After a rain storm postponed the scheduled Saturday race, Ironman Italy Emilia-Romagna recovered with a bright, sunny and super-hot Sunday where Germany’s Svenja Thoes prevailed over two Swiss contenders in this pro women only event.

Thoes overcame a 5:13 deficit after an 8th-fastest swim with second-best 4:33:30 bike split and a 3rd-best 2:57:26 run split to finish in 8:37:22 with a 5:57 margin over Julie Derron and 7:51 over third-place Joanna Ryter.

The win added to an already stellar season for Thoes that includes a dominant victory at Ironman Nice and at Challenge Malta, 2nd at Marabella 70.3, 2nd at the Alpe d’Huez Triathlon, and 7th at Challenge Roth. This impressive performance also softens the disappointment Thoes experienced when she crossed the finish line first at Ironman Ireland but lost when officials disqualified her for receiving outside assistance.

Race Recap

In her Ironman debut, Julie Derron of Switzerland led the swim in 53:18 which gave her a 1:18 lead over Chantal Sainter of Great Britain, 1:23 and 1:24 over Zeljika Milicic of Hungary and Johanna Ahrens of Germany, 5:09 over Margrit Elfers of Germany, 5:11 over Jana Uderstadt of Germany and Lisa-Maria Dornauer of Austria, and 5:13 over Svenja Thoes,

On a slightly shorter bike course due to the Saturday flooding, German contenders Margrit Elfers unleashed a race-best 4:33:01 bike split which brought her into T2 in a tie with Thoes at equal 5:36:08 times and 6 minutes in front of Julie Derron, who posted a 4:45:04 split.

While Elfers entered the bike-to-run transition first, Svenja Thoes made a swift change and entered the run in first place. Trailing in third place was Derron, six minutes arrears.

Making up tons of real estate after opening 1:07 swims, Katharine Grohmann and Kristin Leopold of Germany posted 4:32 and 4:34 bike splits which elevated them to mid-pack positions.

After 22.8 kilometers on the run, Thoes held a 2:36 advantage over Derron, a 5 minutes over fast-fading Elfers, 51 more seconds over Joanna Ryter of Switzerland and 4:40 more over Kristin Liepold of Germany. At 33 kilometers of the run, Thoes increased her lead over Derron to 4:53, while Ryter charged hard into 3rd place with a race-best, course record 2:48:47 marathon, while Elfers dropped into a freefall which eventually landed her in 7th place.

Derron had an eventful Ironman debut – but not a debut at the distance, as earlier this summer she won Gerardmer XL.

One and all exchanged heartfelt hugs at the finish – none with greater feeling than between Thoes and Derron, who are training partners.

Ironman Italy Emilia-Romagna

Cervia, Milano-Maritime, Italy
September 18, 2022
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.

Results

1. Svenja Thoes (GER) S 58:31 T1 4:08 B 4:33:30 T2 3:50 R 2:57:26 TOT 8:37:22
2. Julie Derron SUI S 53:18 T1 3:48 B 4:45:04 T2 4:03 R 2:57:10 TOT 8:43:20
3. Joanna Ryter SUI S 1:06:32 T1 4:02 B 4:41:58 T2 3:57 R 2:48:47 TOT 8:45:13
4. Katharine Grohmann (GER) S 1:07:23 T1 4:30 B 4:34:16 T2 4:17 R 3:05:29 TOT 8:55:53
5. Kristin Liepold (GER) S 1:07:13 T1 4:15 B 4:32:11 T2 R 3:01:09 TOT 8:56:02
6. Gabrielle Zelinka (NED/FRA) S 58:32 T1 4:04 B 4:41:50 T2 4:18 R 3:07:26 TOT 8:56:08
7. Margrit Elfers (GER) S 58:27 T1 4:40 B 4:33:01T2 4:34 R 3:16:02 TOT 8:56:42
8. Jana Uderstadt (GER) S 58:29 T1 4:03 B 4:48:14 T2 3:45 R 3:07:22 TOT 9:01:52
9. Federica de Nicola (ITA) S 59:31 T1 4:33 B 4:46:43 T2 4:25 R 3:22:57 TOT 9:18:09
10. Lisa-Maria Dornauer (AUT) S 58:30 T1 4:11 B 4:48:11 T2 8:06 R 3:19:31 TOT 9:18:27