On our Weekend Box menu, the hottest contest was a 70.3 in Cebu, the southernmost was a 70.3 in Durban, the oldest city was an Ironman in Maastricht-Limburg, and the most strictly amateur was an Ironman in Boulder.

Caroline Steffen and Tim Reed win Ironman 70.3 Philippines

Caroline Steffen won bravely as she crossed the line bleeding from a bike crash, and Tim Reed won by two ticks of the clock over a fellow Tim at Ironman 70.3 Philippines.

Steffen, the swift Swiss, combined a women’s-fastest 24:01 swim, women's 2nd-best 2:25:44 bike split and women’s 2nd-best 1:30:25 half marathon to finish in 4:23:54, with a 5:13 margin of victory over Beth Gerdes of the U.S. and 5:42 over 3rd-place finisher Dimity-Lee Duke of Australia.

The men’s race began with an all-out battle on the swim led by Clayton Fettell of Australia in 21:47, followed closely by fellow Aussie Sam Betten (21:51), then a minute’s gap before a large pack of fish-fast fellows including Canadian Brent McMahon (22:51), 2012 Aussie Kona champ Peter Jacobs (22:56), Aussie Tim Reed and Kiwi Matt Franklin (22:57), Aussies Tim Van Berkel and Mitch Robins (22:58), Aussies Luke McKenzie (23:00 and Craig Alexander (23:01).

By the finish of the bike leg, McMahon’s 2:03:17 split led Tim Van Berkel’s 2:03:15 into T2 by one second and Reed’s 2:03:21 by 6 seconds. McKenzie was next at 2:57 arrears, with Betten, Robins and Alexander just under 5 minutes down.

On the wings of his race-best 1:16:35 run, Reed edged out Van Berkel and his next-best 1:16:42 half marathon by 2 seconds at the line. McMahon took 3rd with a 1:21:01 run that brought him to the line 4:18 back of Van Berkel.

Ironman 70.3 Philippines
Cebu, Philippines
August 2, 2015
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.

Results

Women

1. Caroline Steffen (SUI) 4:23:54
2. Beth Gerdes (USA) 4:29:07
3. Dimity-Lee Duke (AUS) 4:29:36
4. Kathryn Haesner (NZL) 4:32:15
5. Belinda Granger (AUS) 4:42:00

Men

1. Tim Reed (AUS) 3:46:03
2. Tim Van Berkel (AUS) 3:46:05
3. Brent McMahon (CAN) 3:50:23
4. Mitch Robins (AUS) 3:55:20
5. Craig Alexander (AUS) 3:57:11

Bas Diederen and Yvonne Van Vlerken top Ironman Maastricht-Limburg

Two Dutch long course stars christened this inaugural Netherlands Ironman with decisive victories.

Bas Diederen combined a 3rd-fastest 46:22 swim, a race-best 4:43:33 bike split and a race-best 2:51:59 marathon to finish in 8:27:18, with a 7:57 margin over runner-up and fellow Netherlander Mark Oude Bennink and 10:46 over 3rd-place finisher Alberto Casadei of Italy.

Yvonne Van Vlerken overcame a 4:02 deficit to swim leader Sarissa De Vries with a women’s-best 5:16:10 bike split and a women’s 2nd-best 3:21:17 run to finish in 9:39:24, with a 19:20 margin on runner-up De Vries and 25:14 over 3rd-place finisher Carla van Rooijen.

Ironman Maastricht-Limburg
Maastricht, Netherlands
August 2, 2015
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.

Results

Men

1. Bas Diederen (NED) 8:27:18
2. Mark Oude Bennink (NED) 8:35:15
3. Alberto Casadei (ITA) 8:38:04
4. Tim Brydenbach (BEL) 8:40:38
5. Matic Modic (SVN) 8:44:11

Women

1. Yvonne Van Vlerken (NED) 9:39:24
2. Sarissa De Vries (NED) 9:58:44
3. Carla van Rooijen (NED) 10:04:34
4. Carolin Lehrieder (GER) 10:19:57
5. Steffi Hansen (GER) 10:28:05

Stuart Marais and Annah Watkinson win Ironman 70.3 Durban

South Africans Stuart Marais and Annah Watkinson won Ironman 70.3 Durban.

