Ford Ironman St. George

The top women out of T1: 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
4 57:13 6:06 41 Jackie Arendt Madison WI USA
5 59:18 8:11 43 Amber Ferreira Concord NH USA
6 1:02:23 11:15 48 Liis Toominga Alavus EST

Through five miles Meredith Kessler has made up a few seconds on Jodie Swallow - she's now 2:15 behind the Brit.

No wonder that lead age group swimmer looked so good - it was Chris Hauth, one of the top age group athletes in the world. Here are the top-10 men age group athletes: ===== ======= ======= ===== ============ ======== =============== == =====
1 50:43 1248 Chris Hauth Mill Valley CA USA
2 52:37 1:55 477 Max Biessman Irvine CA USA
3 53:00 2:18 417 Jonathan Wojcik Bedford TX USA
4 53:04 2:21 817 Jason Crompton Evanston WY USA
5 53:32 2:49 1109 Kyle Lambson Riverton UT USA
6 53:45 3:03 716 Evan Deszoeke Phoenix AZ USA
7 53:47 3:05 602 Gregory Ornon Geneva SWZ
8 53:52 3:09 902 John Marinovi Encinitas CA USA
9 53:53 3:11 937 Troy Wannell Brisbane QL AUS
10 54:33 3:50 804 Christopher Hitch Evansville IN USA

Jodie Swallow (#38) is leading the way through 5 miles, followed by:
* Meredith Kessler (#37) at 2:16
* Heather Wurtele (#36) at 5:22
* Jackie Arendt (#41) at 6:25
* Amber Ferreira (#43) at 9:32

Leading the way in the age group women's race we had Salt Lake City's Sarah Goldberg. Here are the first ten out of the water:
1 54:53 90 Sarah Goldberg Salt Lake City UT USA
2 55:20 0:28 113 Jessica Smith Stanford CA USA
3 55:25 0:32 325 Betty Janelle Smyrna GA USA
4 55:40 0:48 212 Amanda Durner Colorado Spring CO USA
5 57:14 2:22 94 Mallory Dunn Daytona Beach FL USA
6 57:15 2:22 58 Jane D'Ambros Water Mill NY USA
7 57:17 2:25 70 Ashley Clifford Carmel IN USA
8 57:49 2:56 176 Tanya Hitch Evansville IN USA
9 59:44 4:52 132 Gina Lapekas Anchorage AK USA
10 1:00:14 5:22 371 Debbie Southwoo Birmingham GBR

Through 15 miles Mathias Hecht has started to make a bit of a break. He's followed by:
* Paul Ambrose (#7) at 3 seconds
* Tj Tollakson (#25) at 54 seconds
* Balazs Csoke (#11) at 1:34
* Mike Aigroz (#6) at 1:39

Jodie Swallow (#38) is starting to pull away from two of the strongest cyclists in the sport. Here are the splits through 15 miles:
* Meredith Kessler (#37) at 3 mins
* Heather Wurtele (#36) at 6 mins
* Jackie Arendt (#41) at 8:07
* Amber Ferreira (#43) at 12:45

Through 20 miles we still have Mathias Hecht (#15) and * Paul Ambrose (#7) at the front. They're starting to open a gap on the rest of the men behind:

* Tj Tollakson (#25) at 1:45
* Mike Aigroz (#6) at 3:10
* Maik Twelsiek (#4) at 3:15
* Balazs Csoke (#11) at 3:16
* Ben Hoffman (#2) at 3:17

Last year's women's champion Heather Wurtele continues to ride in third - she looks really strong as she pedals away. Last year she led this race from start to finish - today she's finding herself in catch up mode.

Through 20 miles Swallow's lead has stabilized as Kessler and Wurtele seem to be getting into a rhythm. Jodie Swallow (#38) is the current leader. They've managed to to gain a bit of time on Swallow, who is competing in her first Ironman here today.

Behind her are:
* Meredith Kessler (#37) at 2:32
* Heather Wurtele (#36) at 5:53

Mathias Hecht (#15) went through the site of theTimex Bike Prime (it's at 74 miles on the second loop of the bike)at 30 miles. He remains in front with * Paul Ambrose (#7). They are followed by:
* Tj Tollakson (#25) at 2:15
* Mike Aigroz (#6) at 3:15
* Maik Twelsiek (#4) at 3:16
* Ben Hoffman (#2) at 3:17

