2:05:48 T2 1:16 R 1:13:20 TOT 3:48:30
8. Kurt Fryer (AUS) S 23:01 T1 2:27 B 2:03:30 T2 1:18 R 1:20:32 TOT 3:50:51
9. Matt Lewis (AUS) S 23:01 T1 2:37 B 2:05:50 T2 1:19 R 1:16:49 TOT 3:52:06
10. Calvin Amos (AUS) S 25:54 T1 2:41 B 2:08:28 T2 1:20 R 1:15:12 TOT 3:53:39

Women's Results

1. Ellie Salthouse (AUS) S 24:38 T1 2:46 B 2:13:07 T2 1:16 R 1:21:28 TOT 4:03:18
2. Amelia Watkinson (NZL) S 25:30 T1 2:41 B 2:12:17 T2 1:13 R 1:23:16 TOT 4:05:00
3. Lotte Wilms (NED) S 23:38 T1 2:53 B 2:14:01 T2 1:15 R 1:24:42 TOT 4:06:32
4. Radka Kahlefeldt (AUS) S 25:03 T1 2:43 B 2:15:27 T2 1:25 R 1:23:10 TOT 4:07:51
5. Anna Bergsten (SWE) S 28:07 T1 3:26 B 2:15:44 T2 1:33 R 1:22:38 TOT 4:11:33
6. Vanessa Murray (NZL) S 25:07 T1 3:30 B 2:17:18 T2 1:30 R 1:24:38 TOT 4:12:05
7. Hannah Wells (NZL) S 25:30 T1 2:46 B 2:18:01 T2 1:21 R 1:24:58 TOT 4:12:39
8. Sarah Crowley (AUS) S 26:17 T1 2:51 B 2:17:08 T2 1:31 R 1:25:46 TOT 4:13:36