Ironman: Recent Events

Ironman 70.3 Sri Lanka

kevin — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 16:03:04 +0000

12:04 PM Welcome to Colombo!

Taking place on Sunday, Sri Lanka is a new destination on the global 70.3 calendar. Colombo is also playing host to the first ever 5150 to be held in Asia.

Introducing a new sport to a destination associated with tea, cricket and tropical beaches, Ironman is literally breaking new ground. This weekend will be an intimate race where visiting athletes will have the privilege to experience a new culture and country. For the local people of Sri Lanka, it will be an education of triathlon and the lifestyle that it encompasses.
2:58 PM Good Morning and welcome to the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Sri Lanka!

Ground breaking, Historical and Pioneering all are words that have been used to describe the race that is happening here today.

It is a race that very nearly didn’t happen, but with the perseverance of the organisers headed by Race Director, Shannon Kurek, the assembly of the Brisbane team of the recently acquired USM Events Australia into the WTC family, and HUGE support from the local officials and volunteers here locally, the race is GO!

Don’t be surprised though; there have been some last minute changes. It is kind of how things roll here in Sri Lanka! But we are now very excited that the run route has been compacted to four loops along the promenade of the Galle Face Green and out towards the Navy lighthouse. We are predicting an amazing crowd support later on today when the run starts to heat up. The green is a favourite gathering point of the locals and the unusual events that most locals will never have witnessed before is sure to bring the curiosity of the locals out in full force.

One more change – the start time for the 70.3 has been set back. Yesterday morning the light was not good enough 06:00 so now the official start time is 06:20 for the 70.3 and 06:50 for the 5150.

We will be back before 6am and bring you all the action and some great pictures from finisherpix of what promises to be a very special day here in Sri Lanka.
3:05 PM
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3:14 PM
3:15 PM
8:35 PM We are reporting here live from the finish line here today on the Galle Face Green. It’s pretty windy out here and it is just starting to get light. Looks like we are all on target for a 06:20 start.
8:39 PM The field here at the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Sri Lanka is an intimate gathering of passionate triathletes. They come from around the world and the mix is diverse, many are expatriates based in South East Asia and the Middle East.

We have two Sri Lankan’s lining up for the 70.3 race and what an opportunity this is for them. Until recently the concept of triathlon and what it is has been a foreign word.

The transition area is full of carbon bikes, disk wheels and aero helmets. Many locals have never before set eyes on such sports equipment in their life – It is still a foreign concept as I was trying to explain to my Tut-Tut driver exactly what is happening here today. He seemed pretty excited and proud when I told him Sri Lanka is now on the global triathlon map!
8:41 PM It really is pretty amazing what has been pulled together here. An absolute display of teamwork between cultures. When I arrived this morning the transformation from when I left last night has been nothing short of remarkable.
8:43 PM LOVE sitting at the finish line reporting - its gonna be a great DAY. Waiting for some images - but as predicted the locals have come out in force and this place is starting to rock. We have not even begun!
8:46 PM Athletes in the 70.3 distance are now making their over to the swim start. The 5150 starts 30 minutes later. We will reporting live primarily on the 70.3 today.
8:51 PM Final Confirmed Pro Field, Men:
Faris Al-Sultan (GER)
Bryan Rhodes (NZ)
Josh Rix (AUS)
Kent Horner (RSA)
Alessandro Degasperi (ITA)
Fredrik Croneborg (SWE)

Final Confirmed Pro Field, Women:
Christie Sym (AUS)
Katja Rabe (GER)
Claire Horner (RSA)
Dana Wagner (GER)
Lucie Zelenkova (CZE)
8:52 PM Some Stats and Facts

35 Countries represented here today
25% are participating in their first Ironman 70.3
25% of the field are from the United Kingdom
How many triathlons have you done? Mark Batten of Australia racing in the 50-54 AG has completed over 300 and is racing here today!

Eldest Male:
17 x Ironman Yee Sze Mun (MAS), 75
Yee Sze Mun has completed 6 x in Hawaii IM World Championships, 10 times in IM Malaysia and 1 x IM China

Eldest Female:
15 x Ironman Agnes Safford (USA), 61

Youngest Male:
Mst V.r Gunasena (LK) is a local Sri Lankan and the youngest here today at 21

Youngest Female:
Amy Van Dijk (AUS), 23
8:54 PM Ok, slight delay on the start. It's Sri Lanka! Start time is now confirmed for 06:35. We are 9 minutes away from the start of the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Sri Lanka!
8:55 PM The 5150 will start at 06:55.
8:57 PM Thanks today to our guys at Finisherpix.com for all the images we will be posting.
8:58 PM Thanks also ahead of time to BPM-Sports. They will be tweeting updates out here under the hot sun!
8:59 PM Still pretty windy here but now it is daylight I can say the Indian Ocean is looking relatively flat. Phew!
9:00 PM 5 minutes to the first EVER Ironman 70.3 in Sri Lanka and South Asia! Historical day here today.
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Ironman 70.3 Panama

kevin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:15:29 +0000

1:27 PM Welcome to Ironman 70.3 Panama, which has suddenly become quite the media show! Unless you've been hiding from the triathlon world for the last few days, you'll be all too aware that Sunday will be the Ironman debut for a certain former pro cyclist. We're going to have a full weekend of coverage here on Ironmanlive, including live athlete tracking, text updates, photos and video clips (sorry, the news came too late for full-fledged video coverage).

Stay with us here all weekend - we'll be doing updates and posting photos from the race site here in beautiful Panama City, Panama.
1:29 PM
1:34 PM Strong men’s field in Panama

To say that the men’s field is stacked here in Panama would be an understatement. Lance Armstrong has picked one heck of an event to get started at. American Chris Lieto, Australian Richie Cunningham, New Zealand’s Matty Reed and Bevan Docherty, Great Britain’s Paul Amey and Denmark’s Ramus Henning make up the nucleus of contenders in Panama City this weekend.

Lieto is dangerous at this distance if he gets to deploy his potent swim and bike combination. Reed, a 2008 Olympian, exceeds at the short and a middle distance races and should challenge for the win, while Amey showed his potential when the 38-year-old came within two-minutes of winning Ironman Arizona in November, recording one of fastest Ironman finish times on North American soil. Bevan Docherty, a two-time Olympic medalist, is making a rare distance-race appearance and should impact the dynamics of the race. Cunningham, an Ironman 70.3 specialist, is always a threat at this distance, while Henning, also a two-time Olympian is a gifted athlete and has proved dangerous all distances.

There are a handful of other men that have won at this distance who may present a legitimate challenge for the win. Argentina’s Oscar Galindez and Ezequiel Morales have come up big in international races as well as in South America. Brazil’s Guilherme Manocchio racked up the win recently at Ironman 70.3 Pucon, backing up his surprise second place showing at Ironman Brazil last year. Another Brazilian, Santiago Ascenco, could make the race interesting if he is anywhere close to the lead coming off the bike.

Others to watch for in the men’s race are American T.J. Tollakson, France’s Romain Guillame and Hungary’s Balazs Csoke.

Originally from: ironman.com

Report from Shawn Skene.
1:38 PM Women’s race: Another Competitive Field!

Leanda Cave, from Great Britain should be considered the race favorite this weekend. Despite a shaky start, Cave went on a tear in the latter part of her 2011 race season that saw her chalk up a third place finish in Kona, a win at Rohto Ironman 70.3 Miami and second place finish at the long distance world championships. She then capped off the season with her first Ironman win in Arizona.

A pair of Ironman’s royalty will on the start line in Panama City. Six-time Ironman World Champion Natascha Badmann, along with Brazil’s Fernanda Keller, will accompany the excellent women’s field gathered in Panama City.

American Kelly Williamson has a number of 70.3 wins to her credit and recently smacked out a 1:14 in a stand-alone half-marathon and is a genuine prospect for the win. Denmark’s Yvonne van Vlerken had an inconsistent season last year and will be attempting to get the new season on track quickly.

There are trio of Canadian women who focus on Ironman 70.3 racing and are likely to influence the results in the women’s competition. Multiple Ironman 70.3 winner, Magali Tisseyre rarely finishes off a podium and Angela Naeth finally notched her first Ironman 70.3 win last year after recording countless second place finishes in 70.3 competitions. Tenille Hoogland had a break-through year last year that saw her win her first Ironman 70.3 race. If Hoogland can bring her run up to the same level as her swim and bike prowess, she will be a force to contend with.

It will be good to see American Dede Griesbauer making her return to racing after recovering from injuries she sustained last August. The two-time Ironman champion was the victim of a bike accident on the rain soaked roads at the Ironman 70.3 European Championship in Wiesbaden, Germany, that ended the veteran’s season early.

Other women contenders watch for on Sunday are Belgium’s Sofie Goos and Tine Deckers

Originally from: ironman.com

Thanks to Shawn Skene for this report.
3:59 PM
4:24 PM
7:22 PM Ironmanlife: How will Lance Do?

While there have been cycling professionals who have turned to Ironman before, none have arrived to the sport with the background and potential of Lance Armstrong, who could possibly have been every been as successful as a triathlete as he was as an cyclist.
Armstrong was a successful age group swimmer long before he got into cycling. He actually started cycling as a way to get to and from swim workouts because his mom, who was raising him by herself, couldn’t get him to those workouts and get to work. Armstrong would cycle 20 miles a day as a 13-year-old to get to his morning and afternoon workouts.

“I would swim 4,000 meters of laps before school and go back for another two-hour workout in the afternoon-another 6,000 meters,” he wrote in “It’s Not About The Bike: My Journey Back to Life,” the book he wrote with Sally Jenkins in 2001. “That was six miles a day in the water, plus a 20-mile bike ride.”

Read more at: ironman.com
9:36 AM 11:58 AM Good morning from Panama! We're down at the race site this morning and things are definitely heating up - both figuratively and in terms of the temperature. It's 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 C) right now, on the way up to 93 (34) with the humidity sitting in and around 55%. (Yes, it feels hot and humid!)

Lance Armstrong is here - he registered for today's race at 9AM, keeping a very low profile. We'll have a chance to see him at this afternoon's pro meeting, where he'll join his fellow pros in getting the final pre-race instructions.
12:03 PM
12:07 PM Another Lance sighting: One of our race coordinators managed to score himself a ride with the seven-time Tour de France champ this morning as Armstrong rode along the Amador cauaseway and back to his hotel after he registered this morning.

"He looks really fit," Mario told us. Yeah, we'd bet on that!
12:45 PM
12:46 PM
2:38 PM The Ironman World Welcomes Lance Armstrong

Some reaction to Lance Armstrong competing at Ironman events in 2012

Dave Orlowski, one of the 12 original Ironman finishing competitors in the first Ironman competition is excited that Armstrong has decided to race Ironman. Orlowski, who finished third at that historic Ironman event on Oahu in 1978, has been coping with cancer himself over the past two years and the LIVESTRONG and Ironman partnership hits close to the home for the 56-year-old retired police detective.

Read More: Click Here
3:22 PM Getting ready for the Pro Panel. We'll be texting live from the Pro Panel here in Panama in the next few minutes.
3:25 PM Some Ironman athletes reflect on Lance Armstron's participation in Ironman:

Dave Orlowski, one of the 12 original Ironman finishing competitors in the first Ironman competition is excited that Armstrong has decided to race Ironman. Orlowski, who finished third at that historic Ironman event on Oahu in 1978, has been coping with cancer himself over the past two years and the LIVESTRONG and Ironman partnership hits close to the home for the 56-year-old retired police detective.
  
“The LIVESTRONG partnership, and with Armstrong racing Ironman, will show others that cancer is not a death sentence for those who are battling the disease or are in remission doing this event,” explained Orlowski. “This is a statement from the athletes and Lance Armstrong that will be positive and will give others the courage to do something that they may have thought was not possible because of their condition.”

Wrapping up his thoughts, Orlowski said, “As one of the original 12 finishers from 1978, I continue to be amazed what Ironman has become and what people aspire to do to become Ironman. I wish Lance Armstrong the best of luck in Panama and welcome him to the Ironman family. I hope to see Armstrong qualify for Kona, and the excitement that would bring to the already exciting race.”

Originally from: ironman.com
3:29 PM
3:32 PM
3:37 PM The Pro Panel begins:
"What drew me here was that it is a Latin American Championship. The bike course looks super fun and challenging," says Chris Lieto.
3:37 PM Matty Reed:
First race of the year - it would be great to put in a good performance.
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Panama Test

kevin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:32:53 +0000

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Spec-Savers Ironman 70.3 South Africa

kevin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:14:23 +0000

12:47 AM The Spec-Savers Ironman 70.3 SA is about to start as the excitement mounts amongst the athletes, with eager spectators eagerly looking on. Each one filled with anticipation to see his or her favorite athlete become a frontrunner in this first leg of the race.
1:07 AM The 5th edition of the Spec-Savers Ironman 70.3 SA is underway. Pro's in the water.
1:16 AM Wave 2 has kicked off. A sea of yellow swim caps racing into the ocean.
1:25 AM 3rd wave is in the water.
1:29 AM First pros out of the water. Jodies Swallow first lady out of the water and Balazs Csoke for the males. Lucie Zelenkova second for the ladies.
1:29 AM Kent Horner first out of bike transition.
1:30 AM Jodie Swallow first women onto the bike
1:32 AM Andrea Steyn 3rd out of transition for the ladies
1:35 AM Top 5 men swim:
1) Edo Van Der Meer 00:26:29
2) Balazs Csoke 00:26:30
3) Mark Threlfall 00:26:31
4) Kent Horner 00:26:31
5) Marino Vanhoenacker 00:27:01
1:38 AM Top 5 Ladie Swim:
1) Jodie Swallow 00:26:56
2) Lucie Zelenkova 00:28:42
3) Andrea Steyn 00:31:17
4) Riana De Lange 00:31:21
5) Claire Horner 00:32:14
1:43 AM First Male age groupers out of the water.
1:44 AM Jodie Swallow maintaining a 2 minute lead on the ladies.
1:51 AM Local heroe Kent Horner in the lead for the males.
2:04 AM The atmosphere is electric at the Spec-Savers Ironman 70.3. You can smell the adrenaline in the air.
2:14 AM Belgium power house Marino Vanhoenacker now leading for the males, followed by Edo Van Der Meer in second and Kent Horner in 3rd.
2:15 AM Male Pro's passing 20km mark
2:17 AM Jodie Swallow pulling away from the ladies in 1st, followed by Lucie Zelekova in 2nd and Tine Deckers in 3rd.
2:21 AM Leaders have just passed the 3rd water point.
2:26 AM Jodie Swallow leading Lucie Zelekova by 2minutes
2:30 AM Marino Vanhoenacker in first followed by Ronnie Schildknecht 2 seconds behind and Kent Horner in 3rd.
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Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship

kevin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:12:58 +0000

12:45 PM Good morning and welcome to the second Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championship here in the beautiful (usually sunny) Laguna Phuket, Thailand. Yesterday afternoon the heavens opened and heavy rain fell throughout the late afternoon into the early evening at the carbo party.

