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Ford Ironman St. George

  • Welcome to Ford Ironman St. George. Set in the sports and active-living paradise of St. George, Utah, which offers some of the most breathtaking scenery in the United States, Ford Ironman St. George quickly gained the reputation as one of the toughest Ironman races on the planet last year. Ironman races, of course, aren't supposed to be easy, but what that reputation manages to overshadow is the incredible beauty of this family-friendly destination. We're gearing up for a spectacular day of coverage - thanks for joining us here at IronmanLive.

  • Ironman Radio: Kevin Mackinnon and Greg Welch chat about tomorrow's race.

  • The press conference:
    Yesterday's presser featured many of the favorites for Saturday's race with one notable exception - Michael Weiss won't actually get to St. George until late today because he's going through an interview for his Green Card application. (Pictured: Ironman 70.3 world champion Jodie Swallow, who is making her Ironman debut on Saturday.)

    There was more than enough top talent on hand, though, including: Paul Ambrose, Maik Twelsiek, Ben Hoffman, Heather Wurtele, Meredith Kessler and Jodie Swallow. Here’s some of what we heard from each of them this afternoon:


    Read more at: ironman.com
  • Some stats for tomorrow's race:
    There are 598 first time Ironman competitors.
    There are 47 of the states represented - California has the most competitors, closely followed by Utah.
    The US is the most represented country, followed by Canada, Great Britain, Japan and Australia.
    There are 56 athletes competing here in St. George who are over the age of 60.
    There will be more than 4,600 volunteers out on the course tomorrow.
  • The water temperature has been measured at 62 degrees Fahrenheit the last couple of mornings, which is warmer than last year. That will no-doubt be much appreciated by both the pro and age group athletes competing tomorrow.

  • Body marking is part of registration here in St. George

  • Hitting the water at Sand Hollow Resevoir.

  • Mike Reilly greets the crowd at the Carbo dinner.

  • Every where you look there are scenic vistas to enjoy here in St. George

  • Another beautiful view ... now out on the bike.

  • Good morning from St. George! It's a beautiful morning here - we're stationed at the finish line right now, while the athletes are all out at Sand Hollow Reservoir right now getting ready for the swim. The water temperature is about 62 degrees, which is warmer than last year and should be reasonably pleasant for the competitors here today.
  • The temperature right now is 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 C), with an expected high of 91 F (33 C). It's going to be a hot day here, and things could be a bit challenging with winds expected to come from the south south west at 22 mph (34 kph).
  • Don't forget to check out our video broadcast - Michellie Jones and Greg Welch are on set right now previewing today's race. Matt Lieto is out at the transition area providing some updates, too.
  • Our race clock inadvertently started a few hours ago - we've corrected the problem, but if you joined us earlier, you might need to reload (refresh by pressing F5 on your computer) to get the correct time. Sorry about that!
  • Getting ready for a cold swim - Matt Lieto just reported that the water temperature this morning is down to 58 degrees, which is a drop from the last few mornings when the water temperature was 62 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • A few minutes to the pro start. One of the predictions we're hearing from folks is that Jodie Swallow might end up leading the way through the swim here today. She's used to ITU competitions, where the swim tempo is pretty high, so it won't be a surprise to see her hammer through the swim here today.
  • The pros are off! As predicted, Jodie Swallow has hammered her way to the front of the group right off the bat.
  • TJ Tollakson is an athlete we haven't talked about much this week - he is always a strong swimmer-cyclist, so he should be in the mix for the first two legs of the race, anyway. He's part of the lead swim pack right now, as is Ben Hoffman.
  • There are two men out in front breaking away from the rest of the group, which includes Jodie Swallow, Heather Wurtele and another woman, who we think might be Jackie Ahrendt.
  • One of those leaders could be Paul Ambrose, who has swum 48 minutes in the past in Ironman swims. Last year's winner of Ford Ironman Louisville, the Australian comes from a swimming background, so we expect he's likely to be near the front of the swim here today.
  • Jodie Swallow is moving quickly - she's in 5th place overall and is pulling away from Heather Wurtele. Last year Wurtele lead this race from start to finish, but was fully aware that with Swallow in the field here today she wasn't likely to be first out of the water.
  • The age group athletes are getting ready to go. We have just over 1,600 athletes getting ready to hit the water this morning.

  • The beautiful swim course at Sand Hollow Reservoir

  • The water out at Sand Hollow Reservoir is completely flat - it just looks beautiful out there right now. This has to be one of the most beautiful swim venues in the sport.
  • We have one athlete who has pulled clear of the rest of the group right now in the age group race - I'm not sure who it is, but they're pulling away from the rest of the pack with long, smooth strokes.
  • Swallow remains near the front of the swim group - I believe she's still in the top five at this point.
  • The pro race remains tight still - there's a group of about 10 or so who are at the front.
  • There's a group of five now in the lead. Jodie Swallow is part of that group. Heather Wurtele is swimming alone, sticking close to the buoy line, but she's well behind . She's been training here in St. George for a month now, so she's very familiar with this course.
  • More on Jodie Swallow: Greg Welch and Michellie Jones are talking on air right now about the Ironman 70.3 world champion, Jodie Swallow. I had a great chat with her on Thursday (look for a story on Ironman.com next week) and managed to get some updates. As we reported, Swallow might be racing an Ironman race here, but she fully intends to try and make Great Britain's Olympic team so she can compete at the Olympic Games in her home town of London. She's been injured through the winter, but says that despite the injury she's been able to "run slowly" - her version of slow is three-hour marathon pace, which would be plenty quick enough on this tough course.

