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Men
New Zealander Dylan McNeice led the swim in a porpoise-swift 44:54 split that was 1:24 ahead of Luke McKenzie of Australia, 4:39 and 4:50 ahead of fellow Kiwis Simon Cochrane and Cameron Brown and 4:53 and 5:30 ahead of Australians Luke Whitmore and Simon Billeau.
Once the men hit the scenic bike course, McKenzie quickly established his dominance with a race-best 4:30:19 split that was 5:49 better than Billeau, 10:23 better than Brown and 19:22 quicker than McNeice. That stellar ride gave the 6-time Ironman winner an 11 minute lead on Billeau, a 12-minute lead on Brown, 15 minutes on Nick Bensley (55:24 swim and 4:37:07 bike split) and 17 minutes on McNeice, who faded with a 4:49:41 bike split.
With that formidable lead in the bank, McKenzie could afford to cruise to a 2:57:37 run that gave back 4:47 to Brown and 4:34 to 25-29 age grouper Levi Maxwell and still hit the finish line in 8:18:01 with an 8:21 lead on Brown, 18:54 on 3rd-place McNeice, who ran 2:58:40 to hold off Maxwell by 2 seconds for the final spot on the podium.
New Zealander Dylan McNeice led the swim in a porpoise-swift 44:54 split that was 1:24 ahead of Luke McKenzie of Australia, 4:39 and 4:50 ahead of fellow Kiwis Simon Cochrane and Cameron Brown and 4:53 and 5:30 ahead of Australians Luke Whitmore and Simon Billeau.
Once the men hit the scenic bike course, McKenzie quickly established his dominance with a race-best 4:30:19 split that was 5:49 better than Billeau, 10:23 better than Brown and 19:22 quicker than McNeice. That stellar ride gave the 6-time Ironman winner an 11 minute lead on Billeau, a 12-minute lead on Brown, 15 minutes on Nick Bensley (55:24 swim and 4:37:07 bike split) and 17 minutes on McNeice, who faded with a 4:49:41 bike split.
With that formidable lead in the bank, McKenzie could afford to cruise to a 2:57:37 run that gave back 4:47 to Brown and 4:34 to 25-29 age grouper Levi Maxwell and still hit the finish line in 8:18:01 with an 8:21 lead on Brown, 18:54 on 3rd-place McNeice, who ran 2:58:40 to hold off Maxwell by 2 seconds for the final spot on the podium.
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Ironman Cairns
Cairns, Australia
June 14, 2015
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
Results
Men
1. Luke McKenzie (AUS) 8:18:01
2. Cameron Brown (NZL) 8:26:22
3. Dylan McNeice (NZL) 8:36:55
4. Levi Maxwell (AUS) 8:36:57 * M25-29
5. Simon Billeau (AUS) 8:42:05
Women
1. Liz Blatchford (AUS) 9:11:49
2. Gina Crawford (NZL) 9:20:56
3. Michelle Bremer (AUS) 9:35:32
4. Sarah Crowley (AUS) 9:38:43
5. Kym Coogan (AUS) 9:46:42
Ironman 70.3 Cairns
Caroline Steffen won her 17th Ironman 70.3 title and Sam Appleton topped his coach and mentor and a legendary multiple world champion to win Ironman 70.3 Cairns.
Women
Annabel Luxford of Australia outswam Swiss Caroline Steffen by 14 seconds as the two left the rest of the women’s field a minute behind. A drafting penalty to Luxford gave Steffen a 3-minute lead starting the run and, as Luxford faded, the Swiss veteran turned on the jets on the run to finish in 4:19:41 with a 7:15 advantage on Luxford and a 13:06 on 3rd-place Katy Duffield of Australia.
Cairns, Australia
June 14, 2015
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
Results
Men
1. Luke McKenzie (AUS) 8:18:01
2. Cameron Brown (NZL) 8:26:22
3. Dylan McNeice (NZL) 8:36:55
4. Levi Maxwell (AUS) 8:36:57 * M25-29
5. Simon Billeau (AUS) 8:42:05
Women
1. Liz Blatchford (AUS) 9:11:49
2. Gina Crawford (NZL) 9:20:56
3. Michelle Bremer (AUS) 9:35:32
4. Sarah Crowley (AUS) 9:38:43
5. Kym Coogan (AUS) 9:46:42
Ironman 70.3 Cairns
Caroline Steffen won her 17th Ironman 70.3 title and Sam Appleton topped his coach and mentor and a legendary multiple world champion to win Ironman 70.3 Cairns.
Women
Annabel Luxford of Australia outswam Swiss Caroline Steffen by 14 seconds as the two left the rest of the women’s field a minute behind. A drafting penalty to Luxford gave Steffen a 3-minute lead starting the run and, as Luxford faded, the Swiss veteran turned on the jets on the run to finish in 4:19:41 with a 7:15 advantage on Luxford and a 13:06 on 3rd-place Katy Duffield of Australia.
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My legs felt heavy early on the bike - after 40km I didn’t think I could even finish the race,” said Steffen. “But it got better and better the whole day.” Steffen posted the women's best bike (2:26:36) and run (1:23:45). The win follows Steffen’s victory at Vietnam and adds to the dominating resume of super team Bahrain Endurance.
Men
Building off an encouraging win at Challenge Bateman’s Bay this March, 24-year-old Sam Appleton topped his coach and mentor Tim Reed, the recent Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Champion, as well as 5-time World Champion Craig Alexander with race-best bike and run legs.
“That was super hard,” said Appleton. “I pushed the whole time out there. I felt really good and I am super stoked to win.”
Men
Building off an encouraging win at Challenge Bateman’s Bay this March, 24-year-old Sam Appleton topped his coach and mentor Tim Reed, the recent Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Champion, as well as 5-time World Champion Craig Alexander with race-best bike and run legs.
“That was super hard,” said Appleton. “I pushed the whole time out there. I felt really good and I am super stoked to win.”