The rain has certainly cooled things down here in Phuket and we are looking for a break in the clouds and some blue sky to replace the rain clouds tomorrow morning.

There are 1117 athletes ready to take on this Championship course and they will definitely be making sure their bike chains are re-lubed when they get to transition. The course here in Phuket is tough enough and already provides plenty to think about and the heavy rain last night has thrown some additional twists for the athletes to think about.

The forecast tomorrow predicts scattered showers and a high of 87 and we will have more updates as we go live from 06:00am +7 GMT on Sunday. The race itself will start at 06:30.

Regardless of what games the weather Gods play - it is going to be one hotly contested race at the top of the field amongst the pros with Michael Raelert and Melissa Rollison the favourites and then a long pedigree of age groupers from 58 countries looking for one of the converted 30 Kona slots or 45 Vegas slots.

We will be back with more in just a few hours from now.
7:12 PM We are 20 minutes away from the start here at the 2nd Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship and we are hoping and praying the rain stays away. It is cool and calm out there at the moment.
7:13 PM With the absence of the 2010 champions at the Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship this year we can be assured that a new male and female champion shall be crowned today. What we cannot be certain of who is going to be wearing the crown and receiving their award on stage Sunday night at the year ending Black Tie and Board Shorts Party.

The parties at Laguna Phuket are just as legendary as the races themselves but before the athletes can take their foot off the gas for the final time this year they will be going all out in what is one of the toughest and most sensational 70.3 races on the circuit.

The press conference yesterday was broadcast live on 91.5 FM Island Radio. We heard from 2009 and 2010 70.3 World Champion, Michael Raelert, 2011 European Ironman Champion and 2005 Ironman World Champion, Faris Al-Sultan, 2011 Ironman 70.3 World Champion runner up, Chris Lieto and current Ironman 70.3 World Champion, Melissa Rollison.
7:13 PM It is Raelert’s first time in Laguna Phuket and he has spent the past 6 weeks “training and focusing on this year end race”. Mentally prepared and physically ready Raelert arrived at the Banyan Tree, Phuket on Tuesday and then seemed to forget what he was here for.

“Right now I have to think about the race again as when I got here I fell in love, the weather, countryside and the people, it’s gorgeous. And now it is time to focus again. I feel this is one of the best races in the world and am also looking forward to Sunday afternoon when I can have a little holiday.”

Faris Al-Sultan was last in Phuket back in 2007 when he raced LPT. He offered up the following ‘useful’ advice to his fellow countrymen “I told him (Michael) to go slower during the race so I can show him the beautiful aspects of this race.”

It is Lieto’s first time in Laguna Phuket too. Here with his wife it is a destination he admits he has been wanting to race at for many years. “It’s been an amazing time here, I rode the bikes course a few days ago and I love it.”

The hills are something on every athlete’s mind this morning, especially considering the heavy rain that the island has seen over the past couple of days. Lieto offered up the following advice. “It’s a very technical course and having some knowledge is very good to have. You are not going to gain anything on those downhill’s, so go as safe as you can and then go as hard as you can uphill. You can then recover on the descents!”

Rollinson raced her second ever 70.3 distance last year at Phuket and was runner up. With Steffen not on the start line and being the current 70.3 world champion, Rollinson is clearly the favourite. Unbeaten this year at the 70.3 distance she is fitter and faster. “I was really looking forward to racing Caroline (Steffen) but it is a very tough course and there is still some very tough competition out there.” In transition this morning she had 3 words to say: “Stay Away Rain.”

There is a stellar field of pro’s racing and some other names to watch out for include 2011 winner of 70.3 Mallorca, 70.3 UK and 70.3 Augusta, Emma Kate Lidbury. Amanda Stevens is coming off a strong showing at IM Arizona two weeks ago. Regulars racing the Asian circuit, Michelle Wu and 3rd place last year, Belinda Granger is both very familiar with the Phuket conditions. And of course you can never discount a 6-time World Ironman world champion. Natascha Badmann now 44 will be on the start line and looking to have a strong outing.

In the men’s field anything can happen. While Raelert is the obvious favourite this course could present a surprise. David Dellow recent winner of Noosa triathlon, Matt Reed, a strong short course athlete who could sneak in and last weeks winner of LPT, Massimo Cigana is very much a peoples favourite and loves racing in Thailand. He mentioned to me last night at the Meet the Pro’s Cocktails about a little niggle in the Achilles but is confident on his biking skills over this course and will be looking to challenge for that top step.
7:14 PM And finally, some local flavour; Thailand’s number one triathlete Jaray ‘Ray’ Jearanai will be racing tomorrow in his 2nd Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship and looking to post a big PB. He mentioned 4:50 and then confidently moved it to 4:40. The Jurgen Zack coached athlete trains at the World Class Thanyapura Sports and Leisure club and has had a whirlwind year that saw him become the first Thai to participate in the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas AND the Ironman World Championship in Kona in the same year.

Fully sponsored by Laguna Phuket and Thanyapura, Ray has become a remarkable role model for the sport in Thailand and we wish him the very best of luck!
7:16 PM Some Stats for the day:

1117 athletes

58 Countries represented

Australia leads the field with 150 athletes
Great Britain 127
Japan 102
USA 85
France 60

129 athletes “Doing the LPT-70.3 double”

Eldest:
#960 Mieko Ishijima 62 F JPN
#812 Hiromu Inada 79 M JPN

Youngest:
#813 Clair Ann Rockliff 22 F AUS
#61 Terrence Tan 20 M SIN
7:18 PM Seven athletes have chosen to celebrate their birthday by racing here today.

#134 Blake Carter AUS
#153 Grant Gibson USA
#184 Michiciro Mogi THA
#616 Andrew Gunn GBR
#758 Ivan Whittle AUS
#946 Minako Hara JPN
#954 Nicole Wu Tiu Yen FRA
7:29 PM We are 5 minutes away from the start, the sun is trying to peak through under a scattering of low cloud. The weather forecast says rain. We are hoping it holds off and stays well away!
7:30 PM Look out for Chris Lieto to lead the men out the swim and Amanda Stevens we predict will exit first for the ladies.
7:36 PM The pros are away and we have four waves following behind. This is a two body swim. We will have information on the leading pros as they enter the lagoon.
7:44 PM The water this morning was reported to be flat and calm. Coming out of the buoyancy of the ocean and into the still lagoon for the final 680 metres of swimming can be a shock to the system. Once out of the lagoon the athletes will head into T1 and out onto the bike course that will test the mettle of the very best athletes out there today.

7:51 PM From inside the expo I can hear the chopper overhead which can only mean one thing the pros are in the lagoon and heading towards T1.
7:52 PM As predicted I am hearing that Chris Lieto of the USA and Amanda Stevens USA lead out of the water.
8:00 PM Strike that comment. Some miscommunication...the leading top 10 males out of the water are:

1 29 Daniel Halksworth M 1 Pro GBR 00:23:33
2 1 Michael Raelert M 1 Pro GER 00:23:34
3 7 Matt Reed M 1 Pro USA 00:23:37
4 15 David Dellow M 1 Pro AUS 00:23:38
5 14 Paul Matthews M 1 Pro AUS 00:23:39
6 3 Faris Al-Sultan M 1 Pro GER 00:23:53
7 6 Richie Cunningham M 1 Pro AUS 00:23:55
8 30 Joshua McHugh M 1 Pro AUS 00:24:06
9 11 Timothy James Reed M 1 Pro AUS 00:24:08
10 10 Paul Ambrose M 1 Pro AUS 00:24:12
8:01 PM Amanda Stevens out the water 11th overall
11 36 Amanda Stevens F 1 Pro USA 00:24:12
8:07 PM Top 10 female out of the water:

36 Amanda Stevens F 1 Pro USA 00:24:12
46 Ruth Nivon Machoud F 1 Pro SUI 00:25:51
34 Radka Vodickova F 1 Pro CZE 00:26:13
48 Emma-Kate Lidbury F 1 Pro GBR 00:26:47
32 Belinda Granger F 1 Pro AUS 00:27:29
31 Melissa Rollison F 1 Pro AUS 00:27:32
42 Janine Sax F 1 Pro NZL 00:27:53
35 Michelle Wu F 1 Pro AUS 00:28:00
40 Katja Rabe F 1 Pro GER 00:28:16
37 Edith Niederfriniger F 1 Pro ITA 00:28:28
8:14 PM Out on the bike at the 10 km point we have David Dellows of Australia leading.
8:15 PM Behind him 14. Paul Matthews AUS, 1. Michael Raelert GER, 7. Matt Reed USA and then 10 seconds back 6. Richie Cunningham AUS
8:17 PM The first section of this bike course here takes the athletes through the rural villages towards Thalang where they will have to dismount and cross a pedestrian bridge.
8:20 PM Amanda 'Doc' Stevens has a super lead here she has a 2min 40sec lead at the 10 km marker.
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Sunsmart Western Australia

kevin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:08:22 +0000

12:51 AM Welcome to Sunsmart Western Australia! A stacked field is ready to compete at this weekend's event. For those in North America, the coverage will begin at 4:30 PM Eastern time.
6:15 AM Race Week in Busselton

This Sunday will see the eighth edition of SunSmart Ironman Western Australia in the picturesque Busselton, Western Australia - approximately 2.5 hours drive South of Perth.

The state's South-West region features crystal clear waters and the iconic Tuart Forest is again set to host 1,400 athletes from across the globe as they take on an incredibly fast and scenic course.

Friday night sees the new-look 'Welcome to Ironman' event, held under the big top in Barnard Park, on the waterfront.

We'll have coverage throughout the weekend - and on race day with live updates, athlete tracking, photos and live video - here on Ironman.com.
6:20 AM
6:21 AM Bevilaqua back to defend the women's crown

The 2010 SunSmart Ironman Western Australia women’s champion Kate Bevilaqua returns in 2011 to chase down another hometown victory in Busselton. Like the defending men's champion Courtney Ogden, Bevilaqua hails from the home state of Western Australia and feels the added pressure that comes with this race.

It will be a highly emotional day for Bevilaqua, whose family home was destroyed by the devastating wildfires that swept through the Margaret River region last week. 2010 Ironman Australia champion Carrie Lester sits alongside Bevilaqua as the women’s race favorite.

Lester won the Ironman 70.3 Port Macquarie event last month and has excellent form heading into Busselton this weekend. Both will be pushed by previous Ironman Wisconsin champion Hilary Biscay, who is making her SunSmart Ironman Western Australia debut and heads up the international contingent at this years race.
6:27 AM
9:20 AM The men’s professional race will be one of the best ever seen here in Busselton. Defending champion Courtney Ogden will attempt hold off a great men’s pack in a bid to become the first back-to-back winner of the event.

Ogden will have his hands full on the day with Germany’s Timo Bracht and Australia’s Luke McKenzie being installed as pre-race favorites. Both Bracht and McKenzie are racing in Busselton on the back of top ten performances in Kona this year.

Past champions including Jason Shortis, who holds the course record at 8:03:56 and uber-biker Mitch Anderson (returning to the professional field after a year as an age-grouper) will be well in the mix come Sunday and will be hoping to lift another Ironman Western Australia trophy aloft.
4:19 PM Good morning from Busselton, Western Australia. We're just over an one hour away from the start of the eighth edition of the SunSmart Ironman Western Australia.

We're set for a baking day here in WA, with a top of 32C/90F expected early on. It certainly does get warm here quickly - so the challenges will come early for the 1350 or so starters this morning.

The professional field will start the day at 5.30am local time, with the age-group field commencing at 5.45am.
4:45 PM
4:59 PM The water temperature is being announced as 21.1C/70.16F, so it's wetsuit optional this morning. The swim course is straightforward for our competitors - out and around the Busselton Jetty - the longest in the southern hemisphere at almost 2km in length.
5:25 PM The professional athletes have been introduced and are in the water awaiting their 5.30am start.
5:30 PM Sunsmart Ironman Western Australia is officially underway with the professional field out in the picturesque Geographe Bay
5:31 PM
5:33 PM The pros are away this morning and now over 1300 age group competitors are making their way to the swim start on the foreshore of Busselton. They commence is 15 minutes.
5:38 PM Clayton Fettell has a 20m lead on Luke McKenzie trailed by the rest of the field. There is a strong current out there challenging the swimmers.
5:38 PM As well as the current, the conditions are choppy towards the end turnaround point of the Busselton Jetty.
5:40 PM Clayton Fettell now has an amazing 50m lead on Luke McKenzie.
5:41 PM The age groupers are minutes away from starting their swim.
5:45 PM Clayton Fettell now has a 100m lead on Luke McKenzie
5:46 PM
5:49 PM Clayton Fettell continues his 100m lead on Luke McKenzie trailed by the rest of the pack about 50m behind and lead by Dion Harrison from Great Britain.
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Ford Ironman Cozumel

kevin — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 16:04:49 +0000

12:13 PM Welcome to beautiful Cozumel
Kevin Mackinnon offers up some numbers about Sunday’s race

Cozumel, Mexico has to be one of the world’s most popular tourist spots. Proof of that statement could certainly come from the fact that eight cruise ships have docked here over the last day or so, each with thousands of tourists who probably had no idea there would be an Ironman on the island in a couple of days. Well – maybe not all of them. Ironman 70.3 75-79 champion Marcos Alegre happened to be on one of those cruise ships today, no-doubt enjoying a well-earned break after his victory in Vegas (by an hour) in September.

Add that group to the roughly 2,300 athletes here to compete at Ironman Cozumel, and you have one busy spot. Registration is well under way now, athletes are just finishing up at the pre-race meetings and later tonight will enjoy the carbo load dinner, too.

As expected, it’s hot here on the island that sits just off the coast of Mexico, close to Cancun. The temperature, though, isn’t expected to be too hot on Sunday – a high of 79 Fahrenheit (26 C) is what they’re predicting in the forecast now. There’s even a chance of some showers, which might cool the athletes off a bit during the run, too.

So here are some of the stats for the race on Sunday.

There are 41 pro men registered and 20 pro women – we’ll have a pro-preview in our coverage tomorrow.

60 different countries are represented here in Cozumel (popular vacation spot, do you think? 506 are from Mexico, over 900 are from the US.