  • Jodie Swallow is making her Ironman debut here in St. George

  • In case you missed it, Greg Welch and I did an Ironman Radio Show yesterday, talking about today's race.

  • TYR is the official swim course sponsor. They are offering a special prize for the top age group male and female swimmers of the day (they have to finish the race, though) which includes some of the great new TYR luggage and much more.
  • Don't forget to check out the 9th Annual Ironman Charity Auction, which closes in just over 17 hours. The money raised from this Charity Auction goes towards the Ironman Foundation. You can find out more on the main page of Ironman.com.
  • We're getting ready to see our top swimmers come out of the water in the next few minutes.

  • The men's leaders out of the water:
    1 49:09 7 Paul Ambrose Sydney NS GBR
    2 49:13 0:04 11 Balazs Csoke Volketswil HUN
    3 49:16 0:08 15 Mathias Hecht Willisau CHE
    4 49:18 0:10 25 Tj Tollakso Des Moines IA USA
    5 49:31 0:22 6 Mike Aigroz Chateau D'oex CHE
  • No surprises on the women's front - Jodie Swallow led the way for the women here today. 1 49:29 38 Jodie Swallow Brentwood GBR
  • Tollakson leads the way onto the bike: 1 50:53 25 Tj Tollakso Des Moines IA USA
    2 50:57 0:05 11 Balazs Csoke Volketswil HUN
    3 50:59 0:07 7 Paul Ambrose Sydney NS GBR
    4 51:03 0:11 15 Mathias Hecht Willisau CHE
    5 51:26 0:34 6 Mike Aigroz Chateau D'oex CHE
    6 52:05 1:12 24 Heath Thurston Orem UT USA
  • Meredith Kessler was the second woman out of the water this morning - she's two-minutes behind Swallow.
  • A fast transition for Swallow, which again isn't a surprise considering she's a regular ITU competitor - she gained another 23 seconds on Meredith Kessler through T1.
  • The top-10 men out of the water: 1 49:09 7 Paul Ambrose Sydney NS GBR
    2 49:13 0:04 11 Balazs Csoke Volketswil HUN
    3 49:16 0:08 15 Mathias Hecht Willisau CHE
    4 49:18 0:10 25 Tj Tollakso Des Moines IA USA
    5 49:31 0:22 6 Mike Aigroz Chateau D'oex CHE
    6 50:17 1:09 24 Heath Thurston Orem UT USA
    7 52:28 3:20 4 Maik Twelsiek Tucson AZ DEU
    8 52:28 3:20 18 Joe McDaniel Colorado Spring CO USA
    9 52:30 3:22 2 Ben Hoffman Grand Junction CO USA
    10 52:32 3:24 10 Bruno Clerbout Kapelle-Op-Den- BEL
  • The first four women out of the water - a bit of a surprise for last year's champion Heather Wurtele - she's over five minutes behind starting the bike. 1 49:29 38 Jodie Swallo Brentwood GBR
    2 51:28 1:59 37 Meredith Kessler San Francisco CA USA
    3 55:00 5:31 36 Heather Wurtele Kelowna BC CAN
    4 55:03 5:34 41 Jackie Arendt Madison WI USA
  • The first 10 men out of T1: 1 50:53 25 Tj Tollakso Des Moines IA USA
    2 50:57 0:05 11 Balazs Csoke Volketswil HUN
    3 50:59 0:07 7 Paul Ambrose Sydney NS GBR
    4 51:03 0:11 15 Mathias Hecht Willisau CHE
    5 51:26 0:34 6 Mike Aigroz Chateau D'oex CHE
    6 52:05 1:12 24 Heath Thurston Orem UT USA
    7 54:02 3:09 2 Ben Hoffman Grand Junction CO USA
    8 54:09 3:16 10 Bruno Clerbout Kapelle-Op-Den- BEL
    9 54:10 3:18 4 Maik Twelsiek Tucson AZ DEU
    10 54:29 3:36 18 Joe McDaniel Colorado Spring CO USA
  • Heather Wurtele just exited T1 - she's an incredible cyclist, but has two other impressive cyclists ahead of her as she gets started in the bike here. 1 51:08 38 Jodie Swallo Brentwood GBR
    2 53:30 2:23 37 Meredith Kessler San Francisco CA USA
    3 56:49 5:42 36 Heather Wurtele Kelowna BC CAN
  • We still haven't seen any sign of Michael Weiss - he's going to have his work cut out for him on the bike here today.
  • Weiss is now just getting on to his bike - he'll exit T1 in just under an hour - which means he's almost nine-minutes down on race leader TJ Tollakson.
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