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Setting an impressive streak of her own, U.S. star Meredith Kessler dominated the women’s field for her 4th straight win at Taupo in 9:05:45, breaking her own course record set last year by 3 minutes and 1 second.
Men
Challenge Wanaka winner Dylan McNeice led the swim in a record-breaking 44:26 split, 3 seconds ahead of fellow Kiwi Graham O’Grady, 6 seconds ahead of Australian international class rower Todd Skipworth, 38 seconds ahead of Terenzo Bozzone, 5:36 ahead of Ironman New Zealand dominator Cameron Brown and 5:37 ahead of Aussie Alex Reithmeier.
Men
Challenge Wanaka winner Dylan McNeice led the swim in a record-breaking 44:26 split, 3 seconds ahead of fellow Kiwi Graham O’Grady, 6 seconds ahead of Australian international class rower Todd Skipworth, 38 seconds ahead of Terenzo Bozzone, 5:36 ahead of Ironman New Zealand dominator Cameron Brown and 5:37 ahead of Aussie Alex Reithmeier.
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At the end of the multiple-lap Taupo bike leg, Brown’s race-best 4:37:39 split pulled him dead even with Bozzone (4:41:08 bike split) at T2, with O’Grady trailing by 1:31, Reithmeier 4:53 arrears, and Mike Schifferle 8:27 down after a second-fastest 4:38:26 bike split. After his dolphin- fast swim. McNeice surrendered 16 minute to Brown on the bike leg and started the run in 7th with a 10:14 deficit.
Ignoring any excuse that others might think appropriate for a 42-year-old. Brown methodically tore the heart out of his younger opposition from the start of the run. At 4km into the marathon, he had a 20 seconds margin on Bozzone and 2:44 on O’Grady. At 7.4km, Brown extended his lead to 48 seconds on Bozzone and 3:40 on O’Grady, 6:13 on Reithmeier and 12:55 over McNeice. Running with the effortless precision of a metronome, Brown sped away with no ups and downs. By 21.3km, Brown calmly extended his lead to 3:13 on Bozzone, 6:31 on Reithmeier and 10:43 on the fading prospects of O’Grady.
By 25km, McNeice looked ready to pounce for 3rd, just 58 seconds back of O’Grady. By 35km, Brown’s grip on an 11th Ironman New Zealand titles grew stronger as he held a 4:56 lead on Bozzone. By 38km, the Taupo master led Bozzone by 5:31.
At the finish, Brown’s race-best 2:49:08 run was 6:43 better than Bozzone’s marathon and provided him with his entire margin of victory. Reithmeier led McNeice by almost 2 minutes with 4 kilometers to go, but that was not enough. McNeice pipped Reithmeier in the final kilometer, as his 2nd-best 2:54:24 run was 5:34 better than the Australian’s effort and brought the New Zealander the final spot on the podium by a 42 seconds margin.
“As soon as we started I tried to push the pace to see if I could open up a gap and within the first kilometer I had a 10 meter lead. With each km my lead grew and after the first 14km lap I had a 2 minute buffer. I kept pushing on as you never know what can happen in an Ironman,” said Brown. “The final 4km back into Taupo is always incredible with the whole town lining the streets. I tried to really enjoy the final few kilometers and enjoy my 11th win here.”
Women
Kessler dominated wire-to-wire, starting off with a women's-best 49:36 swim which was 1:49 better than her usual Taupo rival Gina Crawford, 9:10 better than Jocelyn McCauley of the U.S., 11:03 better than Stephanie Jones of the U.S., 11:33 better than Erin Furness of New Zealand and 13:10 better than Melanie Burke of New Zealand.
Ignoring any excuse that others might think appropriate for a 42-year-old. Brown methodically tore the heart out of his younger opposition from the start of the run. At 4km into the marathon, he had a 20 seconds margin on Bozzone and 2:44 on O’Grady. At 7.4km, Brown extended his lead to 48 seconds on Bozzone and 3:40 on O’Grady, 6:13 on Reithmeier and 12:55 over McNeice. Running with the effortless precision of a metronome, Brown sped away with no ups and downs. By 21.3km, Brown calmly extended his lead to 3:13 on Bozzone, 6:31 on Reithmeier and 10:43 on the fading prospects of O’Grady.
By 25km, McNeice looked ready to pounce for 3rd, just 58 seconds back of O’Grady. By 35km, Brown’s grip on an 11th Ironman New Zealand titles grew stronger as he held a 4:56 lead on Bozzone. By 38km, the Taupo master led Bozzone by 5:31.
At the finish, Brown’s race-best 2:49:08 run was 6:43 better than Bozzone’s marathon and provided him with his entire margin of victory. Reithmeier led McNeice by almost 2 minutes with 4 kilometers to go, but that was not enough. McNeice pipped Reithmeier in the final kilometer, as his 2nd-best 2:54:24 run was 5:34 better than the Australian’s effort and brought the New Zealander the final spot on the podium by a 42 seconds margin.
“As soon as we started I tried to push the pace to see if I could open up a gap and within the first kilometer I had a 10 meter lead. With each km my lead grew and after the first 14km lap I had a 2 minute buffer. I kept pushing on as you never know what can happen in an Ironman,” said Brown. “The final 4km back into Taupo is always incredible with the whole town lining the streets. I tried to really enjoy the final few kilometers and enjoy my 11th win here.”
Women
Kessler dominated wire-to-wire, starting off with a women's-best 49:36 swim which was 1:49 better than her usual Taupo rival Gina Crawford, 9:10 better than Jocelyn McCauley of the U.S., 11:03 better than Stephanie Jones of the U.S., 11:33 better than Erin Furness of New Zealand and 13:10 better than Melanie Burke of New Zealand.