Of the 2,325 athletes registered, 1,768 are men and 557 are women.

Men’s 35-39 is the largest male category with 412 competitors.

Women’s 30-34 and 40-44 are tied for the largest of the female categories with 116.

Scott Divelbiss is the youngest competitor – he’s 19. Laura Acevedo is the youngest female – she’ll turn 21 at the end of December.

Karen Aydelott is registered as our oldest competitor, but I’m guessing she won’t be here on Sunday since she just won her age group in Arizona last week. Germany’s Georg von Schrader turned 74 yesterday and is the oldest male competing.
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8:27 AM Good morning from Cozumel! It's a beautiful day here at Chankanaab, where the swim takes place. They are just introducting the professional athletes right now - they will get started at 6:40 this morning.
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Ford Ironman Arizona

kevin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:33:10 +0000

2:39 PM Marc Rubin Wakes Up

Emma Bishop profiles a competitor at this Sunday's Ford Ironman Arizona

Major lifestyle changes typically come via a painful trigger. Rarely do you realize how far you have slipped until you have one of those 'moments' where your current lifestyle comes and slaps you rudely across the face.You can choose to ignore those moments and continue along the path of self-destruction, or you can take action. 43-year old attorney, husband and father of three, Marc Rubin woke up and took action.

Read More: Click Here
2:41 PM Former MLB StarBrynes Amongst Ironman Foundation Competitors

Among the many athletes competing at Ford Ironman Arizona this weekend will be former Major League Baseball star Eric Brynes, who will be toeing the line this weekend to help race money for the Pat Tillman foundation. The Ironman Foundation (IMF) has provided over $900,000 in funding to non-profit organizations acround the world in 2011. On Wednesday we profiled former Ironman Arizona champion Jordan Rapp, who is also raising money through the Ironman Foundation this weekend. Here are more details about Brynes and some of the other athletes fundraising through the IMF on Sunday:

Read More Click Here
2:53 PM Race Facts

We had 2953 registered for tomorrows race, with gender breakdown of 808 women and 2144 men. There will be 1042 competitors starting their very first Ironman race.

Division Breakdown

• DIV = F18-24 8 0.3%
• DIV = F25-29 60 2.0%
• DIV = F30-34 132 4.5%
• DIV = F35-39 167 5.7%
• DIV = F40-44 168 5.7%
• DIV = F45-49 119 4.0%
• DIV = F50-54 96 3.3%
• DIV = F55-59 26 0.9%
• DIV = F60-64 7 0.2%
• DIV = F65-69 2 0.1%
• DIV = FPRO 23 0.8%
• DIV = M18-24 29 1.0%
• DIV = M25-29 159 5.4%
• DIV = M30-34 262 8.9%
• DIV = M35-39 386 13.1%
• DIV = M40-44 532 18.0%
• DIV = M45-49 367 12.4%
• DIV = M50-54 200 6.8%
• DIV = M55-59 85 2.9%
• DIV = M60-64 46 1.6%
• DIV = M65-69 19 0.6%
• DIV = M70-74 5 0.2%
• DIV = MPRO 53 1.8%

Country Breakdown

• COUNTRY = ABW 1 0.0%
• COUNTRY = AUS 4 0.1%
• COUNTRY = AUT 6 0.2%
• COUNTRY = BGR 1 0.0%
• COUNTRY = BMU 2 0.1%
• COUNTRY = BRA 1 0.0%
• COUNTRY = CAN 99 3.4%
• COUNTRY = CHE 4 0.1%
• COUNTRY = CHN 1 0.0%
• COUNTRY = COL 1 0.0%
• COUNTRY = DEU 16 0.5%
• COUNTRY = DNK 3 0.1%
• COUNTRY = ESP 1 0.0%
• COUNTRY = FRA 4 0.1%
• COUNTRY = GBR 20 0.7%
• COUNTRY = GTM 4 0.1%
• COUNTRY = HND 1 0.0%
• COUNTRY = IRL 1 0.0%
• COUNTRY = ISR 1 0.0%
• COUNTRY = ITA 3 0.1%
• COUNTRY = LUX 1 0.0%
• COUNTRY = MEX 4 0.1%
• COUNTRY = NLD 1 0.0%
• COUNTRY = NOR 1 0.0%
• COUNTRY = NZL 1 0.0%
• COUNTRY = PAN 1 0.0%
• COUNTRY = PHL 2 0.1%
• COUNTRY = PRI 4 0.1%
• COUNTRY = SVK 1 0.0%
• COUNTRY = SWE 1 0.0%
• COUNTRY = UKR 2 0.1%
• COUNTRY = USA 2700 91.4%
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8:24 PM Jordan Rapp: Much More Than a Race Winner

Professional triathlete, Jordan Rapp, sets his bar pretty high. His standard? Not just winning Ironman events, but winning with a philanthropic spirit. Jordan, whose Ironman victories include 2009 Ironman Arizona and 2009 and 2011 Ironman Canada, leaves more than a victorious imprint on the courses he races; he leaves a victorious imprint in communities in rural Zambia through his annual Rappstar Charity Challenge for World Bicycle Relief (WBR), an organization whose mission is to provide access to independence and livelihood through the power of bicycles.

Read More: Click Here
8:25 PM Ford Ironman Arizona Preview

This weekend's Ford Ironman Arizona celebrates the seventh year, and eighth running, of one of the Ironman circuit's most distinctive urban races. The ongoing success and popularity of this event is a result of the tremendous support provided annually to race participants by the citizens and city of Tempe, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and the army of local volunteers.

Read More: Click Here
8:27 PM

IronmanLIVE Ford Ironman Arizona Ramp Up Show

11:43 PM Welcome to the eighth edition of the 2011 Ford Ironman Arizona. Deep men and women’s professional fields have assembled in Tempe to do battle tomorrow, in the third last Ironman of the year. Weather forecasts for race day are calling for temperatures in the low to mid 70’s, under partial cloudy skies and light winds, making it ideal conditions for fast racing.

Our professional fields will start the single loop swim at 6:50 am, Mountain Time. Our age group athletes will start their Ironman journey at 7:00 am.

Return to Ironman.com tomorrow (Sunday) for our IronmanLive coverage, which will commence at 6:30 am and will feature live video reports and action from the course, text updates, photos and our athlete tracker throughout race day.
9:33 AM Good morning, from the American southwest as Tempe hosts the eighth running of the Ford Ironman Arizona. This morning, over 2,700 athletes will start their Ironman journey under scattered clouds and temperatures in the mi 50’s. We are currently 20-minutes away from our scheduled 6:50 am (Mountain Time) start of our professional men and women’s race. The age group race will start at 7:00 am.
9:43 AM The water temperature was measured to be 62F this morning and we are 10 minutes from the start of the pro race.
9:46 AM The professional field has all entered the water and are making their way towards the start line in calm waters. Paul Huddle and Paula Newby Fraser will be leading the fields on the stand-up boards.
9:50 AM The 2011 Ford Ironman Arizona professional race has started here in Tempe.
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Ironman 70.3 Port Macquarie

kevin — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 02:13:23 +0000

10:15 PM Welcome to Port Macquarie for the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Port Macquarie Australian Age Group Championship. We'll offer limited updates through the day here along with our live athlete tracking for Sunday's event.
3:25 PM Good morning from Port Macquarie
It's a great morning here in Port Macquarie for the 2011 Ironman 70.3 Australian Age-Group Championship.We'll have a few updates for you throughout the day with live athlete tracking available for all individual competitors.
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3:34 PM Race start
The pros are away. Port Macquarie local Tim Berkel didn't start this morning.Age group competitors commence in 5 minutes..
3:53 PM Lead men out
Clayton Fettell is first out of the water in 0:20:34, with Josh Amberger seconds behind. There looks to be a small gap between the two leaders and the chase..
3:57 PM Lead women
Lisa Marangon is first out for the women, with Jo Lawn (defending champion), Nicole Ward and Sam Warriner in close pursuit..
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5:46 PM Fettell leading
Clayton Fettell has 15 kilometres remaining on the bike and is looking strong.It's warming up this morning with no cloud cover and a light breeze - we have an expected high of 27 degrees Celsius..
7:24 PM Fettell wins
Clayton Fettell takes the crown in a time of 3:53:28..
9:18 PM Top 5 Men - finish
FETTELL, Clayton 1/1/1 25/Open 00:20:45 02:11:12 01:19:48 03:53:29 REED, Tim 10/4/2 26/Open 00:22:19 02:15:32 01:15:57 03:55:29 KEMP, Chris 6/3/3 31/Open 00:22:09 02:15:46 01:16:53 03:56:29 LAMPE, Joseph 3/5/4 22/Open 00:21:39 02:16:42 01:18:18 03:58:32 AMBERGER, Joshua 2/6/5 22/Open 00:20:49 02:17:55 01:21:35 04:02:17.
9:18 PM Top 5 Women - Final
LESTER, Carrie 20/13/10 30/Open 00:25:42 02:31:16 01:29:27 04:28:25 WARRINER, Samantha 19/14/11 40/Open 00:25:06 02:31:55 01:30:50 04:29:50 LAWN, Joanna 17/15/12 38/Open 00:25:04 02:34:14 01:30:44 04:32:27 CROWLEY, Sarah 23/16/13 28/Open 00:27:50 02:32:26 01:33:15 04:35:41 BRENT, Elaine 24/17/14 26/Open 00:29:18 02:37:34 01:34:04 04:43:18.
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Ford Ironman Florida

kevin — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 22:07:45 +0000

6:10 PM Welcome to beautiful Panama City Beach!

We're getting ready for lucky number 13 here at Ford Ironman Florida - the 13th running of the event that was the second mainland North American event that began in 1999. It's hard to believe that, until the first running of Ironman Lake Placid that same year, there were only two official Ironman races in North America - the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii and Ironman Canada in Penticton, BC.

First came Lake Placid, then came Florida ... and the rest is history. Those events spearheaded the huge growth the sport has seen here in North America. This year the race here on the beautiful beaches here in the Florida panhandle is as popular as ever - we're expecting more than 2,500 athletes to get started here tomorrow morning.

Stay tuned for our exciting coverage, which will begin at 6AM local time (7AM EST) - we'll have my (Kevin Mackinnon) updates, photos courtesy of the folks at ASI, live video with Greg Welch, Michellie Jones and Dave Erickson.

7:17 PM Looking forward to some great weather:
The forecast for tomorrow looks great - they are calling for a sunny day with high of 74 F (23 C) and a low of 47 (8 C). The winds are expected to come from the North East at 10 to 20 mph (16 - 32 kph).
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7:38 PM Some fun numbers:
There are just over 1,000 first timers competing here tomorrow.
Some numbers:

There were 2,911 registered for tomorrow’s race, including 633 women and 2,277 men. There are seven physically challenged athletes entered.

The largest women’s division is F40-44 with 135 athletes.

The largest men’s division is M40-44 as well – there are 516 in that category.

There are 42 countries represented. USA has the most (2,500), Canada is second with 142.

You can read about more pre-race info here: ironman.com
7:39 PM We'll be back bright and early tomorrow morning! Our coverage starts at 6AM local time (video will begin at 6:30 AM). That will be 7 AM (7:30 EST).
7:16 AM Good morning from Panama City Beach. It looks like we're going to have a great day here - right now the temperature is 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 C) and we're looking at a high of 74 (23 C). Later tonight it's looking to go down to 47 F (8 C). Right now it feels a bit cool, but there's not a lot of wind - a great day for racing so far!
7:27 AM Our video coverage for today's race will get started in a few minutes - we're slated to begin at 6:30 AM. Greg Welch and Dave Erickson will be in the studio, while Michellie Jones will be out on the course.
7:28 AM
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Ironman World Championship Age Group

kevin — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 15:16:46 +0000

11:39 AM Aloha! And welcome to the first ever Age Group IM Live coverage for the Ford Ironman World Championships. If you are following a loved one, friend, family, teammate then you have come to the right channel.

All day from when the cannon sounds we will be following the age groupers until the last hero crosses the finish line.

The weather today has been forecast with a high of 85 degrees. Winds on Hawi? Well we are told they will only get up to 10mph…that could all change but if current conditions hold it will be a fast day on the bike.
11:40 AM Early in the week we have seen some heavy downpours but yesterday humidity rose and the sun shone and it got pretty hot out there. Scorching hot. Athletes and Supporters need to be well sun screened up and hydrated out there on the course.
11:58 AM Early in the week we have seen some heavy downpours but yesterday humidity rose and the sun shone and it got pretty hot out there. Scorching hot. Athletes and Supporters need to be well sun screened up and hydrated out there on the course.
12:00 PM Riding down to the swim start this morning the atmosphere was one of eerie silence. Many athletes perhaps with the thought that they would not want to take the long walk home after their race were attempting to drive into town.

A nice idea, but in hindsight the tailbacks would not do much to settle the nerves. Many others opted to walk and a few were jogging despite the fact they have a 2.4mile swim, 112mile bike and 26mile run ahead of them!

There wasn’t a lot of chatter going on. In fact you could hear a pin drop. Nerves, excitement, tension…take your pick. It is electric!