The men through the first bike timing split at 33 miles: 1 1:45:00 15 Mathias Hecht Willisau CHE
2 1:45:01 0:02 7 Paul Ambrose Sydney NS GBR
3 1:47:00 2:01 25 Tj Tollakso Des Moines IA USA
4 1:48:11 3:12 2 Ben Hoffman Grand Junction CO USA
5 1:48:14 3:15 4 Maik Twelsiek Tucson AZ DEU
6 1:48:16 3:17 6 Mike Aigroz Chateau D'oex CHE
7 1:49:09 4:09 11 Balazs Csoke Volketswil HUN
8 1:52:33 7:34 1 Michael Weiss Colorado Spring CO AUT
9 1:53:37 8:37 10 Bruno Clerbout Kapelle-Op-Den- BEL
10 1:53:43 8:43 24 Heath Thurston Orem UT USA

No surprises on the women's leader still - as she went through the flags that mark the Timex Bike Prime (at 74 miles on the second loop of the bike)- Jodie Swallow remains in the lead. Here are the splits at 33 miles: 1 1:53:39 38 Jodie Swallo Brentwood GBR
2 1:56:02 2:23 37 Meredith Kessler San Francisco CA USA
3 1:59:03 5:24 36 Heather Wurtele Kelowna BC CAN
4 2:02:48 9:09 41 Jackie Arendt Madison WI USA

Jodie Swallow has made another surge through 35 miles of the bike - she's now 3:35 ahead of Kessler and 6:28 up on women's defending champion Heather Wurtele.

Meredith Kessler quit her job in investment banking a few weeks ago. "It'll mean getting more than 4 hours of sleep a night," she said. Based in San Francisco, Kessler does about 90 per cent of her cycling indoors on a CompuTrainer - she says it is the best way for her to train. It certainly seems to be working here today!

Chris Hauth continues to lead the way in the men's age group race here today. Here are the splits for the top 10 male age group athletes through 33 miles
: 1 1:54:58 1248 Chris Hauth Mill Valley CA USA
2 1:55:56 0:59 602 Gregory Ornon Geneva SWZ
3 1:58:06 3:08 700 Ben Cotter Victoria BC CAN
4 1:58:09 3:12 995 Chris Olson Spartanburg SC USA
5 1:58:10 3:13 809 Maximiliano Morales General Roca ARG
6 1:58:17 3:19 477 Max Biessman Irvine CA USA
7 1:59:04 4:07 817 Jason Crompton Evanston WY USA
8 1:59:21 4:24 902 John Marinovi Encinitas CA USA
9 1:59:49 4:52 842 Tim Kitching Houston TX USA
10 1:59:50 4:53 704 Pablo Ureta Fribourg CHE

Through the first bike timing split we have two age group women so far - they are:
1 2:05:20 237 Kasha Schoolme Fairfax VA USA
2 2:07:59 2:40 113 Jessica Smith Stanford CA USA

Defending men's champion Michael Weiss has made up a couple of minutes on the men's leaders through the first 30 miles, but we're expecting that the former mountain bike star is likely to make his big moves as they hit the hillier parts of the course. Right now he's about 7:30 back in eighth place.

Through 40 miles Mathias Hecht (#15) and * Paul Ambrose (#7) remain in front. As Michi Weiss starts to make his move towards the front, so too are Maik Twelsiek and Ben Hoffman. Here are the splits:

* Tj Tollakson (#25) at 2:10
* Maik Twelsiek (#4) at 2:30
* Ben Hoffman (#2) at 2:31

Here are the top 9 women's splits through 33 miles: 1 1:53:39 38 Jodie Swallow Brentwood GBR
2 1:56:02 2:23 37 Meredith Kessler San Francisco CA USA
3 1:59:03 5:24 36 Heather Wurtele Kelowna BC CAN
4 2:02:48 9:09 41 Jackie Arendt Madison WI USA
5 2:11:24 17:46 48 Liis Toominga Alavus EST
6 2:13:08 19:29 42 Uli Bromme Boulder CO USA
7 2:15:44 22:05 45 Tamara Kozulina Clermont, Fl FL UKR
8 2:15:58 22:19 40 Miranda Alldritt North Vancouver BC CAN
9 2:19:21 25:42 46 Kelly Liljebla South Burlingto VT USA

Kelly Liljeblad is a former marathon champion, so look for her to continue to move through the ranks as the day progresses. (She also happens to be Kim Loeffler's twin sister.)

Jodie Swallow continues to pull away from the rest of the women in the field. Our latest spotting report has her 4:30 up on Kessler and 7 minutes ahead of Wurtele. Jackier Arendt remains in fourth - she's now almost 11 minutes down.

