TJ Tollakson won his first and Heather Wurtele took her fourth Ironman title at the Ford Ironman Lake Placid in upper New York state Sunday.
Tollakson combined a 2nd-best 50:27 swim, a near-record 4:33:33 bike and 3rd-best 2:56:45 run to finish in 8:25:15, which gave him an 8 minute 14 seconds advantage over defending Lake Placid champ and this year’s runner-up, Ben Hoffman, who finished in 8:33.29. Australian Jason Shortis, age 41, fell far back with a 4:53:59 bike split, but finished strong with a race-best 2:50:24 marathon to take third in 8:47.18.
Tollakson’s victory was notable for his race-best bike split which came within 10 seconds of the 10-year-old record of 4:33:23 set by the late Steve Larsen in 2011. Hoffman was nearly as good on the bike, as he posted a bike split exactly 1 minute slower than Tollakson’s 4:33:33.
In the women’s race, Wurtele’s race-best 57:14 swim and race-best 5:08:12 bike gave her a 10-minute lead starting the run. The tall Canadian closed the deal with a race-best 3:08:23 run that put nearly 10 more minutes on Tine Deckers of Belgium. Wurtele’s race-record finish gave her a 15-minute, 38-seconds margin over Deckers and 19 minutes 6 seconds on 3rd place Tyler Stewart of the United States.
Ford Ironman Lake Placid
Lake Placid, New York
July 24, 2011
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
Unofficial Approximate Results
Men
1. TJ Tollakson (USA) 8:25:15
2. Ben Hoffman (USA) 8:33:29
3. Jason Shortis (AUS) 8:47:18
4. Eduardo Sturla (ARG) 9:04:16
5. Daniel Bretscher (USA) 9:07:05
6. Ian Mikelson (USA) 9:12:42
7. Mike Neill (CAN) 9:13:03
8. Tim Snow (USA) 9:16:01
9. Matthew Russell (USA) 9:26:06
10. David Lamoureux (USA) 9:36:11 * M30-34
Women
1. Heather Wurtele (CAN) 9:19:03
2. Tine Deckers (BEL) 9:34:41
3. Tyler Stewart (USA) 9:38:09
4. Jackie Arendt (USA) 9:56:21
5. Jacqui Gordon (USA) 10:07:22
6. Kim Schwabenbauer (USA) 10:11:54 *F30-34
7. Angela Bancroft (USA) 10:19:21 *F40-44
8. Amanda Kourtz (USA) 10:21:01 *F25-29
9. Suzanne Zelazo (CAN) 10:21:08
10. Suzanne Serpico (USA) 10:25:19 *F30-34