Lava Java and numerous other cafes opened their doors early and the smell of freshly brewed Kona coffee and bacon sandwiches filled the air. If you had failed to take breakfast there were plenty of opportunities, but perhaps not such a good idea!
12:25 PM We have a lot of returning 2010 age group winners on the start line today
#181 Lew Hollander, 81 set a course record last year in 15:48. He is 16 time Hawaii Ironman and 3 time world Age ITU Age Group Champion.
12:28 PM Other course record holders from 2010 are:

#329 KEVIN MOATS, 57 in 9:26
#247 YVES TABARANT, 62 in 10:08
#185 MILOS KOSTIC, 70 in 11:29
12:30 PM Age group 2010 returning winners:

#149 JEDDIE SCHABORT, 48 - 9:26
#160 YUTAKA KOJIMA, 76 -13:59
#165 HARRIET ANDERSON, 76 -16:20
#200 GOTTHARD WINKLER, 67 -11:37
#290 CAROL PETERS, 61 - 12:17
#391 LAURA SOPHIEA, 56 - 10:51
#468 MICHAEL BLUE, 51 - 9:48
#532 ELLEN HART, 53 - 10:36
#708 FERNANDO AJA, 46 - 9:18
#951 CURT CHESNEY, 42 - 9:07
#1290 DAMIEN ANGUS, 37 - 9:04
#1622 CIRO VIOLIN, 31 - 8:54
#1677 NINA PEKERMAN, 34 - 9:55
#1729 LOUISE COLLINS, 30 - 10:07
12:34 PM There is an Aussie to look out for today. #1826 Timothy Beardall is racing here for the 4th time and this year stepped up an age group 25-29. He won his slot at IM Korea back in July - very convincingly. He came 4th here last year in 9:33!
12:38 PM Shouting out to former Biggest Loser #141 TARA COSTA. She is on the start line this morning and along with all the other age groupers is in the water right now warming up!
12:42 PM I bumped into #321 NOBUYUKI TANAKA aka 'Joe' Owner of Ceepo bikes in the lobby this morning...he is looking for a 10:30 here today!
12:44 PM The Rugby World cup is on and Wales thumped Ireland last night to reach the Semis. That is great news for Welshman #253 Sam Pritchard racing here in his first Kona!
12:45 PM We have 1780 Age group athletes out on the course today. Racing the biggest race of their lives!
12:46 PM Some stats for you: the average age today is 37!
12:47 PM 70% Male and 30% Female.
12:48 PM The youngest athlete today is 19. The eldest is 81.
12:51 PM Shouting out to US Coast Guard Lt. Rachael Beckmann #1861. You go girl!
1:02 PM Looking at the overhead shots of the swim and the water is a beautiful shade of blue. Crystal clear, visibility will not be a problem.
1:03 PM Age groupers are in the water, the ocean is a mass of elbows and swim caps as 1780 athletes start their ironman journey.
1:06 PM Carnage is a word used to describe the age group swim. Some age groupers love it, others loathe it.
1:09 PM It's an amazing sight, inspirational. Some age groupers take a wide berth and try to avoid the mass while the stronger swimmers take the most direct line and look to get out of the water comfortably under the hour.
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Ironman 70.3 France Pays d'Aix

kevin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:50:33 +0000

2:40 PM Welcome to the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Pays d'Aix. We are looking forward to a great day of racing.
1:43 AM The first edition will start in half hour. Conditions should perfect even if it was raining most of this night. The temperature of the water is 70°F (21°C). The competition will be hard for the professionnels, most of the best world champion are there !
1:56 AM The start has been done 9 minutes before the time !! the last minutes were probably difficult for the organisation of the triathletes. Sudrie and Poulat are first for the moment. The other best are just after with Marceau, Julien Loy ... for the girls, Johanna Daumas is in the head.
2:12 AM Halksworth Daniel finish the swim in first in the same time than Sudrie and Poulat (one second between each one).Benjamin Pernet, julien Coudert et Julien Loy are also in the same group.
2:15 AM Amazing transition for Sudrie! He is the first on the road.
2:21 AM The first pro did already 7 miles just now, and after 5 miles the position was the following one : Sudrie is alone in the head, ten seconds before Poulat. Jung and Loy just after even if it seems already hard for them compare to Marceau just behind them.
2:25 AM Concerning Girls, as she did a amazing swim Johanna is first alone
2:27 AM Chabaud, Faure and Zamora was just after the 5 first, but in the first difficult part of the race, Chabaud decided to get back alone to the head and is only at 10 second from Sudrie.
2:31 AM On the top of the hill after a climb of 3 kms Loy become first following by Poulat and Sudrie. 20 seconds later Chabaud is there with Daniel Halksworth.
2:36 AM 1 minute and 20 seconds after the head, Zamora, Faure and Fernandez. Between this group and the head, Marceau and Pernet are not fare.
2:38 AM The first girl (Johanna) arrive on the top of the hill with Trevor Delsaut.
2:39 AM 2'05 after Johanna, Juliette Benedicto and at 2'20 Collonge and Erika Csomor
2:57 AM km 30 : the 7 first (Loy, Chabaud, Faure, Poulat, Sudrie, Marceau, Halsworth) are together and 30seconds after Zamora, Berger,Elgezabal, Pernet, Degasperi.
3:02 AM km20: Daumas is in head with 1'35 better than CSomor, Colonge and Rohrbach. Juliette Benicto is 1'50 after.
3:08 AM On the top of the Sambuc hill, Benjamin Pernet arrived first of the group with the 7 other ones. The second group is 50' behind.
3:11 AM The limit time for the swim is now over and 1044 participant have been registrered.
3:17 AM On the top of Sambuc hill, the position of girls is the following one: 4 girls with less than 1' of difference (Daumas, Collonge, Rohrbach and Csomor). Juliette Nenedisto is 2'20 behind.
3:32 AM Black card for Nicolas Fernandez ! explain perhaps by an important group where 10 pro were together.
3:34 AM after 40 km Erika become first
3:57 AM On the top of hill "col des portes", the position of the PRO girls is : Jeanne Collonge, Johanna Daumas (52"), Rohrbach (1'20), Erika Csomor (1'30), Juliette Benedicto (3'17)
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Ford Ironman Wisconsin

kevin — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 17:55:51 +0000

3:17 PM
3:25 PM New Champions Await at the Tenth Ford Ironman Wisconsin
From Ironman.com

There are a few certainties for the tenth edition of Ford Ironman Wisconsin. There will be a commemorative ceremony for those that lost their lives during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and there will be the crowning of new champions on Sunday.

With the tenth anniversary of 9/11 falling on race day, the race will have extra poignancy for the 2,800 athletes, but this is especially so for the Team 9-11 and Steve Gatto of Chicago.

Team 9-11, the creation of Captain Carl Gloede of the Madison Police Department Honor Guard, is made up of 150 service members of the Police, Fire, Paramedics, and Military from across the country. To date they have raised over $20,000 for their designated charities. Gatto, a 9/11 survivor, was on the 44th floor of the South Tower when the airplane struck and passed many firemen on his way out of the building as they were making their way into it to help save lives. He is racing to pay tribute to those who lost their lives that day and so far he has raised $6000 for the Wounded Warriors Project.

Last year’s champions, Australia’s Joe Gambles and New Zealand’s Gina Crawford, will not be in Madison to defend their titles. Gambles will compete at the Marine Corps Ironman World Championship 70.3 on Sunday, while Crawford is at home taking care of her son Benjamin Dennis Crawford, who was born by emergency cesarean on July 12.

The relatively cool and calm weather conditions last year led to record breaking performances by both Gambles and Crawford, and if the weather forecast for race day holds up (similar to last year), we could see another fast day of racing on Sunday.

Pro Men – A chase of Romain Guillaume?
We should see the men’s race being dictated by France’s Romain Guillaume. Second last year, he set the bike course record (4:42:29), but lost the race to Gambles during the run. After putting in some time to improve his run, Guillaume posted a 2:54 marathon at Ironman UK six weeks ago. He enjoys racing from the front and plans to do so again on Sunday. Local professional Blake Becker of nearby Fitchburg, Wisconsin, was fifth last year and as a strong runner he will be in contention for the title along with Brazil’s Ezequiel Morales a man who is easily capable of running sub three hours.

Pro Men at Ford Ironman Wisconsin
1 Romain Guillaume FRA
2 Blake Becker USA
3 Freddy Lampret ZAF
4 Jeff Paul USA
5 Billy Edwards USA
6 Mac Brown USA
7 David Nasvik SWE
8 Adam Jensen USA
9 Chris Huff USA
10 Ernst Moser AUT
11 Devon Palmer USA
12 Jared Milam USA
13 Ezequiel Morales BRA
14 Andreas Wolpert GER
15 Toby Radcliffe GBR
16 Jerome Bresson CAN
17 Stefan Schmid GER
18 Brendan Halpin USA
19 Jesse Vondracek USA

Pro Women – A Three Way Battle Projected
The women’s race should be very exciting and is shaping up to be a battle between three Americans - Heather Gollnick (a five time Ironman champion including Ford Ironman Wisconsin in 2002 and 2003), Jessica Jacobs (the 2010 Ford Ironman Florida champion, and won the 25-29 age group here as an amateur in 2004), and Meredith Kessler (third at Ironman Canada two weeks ago, she won there in 2010 and at Ironman Coeur D'Alene in 2009).

Pro Women at Ford Ironman Wisconsin
25 Heather Gollnick USA
26 Meredith Kessler USA
27 Jessica Jacobs USA
29 Whitney Garcia USA
30 Teri Albertazzi USA
31 Ann Ciaverella USA
32 Erin Spitler USA
33 Caroline Gregory USA
34 Stephanie Jones USA
35 Katya Meyers USA
36 Maria Soledad Omar BRA
37 Lauren Harrison USA

The top age groupers are seeking to get one of 65 qualifying slots to the 2012 Ironman World Championship.

Our coverage for Ford Ironman Wisconsin this weekend will include live athlete tracking and timing, text updates, and photos courtesy of Action Sports International. Make sure to join us for more age group and professional stories.
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Marines Ironman World Championship 70.3

kevin — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 17:53:34 +0000

6:39 PM
Welcome to Lake Las Vegas in Henderson, Nevada for the Marines Ironman World Championship 70.3. We're looking forward to a great day of racing here in Vegas - a stacked field is getting ready to take on a challenging course that will provide a hard-earned world championship for our eventual champions tomorrow.

Here are a few stats for tomorrow's race:
There are 573 women entered in tomorrow's race and 1,128 men, for a total of 1,701 athletes.

The largest women's category is 30-34, with 110 athletes. 35-39 has 95.

The largest men's category is 40-44, with 211. There are 187 in 35-39.

There are 52 countries represented in the race - after the US (949), Canada has the next largest number of athletes with 109, followed by Australia and Great Britain with 77, then we have Germany with 70.
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7:23 PM Our youngest and oldest competitors:
Youngest:
Jennifer Alter Downers Grove IL 19
Jeanni Seymour Johannesburg SA 19
John Obrien 3 McDonald L TN 19
Andrew Templeton Albuquerque NM 19
Wong Tung Fo Tan 19

Oldest:
Lew Hollander Bend OR 81
Bob Scott Naperville IL 81
Marcos Alegre Seminole FL 76
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Ironman Wales

kevin — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:04:24 +0000

1:27 AM Welcome to the very first Ironman Wales!
Weather conditions have seen some changes to the swim course location but despite this the athletes seem excited and ready to race!
1:33 AM Among the 1305 athletes racing today we have the current male and female 2011 Ironman UK champions, Aaron Farlow and Kristin Moeller
1:46 AM The local RNLI lifeboats are supporting the swim safety crew this morning. The water temperature is about 15 degrees
1:48 AM Our commentators for the race today are Paul Kaye, Paul Groves and Emma Jenkinson.
2:00 AM RACE HAS STARTED
2:30 AM Local pro athlete Oliver Simon was the first athlete to complete the first lap of the swim
2:41 AM The sun is shining at the north beach, as many of the athletes are making their way around the 2nd lap of the swim
2:48 AM Oliver Simon has got out of the swim in the lead with 3 athletes just behind
2:50 AM Athletes now have a 1000km run to transition to grab their bikes to start the tough bike course (made tougher by the strong winds we are currently having!)
3:10 AM First athlete, still Oliver Simon has just passed Manorbier Castle
3:24 AM Report from the lead car that Oliver Simon is still in the lead. Just passing through Pembroke, about 6 miles in. No one is in sight behind him
3:56 AM Race number 33, Edo Van Der Meer is the leader on the bike
4:13 AM Swim results will be available shortly, apologies for the delay
4:16 AM The last few swimmers are about to make their way out of the water, unfortunately for the athletes the wind hasn’t calmed at all.
4:23 AM We currently have an age group athlete in the lead for the female race. Race number 897 Rhian Roxburgh from North Wales
4:26 AM All swimmers are now out of the water. A total of 1282 athletes are now on the bike course
4:30 AM A huge thank you to the RNLI for their assistance with the swim safety today
4:40 AM Currently no change for the leaders on the bike course.
5:12 AM Apologies about the live tracking, we are working as fast as we can to solve this
5:37 AM Updates on the mens race
57 miles into the bike course, the lead is as follows
Race number 1 - Aaron Farlow
Race Number 33 - Edo Van Der Meer
Race Number 32 - Jeremy Jurkiewicz
Race Number 25 - Bruno Clerbout
Race Number 18 - Daniel Mueller
Continue...

Ironman 70.3 Ireland

kevin — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:21:49 +0000

Continue...

Subaru Ironman Canada

kevin — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 16:40:58 +0000

1:59 PM The facts, and nothing but the facts

Females – 962/29.9%
Males – 2255/70.1%

Total number of first time Ironman – 1175

Canadian Participants: 1580
American Participants: 1490

Oldest Male: Michael Laramie – USA – 75
Oldest Women: Madonna Buder – USA – 81

Youngest Male: Brett Jonson – CAN - 18
Youngest Women: Ciena Calavitta – USA – 21

Category Breakdown

MPRO - 27 0.8%
WPRO - 17 0.5%
M18-24 - 61 1.9%
M25-29 - 134 4.2%
M30-34 - 253 7.9%
M35-39 - 362 11.3%
M40-44 - 487 15.1%
M45-49 - 384 11.9%
M50-54 - 279 8.7%
M55-59 - 153 4.8%
M60-64 - 74 2.3%
M65-69 - 29 0.9%
M70-74 - 8 0.2%
M75-79 - 2 0.1%
MPC - 2 0.1%
W18-24 - 16 0.5%
W25-29 - 90 2.8%
W30-34 - 157 4.9%
W35-39 - 182 5.7%
W40-44 - 213 6.6%
W45-49 - 127 3.9%
W50-54 - 105 3.3%
W55-59 - 44 1.4%
W60-64 - 8 0.2%
W70-74 - 1 0.0%
W80+ - 1 0.0%
2:13 PM
2:15 PM
6:16 PM Hot Racing Predicted for Subaru Ironman Canada

Subaru Ironman Canada will have both the men and women's 2010 champions returning to defend their titles. With temperatures predicted to be in the 30 to 35 degrees Celsius (85 to 95 Fahrenheit) for race day, it appears we are in for a hot race in more ways than one. The men's race is shaping up to be a competitive one with four previous winners returning, along with some other legitimate pre-race favorites who haven't won in Canada. In the women's race, the defending champion will see threats from a number of sources, but Mary Beth Ellis, fresh off two Ironman wins, arrives as a clear favourite.

Read More: Click Here
6:19 PM Meredith Kessler Defends Subaru Ironman Canada Title

American Meredith Kessler is returning to Penticton to defend her title. She has over 35 Ironman starts to her credit and after, a flourishing age group career, turned to racing in the professional ranks in 2010. The 32-year-old had an outstanding first year as a professional that saw her secure second-place finishes at Ironman St. George and Coeur d'Alene, along with her brilliant win at Ironman Canada last August.