Here are the top 10 age group women's splits through 30 miles. 1 2:05:20 237 Kasha Schoolme Fairfax VA USA
2 2:07:59 2:40 113 Jessica Smith Stanford CA USA
3 2:12:29 7:09 212 Amanda Durner Colorado Spring CO USA
4 2:12:50 7:31 132 Gina Lapekas Anchorage AK USA
5 2:14:19 9:00 94 Mallory Dunn Daytona Beach FL USA
6 2:15:02 9:43 116 Breanna Nelson St. George UT USA
7 2:15:03 9:44 325 Betty Janelle Smyrna GA USA
8 2:16:39 11:19 309 Jeanne Debonis Brecksville OH USA
9 2:17:08 11:49 106 Libby Bergman Saint Augustine FL USA
10 2:17:32 12:12 88 Melanie Sherman Mesa AZ USA

Jodie Swallow dominated the day in Clearwater last year as she rode away from the rest of the field ... today's she's doing the same thing in her first Ironman. The 29-year-old from London, England, has opened up a gap of 5:57 on Meredith Kessler and 8:35 on defending women's champion Heather Wurtele.

At the top of "the wall," which is a really steep climb up at the top part of the bike course (when we say steep, we mean a climb that gets to a13 to 15 % grade and is a bit longer than the famed "Beast" in St. Croix - it's not easy!), Mathias Hecht remains in front, followed three seconds later by Paul Ambrose. Maik Twelsiek has really made a charge - he's now in third at 1:24. Ben Hoffman is in fourth, 2:06 down, with TJ Tollakson another 25 seconds back in fifth.

To give you an idea how fast Jodie Swallow is riding on this challenging course, she was only eight minutes behind our men's leader, Mathias Hecht, through 33 miles.

Maik Twelsiek is really making a move now - through 50 miles he's 45 seconds back. Hecht and Ambrose have made it up the last of the climbs on the bike loop and are now making the long descent back into town. Hoffman remains in fourth at 2:10 and Tollakson is in fifth at 2:30.

Jodie Swallow continues to hammer through the bike course. She's just gone up "the wall" and is only 10 minutes behind Hecht. Swallow has competed at more than a few tough bike courses - she's done the infamous Alpe d'Huez triathlon - so she's probably quite happy to hammer away on this tough course.

The winds are really starting to pick up now - as they head back into town to finish the first bike loop the lead men are facing a stiff head wind. Yesterday Tom Ziebart, one of the race announcers here, rode the course and said he had to pedal all the way down the hill because of that
head wind.

Jodie Swallow hammered up the steepest climb on the course and is about to start the long downhill stretch that ends the first loop. She's now 7:05 up on Kessler and 9:28 ahead of Wurtele.

A correction on the bike prime - it actually comes at 74 miles, so we're still waiting to see who will take that.

We have a new men's leader! Maik Twelsiek has stormed to the front and is now leading the way, with Paul Ambrose sticking close. Mathias Hecht is now 30 seconds down in third. Ben Hoffman is in fourth at 2:15, followed by TJ Tollakson at 2:30.

Through 61 miles Maik Twelsiek continues to lead the way, while Mathias Hecht has managed to gain back a bit of the time he lost on the downhill. Maik Twelsiek (#4) is the current leader.

Behind him are:
* Paul Ambrose (#7) at 5 seconds
* Mathias Hecht (#15 ) at 12 seconds
* Ben Hoffman (#2) at 2:15
* Tj Tollakson (#25) at 2:30
* Michael Weiss (#1) at 5:37

More of the women through the wall: Jodie Swallow has really made this a three-woman race right now - here are the splits at the top of the steep climb called the "wall": In the lead
is Jodie Swallow (#38), followed by:
* Meredith Kessler (#37) at 6:45
* Heather Wurtele (#36) at 9:06
* Jackie Arendt (#41) at 15:39
* Uli Bromme (#42) at 21:49

Ambrose takes the prime! In a full-fledged sprint, Paul Ambrose, who has been happily sitting in second place for pretty much the entire bike, sprinted past Maik Twelsiek to take the Timex Bike Prime!

The top men through 66 miles: 1 3:36:05 4 Maik Twelsiek Tucson AZ DEU
2 3:36:06 0:01 7 Paul Ambrose Sydney NS GBR
3 3:36:45 0:40 15 Mathias Hecht Willisau CHE
4 3:38:26 2:22 2 Ben Hoffman Grand Junction CO USA
5 3:38:48 2:43 25 Tj Tollakso Des Moines IA USA
6 3:41:51 5:47 1 Michael Weiss Colorado Spring CO AUT
7 3:42:05 6:00 6 Mike Aigroz Chateau D'oex CHE

We've already reported who went through 74 miles first, but through 70 miles it was Twelsiek in first, followed closely by Paul Ambrose and then Hecht, who was 15 seconds behind in third.

Through 60 miles of the women's race it remains Jodie Swallow in first. Her lead continues to grow - she's now 7:19 up on Kessler and 9:29 ahead of Heather Wurtele.

Through 61 miles of the bike, Swallow's lead is 7:15 over Kessler, 9:08 on Wurtele. Behind them are Jackie Arendt at 18:48 and Uli Bromme at 24:19.

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Ford Ironman St. George