After a 3rd-best 26:06 swim split left him with a 1:02 deficit, Marais turned on the jets with a race-best 2:10:18 bike split - 7:08 better than his quickest challenger - and polished it off with a race-best 1:18:38 run that brought him to the finish in 4:00:07. This gave Marais a 10:13 margin of victory over runner-up and countryman Michael Davidson and 14:17 over 3rd-place finisher Rudolf Naude of South Africa.

Watkinson began with a women’s 3rd-best swim that left her with a 1:31 deficit, added a 2nd-best 2:25:47 bike split and finished with a women’s-best 1:25:26 run that brought her to the finish in 4:26:01, giving her a 24 seconds edge over runner-up and fellow South African Kirsten Schut and 2:40 over 3rd-place woman Parys Edwards of Great Britain.

Ironman 70.3 Durban
Durban, South Africa
August 2, 2015
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.

Results

Men

1. Stuart Marais (RSA) 4:00:07
2. Michael Davidson (RSA) 4:10:20
3. Rudolf Naude (RSA) 4:14:24
4. Freddy Lampret (RSA) 4:14:41
5. Mark Pellew (RSA) 4:14:59

Women

1. Annah Watkinson (RSA) 4:26:01
2. Kirsten Schut (RSA) 4:26:25
3. Parys Edwards (GBR) 4:28:41
4. Andrea Steyn (RSA) 4:32:40
5. Lucie Zelenkova (CZE) 4:38:00

Clay Emge and Francesca Tibaldi prevail at Ironman Boulder

While the second edition of Ironman Boulder was a no-pro affair, two amateurs produced highly respectable winning times.

Clay Emge, the men’s 30-34 champion, finished in 8:45:20 with an 8:44 margin of victory over 18-24 winner Steve Mantell and 13:23 over 35-39 winner and men’s 3rd-overall finisher Steve Johnson.

Francesca Tibaldi of Italy finished in 9:53:41, winning the women’s 40-44 division and taking the overall victory by 12:29 over 25-29 winner and women's overall runner-up Monica Folts and 24:17 over former pro, 45-49 winner and women’s 3rd-overall finisher Heather Gollnick.

Ironman Boulder
Boulder, Colorado
August 2, 2015
S 2.4 mi. / B 12 mi. / R 26.2 mi.

Results

Men

1. Clay Emge (USA) 8:45:20 * M30-34
2. Steve Mantell (USA) 8:54:04 * M18-24
3. Steve Johnson (USA) 8:58:43 * M35-39
4. Curt Chesney (USA) 9:03:46 * M45-49
5. Rafael Goncalves (BRA) 9:16:20 * M 35-39

Women

1. Francesca Tibaldi (ITA) 9:53:41 * F40-44
2. Monica Folts (USA) 10:06:10 * F25-29
3. Heather Gollnick (USA) 10:17:58 * F45-49
4. Erin Kersten (USA) 10:36:20 * F30-34
5. Amy Becker (USA) 10:40:15 * F40-44

Enduro World Series cyclist dies, Crested Butte, Colorado event canceled

The Mt. Crested Butte Police Department confirmed the death of William Dean Olson, 40, of Edwards, Colorado, who suffered fatal injuries in a mountain bike accident while competing in the Big Mountain Enduro and Enduro World Series in Gunnison National Forest in Colorado on Saturday.

According to Mt. Crested Butte Police public information officer Marjorie Trautman, Olson was riding on Trail 400 on the Star Pass on Stage 3 of the of the Big Mountain Enduro at approximately 11:50am on August 1 when he crashed and died at the scene as a result of his injuries.

According to the Mt. Crested Butte police report, "Two interval riders following the victim immediately began CPR and continued for approximately 30 minutes with race personnel arriving at the scene and continuing CPR for 30 minutes longer. A paramedic, transported by Care Flight helicopter, arrived on scene and pronounced the rider deceased.”

Out of respect to the rider and his family, event organizers canceled this round of the Enduro World Series.