Read More: Click Here
6:31 PM
12:59 AM 2011 Subaru Ironman Canada Preview

For 29-years athletes have soldiered their way to Penticton, British Columbia at the end August for the opportunity to race in one of Ironman's oldest events. This year will be no exception as 2,700 athletes prepare to compete in this weekend's Subaru Ironman Canada in the Okanagan Valley region of the Canadian western province.

Read More: Click Here
12:59 AM
1:09 AM Welcome to IronmanLive coverage of the 2011 Subaru Ironman Canada.

Our coverage will commence Sunday morning at 6:30 am, Pacific Time. Our men and women professional races will start at 6:45 am, and our age group race will be sent off at 7:00 am. Tomorrow's weather is calling for sunny skies and temperatures to spike up to a high of 35C/95 F for those racing here in Penticton.

IronmanLive will provide text updates of the professional race action from the course. In addition, we will have photos and the athlete tracker for those of you at home wanting to following a family member, friend, co-worker or teammate during their Ironman journey tomorrow.

Come join us in the morning and throughout the day for our 2011 Subaru Ironman Canada race day coverage.
9:32 AM Good morning from Penticton, British Columbia, Canada and the IronmanLive coverage of the 29th edition of the Subaru Ironman Canada. Our professional race is scheduled to start at 6:45 am - in 15-minutes .
9:34 AM We currently have clear skies here in Penticton, a light wind out of the north and the current temperature is 21C/70F, and the weatherman is calling for highs of 35C\95F....going to be a hot one.
9:40 AM
9:45 AM To the blast of the horn, the 2011 Subaru Ironman Canada professional has started here in Penticton with 27 men and 17 women registered to start.
9:46 AM Men's Pro Field

1 Viktor Zyemtsev UKR
2 Bryan Rhodes NZL
4 Jordan Rapp CAN
5 Jasper Blake CAN
6 Jason Shortis AUS
7 Kyle Marcotte CAN
8 Christopher Bagg USA
9 Trevor Wurtele CAN
10 Bert Jammaer BEL
11 Scott Curry CAN
12 Torsten Abel USA
13 Paul Tichelaar CAN
15 Scott Tremblay CAN
16 Anthony Toth CAN
17 Mathieu O'halloran CAN
18 Dallas Cain CAN
19 Mike Neill CAN
20 Christopher Baird USA
21 Trevor Delsaut FRA
22 Hiroyuki Nishiuchi JPN
23 Juan Carlos Ramirez MEX
24 Ryan Cain CAN
25 Nigel Gray CAN
26 Matthew Russell USA
27 Paul Attard AUS
28 Simon Billeau FRA
29 O'Meara Adam CAN
9:47 AM Women's Pro Field

31 Meredith Kessler USA
34 Mary Ellis USA
35 Kim Loeffler USA
36 Sara Gross CAN
37 Haley Cooper-Scott USA
38 Rachel Kiers CAN
39 Miranda Alldritt CAN
40 Lauren Harrison USA
41 Maki Nishiuchi JPN
42 Jacqui Gordon USA
43 Fiona Whitby CAN
44 Tara Norton CAN
45 Fernanda Keller BRA
46 Emi Shiono JPN
47 Kelzie Beebe USA
9:48 AM Special day for a few

Eleven athletes will not only be celebrating their Ironman race today, but will also adding a birthday to their accomplishments for the day. Happy birthday to following Subaru Ironman Canada athletes from IronmanLive.

Annette Aitkenhead 45
Eric Block 43
Brian Creed 35
Joan Ellison Bucher 50
Pete Field 38
Michael Grant 30
Lesley Miller 49
Guek Fa Ng 42
Kurt Steilen 47
Russell William 42
Andrew Yee Fung 41
9:51 AM
9:52 AM
9:53 AM Swim Course

The 3.8 km swim starts off the southern shore of Lake Okanagan and heads northwest for 1612 m, northeast for 450m and then returns heading southeast for 1800m to the swim finish.
9:59 AM Age group race is about to start!
Continue...

Ford Ironman Louisville

kevin — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 16:38:51 +0000

4:34 PM
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5:32 PM
6:15 AM Good morning from Ford Ironman Louisville. I'm right next to the race start right now - there's a huge line of age group athletes determined to be some of the first to jump off the dock in the unique time trial start they use here in Louisville for the age group race.
6:45 AM Just under five minutes to go before the pro start here now. It's still quite dark as the pros do their warm up before the cannon goes off.
Continue...

Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines

kevin — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 19:27:06 +0000

3:29 PM Welcome to Ironman 70.3 Philippines. We'll have limited updates here on Ironmanlive from the event along with live athlete tracking.
6:14 PM
6:21 PM Camarines Sur Gov. LRay Villafuerte has commenced proceedings for the third Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 7.3 Philippines. Our professional field is now under way, with the age group waves set to go over the next 10 minutes. Live timing is available at the top of this coverage tab, and we'll get you a few updates throughout the day here on Ironman.com.
6:26 PM
6:36 PM
6:38 PM Pete Jacobs is on track for a big lead heading out of the swim - two minutes ahead of the men at the end of the first lap. Amanda Stevens leads the women and was thirty seconds behind Jacobs, with Cameron Brown third overall 2 minutes behind Jacobs.
6:47 PM Our lead men and women - Jacobs and Stevens - are out of the water.
6:47 PM Three minutes behind our leaders, Jesse Thomas is third out of the water, closely followed by Cameron Brown, Justin Granger, Belinda Granger, Luke Gillmer and Bree Wee.
8:49 PM Pete Jacobs and Jesse Thomas remain locked in a battle for the top placed overall spot. Leading the women are Amanda Stevens, Belinda Granger, Bree Wee and Filipino elite Marion Kim Mangrobang.

It's just past 8.30am here in CamSur and the heavy cloud cover that has kept the tropical temperatures cool this morning has now been joined by some quite heavy rain, making for some tough conditions out there on the bike.
9:16 PM Aiming to go for back-to-back Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines titles, Australia's Pete Jacobs was first off the bike here this morning, after a strong start out of the swim.

American Jesse Thomas finished the bike portion of the race in second behind Jacobs. In third is Erich Felbabel followed closely by Cameron Brown. For the women, Amanda Stevens is leading into the run with Belinda Granger in pursuit.

The rain has eased in the last hour, but continues to fall.
10:01 PM
Top 10 Pro Run 10km

Place Run1 Tot Dif Numbe Lname Fname City Pro Cnt
===== ======= ======= ===== ========================== ========== === ===
1 3:08:19 1 JACOBS, PETE SYDNEY NSW AUS
2 3:19:54 11:35 820 THOMAS, JESSE OREGON USA
3 3:29:12 20:53 809 FELBABEL, ERICH HONG KONG HKG
4 3:32:16 23:57 372 ATTAMIMI, ASSAD SINGAPORE SGP
5 3:36:40 28:21 7 GRANGER, JUSTIN NOOSA HEAD QLD AUS
6 3:37:09 28:50 15 MACASIEB, ARLAND CLIFTON NJ USA
7 3:39:11 30:52 14 CATIIL, NEIL CAGAYAN DE MIS PHL

10:11 PM
10:15 PM
10:21 PM Pete Jacobs took his second Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines title with a winning time of 3:51.
10:34 PM Jesse Thomas and Cameron Brown crossed the finish line to finish second and third to Pete Jacobs.

Amanda Stevens maintains a three-minute lead over Belinda Granger.
10:48 PM Australia's Belinda Granger (4:26:03) has taken the women’s crown at the 2011 Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines. American Amanda Stevens (4:28:34), who was well placed out of the water, has finished i second just over two minutes back.
11:01 PM Top 10 Men

Pete Jacobs 3:51:43
Jesse Thomas 4:12:30
Cameron Brown 4:12:54
Erich Felbabel 4:17:44
Assad Attamimi 4:18:08
Dane Cantwell 4:24:25
Justin Granger 4:25:30
Arland Macasieg 4:26:31
Anthony Debous 4:26:57
August Benedicto 4:35:04
11:15 PM Top 5 Women

Belinda Granger 4:26:23
Amanda Stevens 4:28:34
Bree Wee 4:35:16
Katya Meyers 4:39:37
Lucy Smith 4:41:07
Continue...

Ironman 70.3 European Championship

kevin — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 19:16:20 +0000

3:18 PM Welcome to the Ironman 70.3 European Championship in Wiesbaden. Volker Boch will be doing live updates from the event for us here on Ironmanlive this weekend.
5:58 AM Sparkassen Finanzgruppe Ironman 70.3 European Championship: Wiesbaden freut sich auf ein Weltklassefeld

Herausragend – das ist passende Beschreibung des Starterfelds der Sparkassen Finanzgruppe Ironman 70.3 European Championship. 2400 Altersklassenathleten nehmen am Sonntag ab 7 Uhr den Wettkampf auf – über 1,9 Kilometer Schwimmen, 90 Kilometer Radfahren und 21,1 Kilometer Laufen. Die fünfte Auflage des Rennens in Wiesbaden wartet dabei mit einer Neuerung auf, das Schwimmen wird erstmals im Waldsee Raunheim ausgetragen. Und dort beginnt ein höchst spannendes Rennen.
Die einzige negative Nachricht aus sportlicher Sicht ist die verletzungsbedingte Absage von Titelverteidiger Michael Raelert. Der Doppel-Weltmeister auf der Ironman-70.3-Distanz fehlt wegen einer langwierigen Muskelverletzung in der hessischen Hauptstadt. Im vergangenen Jahr triumphierte der Rostocker nach einem packenden Wettstreit mit dem Sieger von 2009, Sebastian Kienle, diesmal muss der 30-Jährige passen.

Das Profifeld der Männer wirkt dennoch wie eine Auslese der besten Langstreckler der Welt – nicht nur, weil Sebastian Kienle als derzeit wohl stärkster Ironman-Radfahrer auf dem Globus in den anspruchsvollen Steigungen des Taunus den Rhythmus vorgeben dürfte. Neben dem Europameister von 2009 und Vorjahreszweiten gibt es eine ganze Reihe von Stars, die das Rennen schnell machen. Auf dem Rad ist es längst nicht allein Altmeister Thomas Hellriegel, dem die selektive Radstrecke rund um die altehrwürdige Kurstadt liegt – und der nach seinem vorzeitigen Ausstieg bei der Frankfurter Sparkasse Ironman European Championship noch etwas gutmachen möchte. Gerade der Freiburger Andreas Böcherer wird im Taunus mit derselben Kraft aufs Pedal drücken, wie er sie bei seinem Sieg im Juni beim Ironman 70.3 Switzerland in Rapperswil gezeigt hat. Auch der Schweizer Mathias Hecht, Gewinner des Ironman St. George und Zweiter bei den Ironman-Rennen New Zealand und Zürich, wird auf dem Rad in Wiesbaden wieder dominant erwartet.
Besonders interessant dürfte der Auftritt von Bart Aernouts aus Belgien werden, der als Duathlon-Weltmeister 2010 vor wenigen Wochen den Ironman 70.3 in Antwerpen zum zweiten Mal nacheinander – und ganz souverän – gewonnen hat. Doch nur mit dem Blick auf den vor allem im Laufen fliegenden Belgier – in Antwerpen lief Aernouts trotz klarer Führung den Halbmarathon in 1:10 Stunden – ist die Startliste der Sparkassen Finanzgruppe Ironman 70.3 European Championship noch längst nicht ausreichend bearbeitet.
Terenzo Bozzone ist der internationale Star des wichtigsten Rennens auf der Ironman-70.3-Strecke neben der Weltmeisterschaft im September in Las Vegas. Der Zweite des Ironman Neuseeland möchte in Wiesbaden vor allem seinen Startplatz für die Ironman-Weltmeisterschaft auf Hawaii sicherstellen. Der Ironman-70.3-Weltmeister von 2008 hat in dieser Saison noch keinen großen Sieg feiern können und ist nach dem Auskurieren von Achillessehnenproblemen und einem harten Trainingslager im Schweizer Engadin bereit, dies in Wiesbaden nachzuholen. Er möchte möglichst viele Punkte fürs Kona Pro Ranking sammeln – und dies heißt: ganz weit nach vorn kommen.
Vor allem im abschließenden Halbmarathon wird es dabei für die Fans rund um den Zielbereich am mondänen Wiesbadener Kurhaus interessant, denn neben Superläufern wie Bozzone aus Neuseeland, dem Australier Richie Cunningham und Bart Aernouts gibt es unter anderem den Tschechen Filip Ospaly. Ospaly bot im vergangenen Jahr mit Michael Raelert bei der Weltmeisterschaft im Ironman 70.3 in Clearwater ein ebenso hartes Duell wie 2010 beim Ironman 70.3 Austria in St. Pölten. Dort setzte sich der flinke Tscheche im Dreikampf mit Ironman-Weltmeister Chris McCormack und Ironman-Vizeweltmeister Andreas Raelert durch. Ospaly gewann in dieser Saison erneut den Ironman 70.3 in St. Pölten. Er ist in Wiesbaden, um zu gewinnen und der vermeintlich Topfavorit auf den Sieg. Im vergangenen Jahr stürzte er in Wiesbaden beim Wechsel zum Laufen auf nassem Untergrund und brach sich einen Zeh.

Im Profifeld der Frauen stehen ebenfalls klangvolle Namen bereit, um die Zuschauer in der schönen Kurstadt zu erfreuen. Zweimal hat Yvonne van Vlerken die Europameisterschaft in Wiesbaden bereits 2009 und 2010 für sich entschieden. Auch am Sonntag tritt die fliegende Niederländerin an, um zu siegen. Die anspruchsvolle Radstrecke durch den Taunus scheint wie für sie gemacht, im vergangenen Jahr konnte sie einen exzellenten Halbmarathon anschließen. Die zweimalige Siegerin des Ironman Cozumel tritt an, um den Hattrick perfekt zu machen.
Aber Van Vlerken hat starke Konkurrentinnen, allen voran auf dem Rad. Karin Thürig ist nicht nur die – auch gegenüber der Britin Julie Dibens – anerkannt stärkste Radfahrerin unter den Langdistanzlerinnen, die Schweizerin kann auch im Laufen genügend dagegenhalten, falls es eng wird. Bei ihrem Sieg im Heimrennen, dem Ironman Switzerland, spürte sie Anfang Juli jedoch nur wenig Konkurrenzdruck im Laufen, so extrem war sie dem Feld mit Radrekord davongefahren. Thürig ist auf ihrer Abschlusstournee, der Ironman in Zürich war ihr letzter Ironman in Europa, die 38-Jährige will ihre lange Karriere mit der Ironman-Weltmeisterschaft im Oktober auf Hawaii ausklingen lassen. Die Vorjahressechste und Radrekordhalterin von Kona ist nicht nur in Wiesbaden am Start, um ihre Form für Hawaii zu testen, sondern auch um den Europameistertitel zu feiern.
Die Zürich-Zweite Amy Marsh aus den USA will diesen Plan aber ebenso durchkreuzen wie Martina Dogana aus Italien, sie gewann die Erstauflage des Ironman 70.3 Pescara in diesem Sommer. Wie gut sie sich erholt hat innerhalb einer Woche, das ist die große Frage bei Myra Beth Ellis aus den USA. Sie gewann Anfang Juli ihr Debüt auf der Langstrecke beim Ironman Kärnten in Klagenfurt – und torpedierte in 8:43:34 Stunden mit der schnellsten Premiere aller Zeiten alles zuvor dagewesene. Vergangene Woche legte sie dann den zweiten Sieg beim Ironman Regensburg nach. Während ihr männlicher Regensburg-Siegkollege Markus Fachbach mit noch immer etwas müden Beinen als Zuschauer zum Rennen in Wiesbaden kommt, tritt Ellis als aussichtsreiche Athletin an die Startlinie.
Einen zweiten Rang beim Ironman Lanzarote bringt Natascha Badmann aus der Schweiz als Empfehlung mit. Die sechsmalige Hawaii-Siegerin ist eine weitere schillernde Persönlichkeit in diesem Rennen und wird der Europameisterschaft sicher ihren Stempel aufdrücken können. Die 44 Jahre alte Swiss Miss gehört zum engen Kreis der Podiumskandidatinnen. Viele weitere Topathletinnen wie die Neuseeländerin Joanna Lawn runden das starke Profil des Rennens ab.

Der Start erfolgt am Sonntag um 7 Uhr am Raunheimer Waldsee – verfolgen Sie die Sparkassen Finanzgruppe Ironman 70.3 European Championship live vor Ort oder hier auf Ironman.com. Sie finden die aktuellen Zeitmessungen und Live-Ergebnisse in unserem Athlete Tracker. Zudem gibt es aktuelle Bilder aus Wiesbaden von FinisherPix.

Das Starterfeld der Profi-Männer

1 Kienle Sebastian GER (Germany) MPRO
2 Ospaly Filip CZE (Czech Republic) MPRO
3 Degasperi Alessandro ITA (Italy) MPRO
4 Cunningham Richie AUS (Australia) MPRO
7 Aernouts Bart BEL (Belgium) MPRO
9 Lyatskiy Andrey RUS (Russia) MPRO
10 Schmoll Daniel GER (Germany) MPRO
12 Hellriegel Thomas GER (Germany) MPRO
13 Böcherer Andi GER (Germany) MPRO
15 Aigroz Mike SUI (Switzerland) MPRO
17 Billeau Simon FRA (France) MPRO
18 Blokhin Anton UKR (Ukraine) MPRO
19 Delsaut Trevor FRA (France) MPRO
20 Godoy Francesc ESP (Spain) MPRO
21 Jaberg Patrick SUI (Switzerland) MPRO
23 Krylov Stanislav RUS (Russia) MPRO
24 Livesey Mark GBR (Great Britain) MPRO
25 Marsh Brandon USA (United States) MPRO
26 Nemcik Marek SVK (Slovakia) MPRO
27 Rahn Fabian GER (Germany) MPRO
28 Rosryagaev Dmitry RUS (Russia) MPRO
29 Rost Dave NED (Netherlands) MPRO
30 Schifferle Mike SUI (Switzerland) MPRO
34 Ackermann Johann GER (Germany) MPRO
35 Bozzone Terenzo NZL (New Zealand) MPRO
36 Donnelly Sean GER (Germany) MPRO
37 Dragstra Luke CAN (Canada) MPRO
38 Hecht Mathias SUI (Switzerland) MPRO
39 Krnavek Martin CZE (Czech Republic) MPRO

Das Starterfeld der Profi-Frauen

50 Van Vlerken Yvonne NED (Netherlands) FPRO
52 Woysch Nicole GER (Germany) FPRO
53 De Groote Sophie BEL (Belgium) FPRO
54 Dietrich Susan GER (Germany) FPRO
55 Ippach Anja GER (Germany) FPRO
56 Schmitt Natascha GER (Germany) FPRO
57 Schulz Jenny GER (Germany) FPRO
58 Badmann Natascha SUI (Switzerland) FPRO
59 Benz Simone SUI (Switzerland) FPRO
61 Dogana Martina ITA (Italy) FPRO
62 Ellis Mary USA (United States) FPRO
63 Giger Michaela SUI (Switzerland) FPRO
64 Goos Sofie BEL (Belgium) FPRO
66 Lawn Joanna NZL (New Zealand) FPRO
70 Tibaldi Francesca ITA (Italy) FPRO
71 Wutti Eva AUT (Austria) FPRO
73 Mannweiler Kathrin GER (Germany) FPRO
74 Marsh Amy USA (United States) FPRO
75 Thürig Karin SUI (Switzerland) FPRO
12:35 PM In gut 12 Stunden startet die Sparkassen Finanzgruppe Ironman 70.3 European Championship in Wiesbaden. Die letzten Minuten des Bike check-in laufen, die mehr als 2400 Athleten aus 54 Nationen sind bester Dinge. Heute Nachmittag hat es in Wiesbaden kurzzeitig leicht geregnet, aber die Prognosen für den Renntag sind gut. Temperaturen zwischen 21 und 24 Grad werden erwartet, nur leichte Schauer sind immer wieder mal möglich, es könnte leicht schwül werden.
Im Zielbereich am mondänen Kurhaus ist die Atmosphäre schon jetzt hervorragend, der blaue Teppich im Zielkanal wartet auf die Sportler. Neben den Weltklasse-Athleten wie der zweimaligen Europameisterin Yvonne Van Vlerken, die gut vorbereitet zur Titelverteidigung startet, sind auch einige hochkarätige Staffeln mit dabei. Für das Team Erdinger Alkoholfrei treten Nicole Leder, Meike Krebs und Julia Wagner an, für das Team Bärenherz ist eine überaus schnelle Staffel im Einsatz: Die Wiesbadener Spitzenschwimmerin Cathleen Großmann übernimmt den ersten Part, dann tritt die mehrfache Rad-Weltmeisterin Hanka Kupfernagel aufs Pedal - und beim Laufen will Tinka Uphoff das Team zum Staffelsieg führen.
Gern gestartet wäre in seiner Heimatstadt Wiesbaden auch Formel-1-Star Nico Rosberg. Der Mercedes-GP-Petronas-Fahrer wollte mit zwei Teamkollegen als Staffel bei der Sparkassen Finanzgruppe Ironman 70.3 European Championship antreten. Rosberg ist genauso wie Jenson Button nicht nur ein herausragender Akteur am Formel-1-Lenkrad, sondern ein austrainierter Topathlet. Rosberg musste jedoch vor drei Wochen bei Renndirektor Kai Walter seinen Start leider absagen.
Noch gut 12 Stunden bis zum Start um 7 Uhr am Waldsee Raunheim - das Team von Kai Walter und die Athleten aus aller Welt fiebern dem Startschuss entgegen. Verfolgen Sie die Sparkassen Finanzgruppe Ironman 70.3 European Championship am Sonntagmorgen an dieser Stelle live ab 6.30 Uhr.
12:49 AM Good morning and a warm welcome from Wiesbaden! The Sparkassen Finanzgruppe Ironman 70.3 European Championship starts in 12 minutes. First there is the Pro start at 7 a.m.
12:51 AM Guten Morgen und herzlich willkommen zum Liveticker der Sparkassen Finanzgruppe Ironman 70.3 European Championship in Wiesbaden. Es sind noch 11 Minuten bis zum Start des Profifeldes im Waldsee Raunheim. Zunächst starten um 7 Uhr die Topstars, danach folgen weitere Wellenstarts bis 8.30 Uhr.
12:59 AM Today we will have several start groups. At 7 a.m. there is the Pro start of all top athletes and race favorites. The next starts will be at 7.10 a.m (F18-F70), 7.20 (M50-M70), 7.35 (M18-M29), 7.45 (M30), 7.55 (M35), 8.05 (M45), 8.15 (M40), 8.30 (relay).
1:00 AM Es geht gleich los, die Athleten warten auf den Startschuss. Hier die Startzeiten der verschiedenen Altersklassen für heute Morgen: 7 Uhr Profis und Rennfavoriten. 7.10 (F18-F70), 7.20 (M50-M70), 7.35 (M18-M29), 7.45 (M30), 7.55 (M35), 8.05 (M45), 8.15 (M40), 8.30 (Staffeln
).
1:00 AM The race is on!
1:00 AM Das Rennen ist gestartet.
1:09 AM Wie zu erwarten war: Andreas Böcherer und Filip Ospaly aus Tschechien machen im Wasser zunächst das Tempo, die beiden pflügen durch den Raunheimer Waldsee. An der Spitze des Feldes steuern sie auf die erste Zwischenzeitnahme bei 1200 Metern zu.
1:09 AM Andreas Böcherer from Germany and Filip Ospaly are in the lead.
1:10 AM Der zweite Start ist erfolgt, das Frauenfeld ist damit nun komplett unterwegs.
1:11 AM Die Führenden sind nur noch gut 150 Meter von der ersten Zeitnahme entfernt.
1:12 AM The women's field is on it's way. All female age groups (F18-F70) have started.
1:16 AM Inzwischen ist die erste Gruppe auf 8 Athleten angewachsen, darin die beiden schnellen Schwimmer, Böcherer und Ospaly - jetzt erfolgt der Landgang nach 1200 Metern.
1:16 AM There is a leading group of 8 swimmers now.
1:17 AM Men's leaderboard Swim 1200 Meters

1 (1) Godoy Francesc 20 MPRO ESP S1.2 00:15:16
2 (2) Ospaly Filip 2 MPRO CZE S1.2 00:15:51
3 (3) Ackermann Johann 34 MPRO GER S1.2 00:15:53
3 (3) Krnavek Martin 39 MPRO CZE S1.2 00:15:53
5 (5) Hecht Mathias 38 MPRO SUI S1.2 00:15:55
5 (5) Rosryagaev Dmitry 28 MPRO RUS S1.2 00:15:55
5 (5) Bozzone Terenzo 35 MPRO NZL S1.2 00:15:55
5 (5) Böcherer Andi 13 MPRO GER S1.2 00:15:55
9 (9) Cunningham Richie 4 MPRO AUS S1.2 00:15:56
10 (10) Simko Pavel 41 MPRO SVK S1.2 00:15:57
11 (11) Lyatskiy Andrey 9 MPRO RUS S1.2 00:15:58
11 (11) Degasperi Alessandro 3 MPRO ITA S1.2 00:15:58
13 (13) Krylov Stanislav 23 MPRO RUS S1.2 00:15:59
13 (13) Marsh Brandon 25 MPRO USA S1.2 00:15:59
15 (15) Hellriegel Thomas 12 MPRO GER S1.2 00:16:01
1:21 AM Der Spanier Francesc Godoy hat sich nun leicht vom Feld abgesetzt. Und das ist kein Unbekannter: Der 24 Jahre alte Katalane kommt aus Barcelona, war bereits Zweiter beim Alpe d'Huez-Triathlon und U23-Staatsmeister 2006 und 2008 in Spanien. Er startet regelmäßig im Kurzdistanz-Weltcup - und da muss man bekanntlich schwimmen können.
1:22 AM Francesc Godoy from Spain sets the pace. He's from Barcelona, 24 years and starts in World Cup races.

1:23 AM Women's leaderboard Swim 1200 Meters

17 (1) Ippach Anja 55 F GER S1.2 00:16:49
18 (2) Benz Simone 59 F SUI S1.2 00:16:52
19 (3) Lawn Joanna 66 F NZL S1.2 00:17:33
21 (4) Marsh Amy 74 F USA S1.2 00:17:37
23 (5) Schmitt Natascha 56 F GER S1.2 00:18:20
25 (6) Goos Sofie 64 F BEL S1.2 00:18:22
27 (7) De groote Sophie 53 F BEL S1.2 00:18:24
28 (8) Dogana Martina 61 F ITA S1.2 00:19:20
29 (9) Tibaldi Francesca 70 F ITA S1.2 00:19:22
29 (9) Van vlerken Yvonne 50 F NED S1.2 00:19:22
31 (11) Wutti Eva 71 F AUT S1.2 00:19:23
33 (12) Woysch Nicole 52 F GER S1.2 00:19:25
34 (13) Dietrich Susan 54 F GER S1.2 00:19:28
35 (14) Badmann Natascha 58 F SUI S1.2 00:20:12
36 (15) Thuerig Karin 76 F SUI S1.2 00:20:38
Continue...

Ironman Regensburg

kevin — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 16:07:42 +0000

2:22 PM Ironman Regensburg: Die Stars heißen Raelert und Bellis
Andreas Raelert ist der Star des Ironman Regensburg. Der 34-jährige Rostocker geht bei der zweiten Auflage des Rennens rund um die liebenswert-schöne Stadt an der Donau als würdiger Topathlet an den Start. Raelert ist den Triathlon-Fans nicht nur aufgrund seines packenden Kampfes um den Sieg des Ironman Hawaii 2010 und seines triumphalen Siegs bei der Ironman-Europameisterschaft in Frankfurt 2010 in bester Erinnerung, sondern vor allem auch deshalb, weil er als sympathischer Weltklassesportler ein echtes Triathlon-Aushängeschild ist.
Nur vier Wochen nach seinem letzten großen Langstreckenrennen tritt Raelert nun wieder auf der Ironman-Distanz. Er hat sich zwar gut erholt von seinem Rekordrennen, ist allerdings wenige Tage vor dem Ironman Regensburg beim Lauftraining umgeknickt. Es gab bereits Gerüchte, dass er wie sein Bruder Michael vor zwei Wochen in Frankfurt verletzungsbedingt nicht an den Start gehen kann.
Andreas Raelerts ist durch das Pech im Training zwar lädiert, aber der Topathlet tritt trotz einer Sprunggelenksverletzung am linken Fuß an – mit einem Tapeverband. Der K-Swiss-Star freut sich auf das schöne Rennen in Regensburg und will sich die wichtigen Qualifikationspunkte für die Weltmeisterschaft in Kona sichern.
Mit großer Motivation treten auch die weiteren Deutschen im Profifeld der Männer an. Der Vorjahresdritte Nils Goerke will an sein starkes Rennen bei der Regensburg-Premiere anknüpfen – und möglichst wie 2010 im Marathon das Feld aufrollen. Das Podest haben jedoch auch seine Landsmänner Markus Fachbach und Christian Brader im Blick. Gerade der 28-jährige Fachbach möchte in Regensburg seinen zweiten Durchbruch schaffen. Beim Ironman Florida 2005 wurde er mit 23 Jahren bei seinem Debüt auf der Langstrecke auf Anhieb Dritter, und in der Folgezeit hat er viele weitere Top-Platzierungen erreicht. Jedoch fehlt der ganz große Wurf des ausgeglichenen Athleten, der seinen Abschlusstest beim Ironman 70.3 Antwerpen als Dritter positiv gestalten konnte.
Spannend könnte sich das Rennen im Männerfeld bereits zu Beginn entwickeln, denn in Horst Reichel aus Darmstadt, natürlich Andreas Raelert und auch Fachbach sind drei schnelle Schwimmer am Start, die gemeinsam das Radfahren zu Beginn dominieren könnten. Gerade der Darmstädter Reichel hat noch eine Rechnung offen – er musste das Rennen in Regensburg 2010 und den Ironman in Frankfurt vor zwei Wochen jeweils vorzeitig beenden.
Ebenfalls ausgestiegen – vor vier Wochen beim Ironman Zürich – ist der Schweizer Stefan Riesen. Der Eidgenosse, der den Ironman Switzerland 2006 gewann, gab sein Heimrennen vor vier Wochen beim Laufen auf. Der schwächere Schwimmer absolvierte dabei jedoch nur gut ein Viertel des Marathons und dürfte nun gut erholt in den Ironman Regensburg starten. Ist zudem vier Wochen nach seinem letzten Langstreckenstart auch Lothar Leder wieder für eine Überraschung gut?
Bei den Frauen liegt die Favoritenrolle bei der US-Amerikanerin Mary Beth Ellis, die vor vier Wochen beim Ironman Klagenfurt das schnellste Ironman-Debüt aller Zeiten gezeigt hat. 8:43:34 Stunden benötigte die Athletin des Team TBB von Trainer Brett Sutton. Es ist die zweitschnellste offizielle Ironman-Zeit ever – die Frage ist lediglich, wie gut sich die zweimalige Zweite der Ironman-70.3-WM vor Regensburg erholt hat. Die Deutschen Nicole Leder, Heidi Jesberger sowie die Regensburger Vorjahreszweite Katja Rabe ergänzen den Kampf um den Sieg. Titelverteidigerin Sonja Tajsich fehlt ebenso wie Männer-Sieger Faris Al-Sultan, die beide zwei Wochen zuvor bei der Frankfurter Sparkasse Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt geglänzt haben.
Nicole Leder gab den Ironman in Frankfurt nach dem Radfahren unterkühlt auf – und greift nun wieder an. Die vierfache Ironman-Siegerin hat die Favoritenrolle inne, jedoch könnte die Koblenzerin Rabe das Rennen mitbestimmen. Sie führte den Ironman Regensburg auch im Vorjahr auf den ersten 60 Radkilometern an.

Das Profifeld des Ironman Regensburg 2011
1 Raelert Andreas GER (Germany)
2 Goerke Nils GER (Germany)
3 Fachbach Markus GER (Germany)
4 Brader Christian GER (Germany)
5 Bischof Marcel GER (Germany)
6 De Elias Mario ARG (Argentina)
7 Hadley Brian USA (United States)
8 Kovac Matjaz SLO (Slovenia)
9 Kriegl Flo AUT (Austria)
10 Leder Lothar GER (Germany)
11 Müller Daniel GER (Germany)
12 Nemcik Marek SVK (Slovakia)
13 Pedraza Sebastian ITA (Italy)
15 Sickl Heinrich AUT (Austria)
16 Vallant Rene AUT (Austria)
17 Wagner Martin GER (Germany)
18 De Paolis Luca ITA (Italy)
19 Reichel Horst GER (Germany)
20 Riesen Stefan SUI (Switzerland)
21 Vytrisal Frank GER (Germany)
51 Rabe Katja GER (Germany)
52 Jesberger Heidi GER (Germany)
53 Streiter Ute AUT (Austria)
54 Burow Katrin GER (Germany)
55 Kamenz Annett GER (Germany)
56 Monticeli Ariane BRA (Brazil)
57 Leder Nicole GER (Germany)
58 Bregar Olja SLO (Slovenia)
59 Weerd Mirjam NED (Netherlands)
60 Ellis Mary Beth USA (United States)
2:24 PM Der Ironman Regensburg beginnt am morgigen Sonntag um 7 Uhr mit dem Schwimmstart am Guggenberger See - und dieser Liveticker begleitet die mehr als 2200 Athleten auf dem Weg zum Ziel im Unesco-Welterbe Stadtamhof in Regensburg.
12:15 AM Einen schönen guten Morgen aus Regensburg - und herzlich willkommen zum Liveticker des Ironman Regensburg! In rund 50 Minuten geht das Starterfeld zur zweiten Auflage ins Wasser, mehr als 2200 Athleten sind angemeldet, darunter einer der großen internationalen Stars: Andreas Raelert.
12:21 AM Good morning from Regensburg! We're now about 45 minutes away from the start of the pros here at the Ironman Regensburg. Right now the temperature is good - 19 degrees (66 F), but there's no wind at this point. This morning started with some rain and there should be some light rain later today. The temperature is supposed to be 20 degrees (68 F) today.
12:23 AM Das Schwimmen im Guggenberger See etwas südwestlich der Stadt ist ein atmosphärischer Auftakt des Rennens, im vergangenen Jahr lichtete sich kurz vor dem Start des Rennens der Nebel über dem See - und es begann ein herrlicher Renntag.
12:24 AM Leichter Regen hat die Starter heute Morgen auf dem Weg hinaus zum "Guggi" begleitet, die Temperaturen lagen um 19 Grad - bei relativer Windstille. Die Vorhersage lässt leichten Regen erwarten und wahrscheinlich auch etwas Schwüle bei rund 20 Grad.
12:27 AM Beim Schwimmen ist der Mann mit der Startnummer 1 wohl an der Spitze zu erwarten: Andreas Raelert. Er trägt eine hellgrüne Badekappe, bei den Männern sind zudem der Vorjahreszweite Nils Goerke (graue Badekappe) und Markus Fachbach (Startnummer 2/rote Kappe) farblich markiert. Im Frauenfeld lassen sich Topfavoritin Mary Beth Ellis (pinke Mütze/Startnummer 60), die Vorjahreszweite Katja Rabe (Startnummer 51/schwarze Kappe) und Nicole Leder (Startnummer 57/lila Badekappe) gut erkennen.
12:32 AM This morning's swim promises to be a Andreas-Raelert-Show. He was not only second at the Ironman World Championship 2010 - he is one of the best swimmers at all. He should lead the race from the beginning - the german star with bib no 1 is wearing a green cap. With bib no 2 there is Nils Goerke (grey cap), Markus Fachbach has no 3 (red cap). In the women's field there is Mary Beth Ellis with bib no 60 - she's wearing a pink cap. Katja Rabe from Germany has a black cap (bib no 51). Nicole Leder (purple cap) has bib no 57.
12:59 AM One minute to go!
12:59 AM Eine knappe Minute noch bis zum Start des Ironman Regensburg!
1:01 AM Der Ironman Regensburg 2011 ist gestartet!
1:01 AM The Ironman Regensburg 2011 is on the way!
1:03 AM Bei den Männern übernimmt Markus Fachbach die Spitze, dahinter der Mann mit der Nummer 1: Andreas Raelert.
1:03 AM Markus Fachbach takes the lead - Andreas Raelert ist directly behind.
1:04 AM Mary Beth Ellis is in the lead of the women's race.
1:09 AM Fachbach sets the pace in the men's pace at the first turnaround buoy. Behind him there is Andreas Raelert. The two leaders are a few metres in front - and there is a group behind. In the women's race Mary Beth Ellis and 2010 runner-up Katja Rabe are together at the front.
1:10 AM Nach gut 700 Metern führt Markus Fachbach das Rennen weiterhin an, direkt hinter ihm ist Andreas Raelert, mit knappem Abstand folgt eine langgezogene Gruppe. Auch bei den Frauen liegt ein Duo vorne: Mary Beth und die Vorjahreszweite Katja Rabe machen das Tempo.
1:14 AM Die Männerspitze nähert sich der 1000-Meter-Marke. Markus Fachbach führt eine nun auf 6 Athleten angewachsene Spitzengruppe an - Andreas Raelert schließt die Gruppe ab. Rund 20 Meter danach führt Mary Beth Ellis eine Verfolgergruppe an.
1:15 AM Markus Fachbach leads still the men's race - at the 1000-metre-mark. He's leading a group of 6 swimmers, Andreas Raelert is at the end of the group. 20 metres behind there is a following group - lead by Mary Beth Ellis.
1:16 AM Neue Verfolgergruppe der Spitze: Auf dem Guggenberger See hat sich eine Schwanenfamilie aufgemacht, Markus Fachbach &Co. hinterher zu schwimmen.
Continue...

Viterra Ironman 70.3 Calgary

kevin — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 19:30:53 +0000

2:13 PM Professional Woman's Field

Danelle Kabush CAN
Lauren Harrison USA
Lisa Ribes USA
Jenny Fletcher USA
Tenille Hoogland USA
Sara Gross CAN
Mackenzie Madison USA
2:16 PM Professional Men's Field

Paul Attard AUS
Kieran Doe NZL - Will Not Start
Graham O'Grady NZL
Brian Fleischmann USA
Les Friesen CAN
Adam Jensen USA
Mathieu O'Halloran CAN
Anthony Toth CAN
Jeff Krar CAN
Paul Tichelaar CAN
Matt Shryock USA
Timothy O'Donnell USA
Monty Frankish AUS
Tom Evans CAN
James Hadley USA
Jordan Rapp USA
Trevor Wurtele CAN
Wolfgang Guembel CAN
Kyle Marcotte CAN
Bryan Rhodes NZL - Will Not Start

12:21 PM Doe Out

2010 Viterra Ironman 70.3 Kieran Doe is a late withdrawal from tomorrow’s race here in Calgary. The New Zealander came up ill, after his stellar third place performance at Ironman 70.3 Korea in early July. Unfortunately, Doe has not sufficiently recovered to be race shape for this weekend.
5:56 AM
5:56 AM Viterra Ironman 70.3 Calgary Preview

The busy Ironman 70.3 circuit resumes Sunday after a rare, one-week, mid-summer hiatus and heads north for the first of two Canadian stops. Viterra Ironman 70.3 Calgary will welcome 1,000 international athletes for the third year and will treat all of them to some good old-fashioned western-Canadian hospitality.

Read More: Click Here
5:56 AM
8:15 AM Welcome to the 2011 Viterra Ironman 70.3 Calgary, here Canada’s western province of Alberta. We are currently 5-minutes from the start of men and women’s professional races out at Ghost Lake.
8:19 AM The professional men and women race has started here at the 2011, Viterra Ironman 70.3 Calgary.
8:27 AM Weather

The weather at 6:00 a.m., Mountain Time in Calgary is seeing sunny skies, and the temperature is 15C/60F with light winds. The forecast for the remainder of the day is, sunny, some cloud, and winds out of the southwest at 20kph. Temperatures of 30C/86F are expected today, but with the early 6:10 a.m. start time, most competitors should be completed the race before the temperatures peak out in the mid-afternoon.
8:29 AM Swim Course
The single loop swim starts and finishes at the boat ramp located at the Ghost Reservoir (Provincial Park) – 45 km’s north west of Calgary. The course is point-to-point course and begins heading directly away from the boat ramp before turning left (north) under the Highway 1A bridge and into a sheltered arm of the reservoir. The swim will head north for approximately 850 meters before turning to the right for 25 meters then right again now heading south. Shortly after passing under the bridge the course turns right again heading back towards the boat ramp. The swim course exits the water on the left hand side of the boat ramp.
8:35 AM We should see Brian Fleischmann, who holds the course swim record, exit the water first again today. Tom Evans, from Penticton – home of the Subaru Ironman Canada – has the swim ability to stay with the Fleischmann, and we may see the pair working together to distance themselves from the field.
8:36 AM
8:42 AM Canadian, Tanille Hoogland, who holds the course record here, should hit the boat ramp first in the women’s race.
8:43 AM Swim Course Records

2010 – Brian Fleischmann– 23:08
2010 – Tanille Hoogland – 24:45
8:44 AM
10:07 AM Top 10 Men - Swim

00:24:27 16 O'Grady, Graham 29 HAMILTON WKO NZL
00:24:29 00:00:03 5 O'Donnell, Timothy 31 BOULDER CO USA
00:24:31 00:00:05 2 Fleischmann, Brian 33 COLORADO S CO USA
00:24:35 00:00:08 3 Evans, Tom 43 PENTICTON BC CAN
00:24:36 00:00:09 13 O'Halloran, Mathieu 25 VICTORIA BC CAN
00:26:36 00:02:09 9 Hadley, James 31 BOULDER CO USA
00:26:37 00:02:10 4 Tichelaar, Paul 29 SHERWOOD P AB CAN
00:26:42 00:02:15 10 Rapp, Jordan 31 THOUSAND O CA USA
00:28:13 00:03:47 7 Wurtele, Trevor 32 KELOWNA BC CAN
00:28:16 00:03:50 12 Attard, Paul 27 ELTHAM NOR VIC AUS
10:08 AM Top Pro Women

00:26:37 37 Hoogland, Tenille 33 AUSTIN TX USA
00:28:24 00:01:47 32 Gross, Sara 35 VICTORIA BC CAN
00:30:06 00:03:29 33 Fletcher, Jenny 36 SANTA MONI CA USA
00:32:17 00:05:40 34 Kabush, Danelle 36 CALGARY AB CAN
00:32:32 00:05:55 38 Madison, Mackenzie 25 EUGENE OR USA
00:35:16 00:08:39 36 Ribes, Lisa 33 TUCSON AZ USA
10:14 AM Bike Course Records (94 km’s)

2009 – Tim O’Donnell – 2:10:03
2009 - Mirinda Carfrae – 2:20:20
10:15 AM
10:28 AM
Continue...

Ironman UK

kevin — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 19:27:32 +0000

11:34 AM
11:34 AM
At the pasta party last night inside the grounds of the ReeBok Football stadium, The Premier Lounge was transformed into a starry-lit sky setting the stage for an evening of celebrating serviceman and women and the heroes taking part in IMUK tomorrow.
11:35 AM
11:40 AM
11:49 AM
11:52 AM “It’s definitely not an easy course, the bike is beautiful but it is not quick (the course record is a 4:57 by 2009 Champion Philip Graves) So enjoy it, you could be out there a while.” - Toby Radcliffe.
11:56 AM 2010 female champion Yvette Grice (UK) is back to defend her title. Standing in her way is 2006 IM World Champion runner up, Desiree Ficker and 2011 IM Austria Runner up Diana Riesler.
4:11 PM
4:14 PM We are less than 9hours away from race day. Before we say good night and sleep well, we leave you with one of the many inspiring stories to develop here at this week.
4:16 PM
4:17 PM Ironman, it’s the ultimate endurance race and the ultimate sporting family triathletes want to become a part of. Ironman provides people the dream, a goal, motivation, inspiration that they can, that anyone, CAN DO THIS. Joe Townsend WILL DO THIS.
4:17 PM Joe is a young lad from East Sussex, England. He is just 23 years old and a Royal Marines Commando who was injured in an IED blast in February 2008. Joe hopes to complete all 3 disciplines of IMUK solo and within the time limits.
4:18 PM This is what he has to say about the challenge he has taken on:

"When I was asked in conversation if I fancied doing a leg of the Ironman, I thought "Hey why not," but as the event started to get closer realization of what I had got myself into sunk in.

I started to up my training and push more and more miles and as my fitness improved so did my enthusiasm for the event. At this stage I was only down to do the bike and the run legs but the more I trained the more I fancied a crack at the whole thing.

I have never been a strong swimmer but I thought I would jump in the lake and give it ago. The first session went ok and I didn't drown (which was a bonus) so I thought "sod it, if I am doing the other 138 miles what's an extra 2.4 going to hurt!"

With some swim coaching and a lot of practice in the lake and on the bike I am now starting to feel confident about completing the task ahead.

These past months have been hard going and the training seems to have taken over my life, though I am thriving off the focus and drive to conquer the event and become an IRONMAN!
4:20 PM Joe’s teamates in Team True Spirit are fellow servicemen who have suffered from severe multiple spinal and limb fractures to amputations of one, two or even three limbs. We will be watching out and following them tomorrow, there numbers are:

#1258 Joe Townsend
#1259 Kingsley Ward
#1261 Craig Preece
#1262 Mark Allen
#1263 Cliff O’Farrel
#1266 David Hill
#1268 Mike Goody
#1271 Mark Allen
#1292 Russ Clamp
#1293 Steve Caton
#1294 Ryan Hewitt
12:29 AM
12:29 AM Good Morning Bolton!

It’s 5:30am and the athletes are finishing their final prep before entering the water at Pennington Flash for the start of the 3rd IMUK.

We are potentially looking at a scorcher (in English terms) here today in lovely Lancashire. Currently there is not even a breeze in the air and the forecast is a sunny high of 20degrees.

There is total of 1269 athletes of whom 1039 are British men and women embarking on their ironman journey this morning.
12:30 AM There are a number of first timers taking on the ironman challenge here in Bolton today. The course here in Bolton presents a stern enough challenge to the seasoned triathlete, for those entering into uncharted waters in search of their first taste of IM glory give yourself a pat on the back. The hard work has been done and now is where the fun begins.
12:32 AM
12:32 AM Is the course here in the UK the hardest IM course in the world? Philip Graves, 2009 Champion holds the course record at 4:57. No one else has ever dipped under the 5hour mark here. Will a new course record be made today, the conditions look good, but the winds across the open countryside could prove torturous.
12:35 AM
Continue...

Frankfurter Sparkasse Ironman European Championship

kevin — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 12:22:02 +0000

8:28 AM Welcome to the Frankfurter Sparkasse Ironman European Championship! As we get ready to celebrate the 10th year of this iconic event, we're looking forward to yet another exciting day of racing. Stay with us this weekend for lots of great coverage that will include text updates by myself, Kevin Mackinnon, and Volker Boch, photos courtesy of FinisherPix, live athlete tracking and video coverage, too. Thanks for joining us!
8:32 AM Steffen comes in as the women's favorite:
The 10th running of the Frankfurter Sparkasse Ironman European Championship promises to be, as usual, another great race. It's hard to say which field is more competitive - both the men's and women's races here promise to be interesting. (Photo: Caroline Steffen wins Ironman Australia.)

Certainly the women’s favorite here in Frankfurt has to be Switzerland’s Caroline Steffen, who finished second here, followed that up with a runner-up finish in Kona, and then won Ironman Australia in May.

“I had two problems last year – my nutrition and I got a bit lazy towards the end of the bike,” Steffen said at yesterday’s press conference. “I’m feeling better on the bike this year, though, I can push the whole 180 km, not just 140 or 150.”

Last year Steffen competed in 14 races and already has five under her belt this year, and the experience has helped a lot, she says.

“Now I feel more confident,” she says, which can’t be good news for her competition. “I know what I have to do. I have more experience, I have more kilometers in my legs. I get to the start line and know exactly what I have to do. Last year I was never nervous about my form, I was nervous about what could happen.”

Originally from: ironman.com
8:36 AM
8:43 AM
8:45 AM
8:45 AM
8:46 AM
8:57 AM Die Hawaii-Zweite ist Favoritin: Caroline Steffen will in Frankfurt gewinnen

Das Feld der Frauen steht dem der Männer bei der 10. Auflage der Frankfurter Sparkasse Ironman European Championship in nichts nach. „Es ist das bestbesetzte Rennen nach Hawaii“, sagt Renndirektor Kai Walter – und allein zwei Namen unterstreichen diese Aussage: Caroline Steffen und Yvonne van Vlerken.

Die Schweizerin Steffen war in Frankfurt im Vorjahr nicht nur Zweite und Zweitplatzierte auf Hawaii, sie ist vor allem als Athletin deutlich gereift. „Ich bin selbstbewusster, und ich habe mehr Erfahrung“, sagt die 32-Jährige, die im Vorjahr bei Kilometer 35 des Marathons von Sandra Wallenhorst noch abgefangen wurde. Steffen führte das Rennen in Frankfurt 2010 lange an, doch ihr fehlte in diesem Rennen noch etwas die Erfahrenheit eines großen Champions. Die Ernährung stimmte damals nicht perfekt, auch die Einteilung auf der Radstrecke war nicht optimal.

Titelverteidigerin Wallenhorst ist nicht am Start

In diesem Jahr fehlt Titelverteidigerin Wallenhorst, Caroline Steffen ist nicht nur deshalb die klare Topfavoritin. Im vergangenen Jahr spulte sie 14 Rennen ab und hat auch in dieser Saison bereits fünf Wettkämpfe absolviert. Sie ist stark im Wasser, herausragend auf dem Rad und stabil beim Laufen. Steffen feierte zudem in dieser Saison „endlich“ ihren ersten Sieg auf der Ironman-Distanz: Sie gewann den Ironman Australia.

Gefahr droht der Schweizerin vor allem durch die Niederländerin Yvonne van Vlerken, die in Frankfurt eines ihrer traditionell starken Rennen abrufen will. Auf dem Rad ist van Vlerken stark, aber die Frage lautet, wie groß ihr Rückstand auf die ehemalige Ausnahmeschwimmerin Steffen nach der ersten Disziplin sein wird? Gleiches gilt auch für Sonja Tajsich, die im vergangenen Jahr ihr Heimrennen, die Premiere des Ironman Regensburg, mit einer dominanten Leistung gewonnen hat. Auch in Frankfurt tritt die schwächere Schwimmerin Tajsich wieder zu einem Heimrennen an, nur dieses Mal ist die Konkurrenz deutlich stärker.

Ein harter Kampf ums Podium

Van Vlerken als Frankfurter Vorjahresdritte und Hawaii-Zweite 2008, die Zweite der Ironman-Weltmeisterschaft 2006, Desiree Ficker aus den USA, sowie die Spanierin Virginia Berasategui kämpfen mit Favoritin Steffen um die Podestplätze am Main. Gerade Berasategui hat bereits so häufig im Ironman ihren unerbittlichen Kampfeswillen gezeigt. Dank ihrer mentalen Härte wurde die kleine und stets fröhliche Spanierin 2009 Dritte und im Vorjahr Vierte auf Hawaii.

Das Frauen-Rennen ist auch in der Breite topbesetzt, denn nicht nur in den deutschen Publikumslieblingen Nicole Leder und Meike Krebs treten starke Athletinnen an. Es kommen in der Neuseeländerin Samantha Warriner, Lucie Zelenkova aus Tschechien und Dede Griesbauer aus den USA weitere schnelle Akteurinnen dazu. Die 10. Auflage der Frankfurter Sparkasse Ironman European Championship ist topbesetzt, es wird spannend…

Hier ist die Startliste der Profi-Frauen mit Startnummer:
51 Steffen, Caroline SUI (Switzerland)
52 Van Vlerken, Yvonne NED (Netherlands)
53 Tajsich, Sonja GER (Germany)
55 Krebs, Meike GER (Germany)
56 Leder, Nicole GER (Germany)
57 Balding, Amanda AUS (Australia)
58 Bij de Vaate, Heleen NED (Netherlands)
60 Dietrich, Susan GER (Germany)
61 Felt, Silvia GER (Germany)
62 Keller, Fernanda BRA (Brazil)
63 Kubota, Saki JPN (Japan)
66 Weerd, Mirjam NED (Netherlands)
68 Zelenkova, Lucie CZE (Czech Republic)
69 Benz, Simone SUI (Switzerland)
70 Bregar, Olja SLO (Slovenia)
71 Bromme, Uli GER (Germany)
72 Ficker, Desiree USA (United States)
73 Griesbauer, Dede USA (United States)
74 Möller, Kristin GER (Germany)
75 Warriner, Samantha NZL (New Zealand)
76 Riesler, Diana GER (Germany)
9:00 AM Der Star muss passen: Michael Raelert fehlt in Frankfurt verletzt

Die Frankfurter Sparkasse Ironman European Championship sollte zum Gala-Auftritt für Michael Raelert werden. Doch vier Tage vor dem Ironman in Frankfurt musste der 30-Jährige seinen Start aus gesundheitlichen Gründen absagen müssen. Aus dem Debüt auf der Langstrecke, auf das Michael Raelert lange hingearbeitet hatte, wird nichts. Eine Muskelverletzung – Experten sprechen von einer Beckenverwringung – macht seinen Start unmöglich.
Raelert reiste zur Abschluss-Pressekonferenz eigens aus Rostock an, um vor Ort seine Absage zu begründen: „Ich bin nicht hierher gekommen, um Platz zehn zu machen“, sagte der Doppel-Weltmeister auf der Ironman-70.3-Distanz bezogen auf seine eigentlichen Ambitionen in Frankfurt. „Ich wollte das Rennen gewinnen.“
Unter Tränen musste Raelert in Frankfurt seinen Rückzug vom Rennen erklären. Der betreuende Arzt und sein Bruder Andreas als Coach hatten ihm dringend von einer Teilnahme abgeraten: Ein Start wäre für den weiteren Verlauf seiner Karriere zu gefährlich geworden.
Michael Raelert hatte am Wochenende ein Testrennen über die Kurzdistanz in Schwerin souverän dominiert. Doch dabei brach eine Verletzung wieder auf. Er hofft, dass ihn die Verletzung nicht länger zurückwirft und er sein großes Ziel, die Ironman-Weltmeisterschaft im Oktober auf Hawaii, nicht aus den Augen verliert. Immerhin hat Sponsor K-Swiss den Raelert-Brüdern vor einigen eine Prämie von 1 Million Dollar in Aussicht gestellt, wenn sie in Kona Rang eins und zwei belegen.
9:12 AM Rennvorschau der Männer: Mehr als ein Dutzend Favoriten
Die Absage des großen Favoriten macht die 10. Auflage des Frankfurter Sparkasse Ironman European Championship noch spannender. Michael Raelert, der Doppelweltmeister auf der Ironman-70.3-Distanz fehlt – und dadurch ist das Rennen schwerer einzuschätzen als je zuvor. Auf dem Papier gibt es mehr als ein Dutzend Athleten, die den traditionsreichen Wettkampf am Main für sich entscheiden können. Unter den mehr als 2300 Athleten gibt es einige prominente und herausragende Namen.

Faris Al-Sultan hat die Startnummer 1
Weil Vorjahressieger Andreas Raelert fehlt, trägt Faris Al-Sultan in Frankfurt die Startnummer 1. Der Gewinner des Ironman Hawaii 2005 hat nicht nur mit seinem Sieg beim Ironman Regensburg im vergangenen Jahr gezeigt, dass er nach wie vor zur engen Weltklasse gehört. Rang zehn bei der Ironman-Weltmeisterschaft in Kona bestätigte im vergangenen Oktober seine gute Form, in dieser Saison ist er mit drei Siegen auf der Kurzdistanz sowie unter anderem mit Rang fünf beim Ironman 70.3 Singapur gestartet. Al-Sultan hat mit dem Ironman in Frankfurt noch eine Rechnung offen: Seine bisherigen Starts verliefen mit zwei sechsten Plätzen (2007, 2009) nicht nach Wunsch.
Gerade für das begeisterte Frankfurter Publikum dürfte Al-Sultans erfrischend offensive Art, Rennen zu bestreiten, genau das Richtige nach der Absage von Michael Raelert sein. Neben Al-Sultan ist unter anderem der starke Schwimmer Jan Raphael im Feld, der seinen fünften Rang aus dem Vorjahr bei seiner fünften Teilnahme in Frankfurt verbessern möchte. Raphael bringt vor allem seinen vierten Platz beim Ironman Texas als Empfehlung mit.
Beim Schwimmen dürfte auch der Australier Luke McKenzie eine bedeutende Rolle spielen – nach seinen Siegen mit Kursrekord bei den Ironman-Rennen in Brasilien und China im Vorjahr hat er in dieser Saison noch kein großes Ergebnis gezeigt – Rang 13 beim Ironman Texas war nicht gerade das, was McKenzie zeigen kann. Nebenbei: Der Australier wird zwei Tage nach dem Wettkampf in Frankfurt 30 Jahre alt und möchte sich zuvor selbst beschenken.
Doch es gibt noch genügend Akteure im 39 Athleten starken Profifeld der Männer, die das Rennen schnell und eng machen werden. Der Brite Paul Amey hat zwar den Ironman Nizza in den Beinen und bereits drei Ironman 70.3-Rennen, zeigte aber zuletzt bei den 5150-Rennen in Klagenfurt und Zürich, dass er sich rechtzeitig vor Frankfurt erholt. Der dreimalige Duathlon-Weltmeister ist ebenso wie der Neuseeländer Cameron Brown ein exzellenter Läufer.
Cameron Brown will seinen zweiten Sieg in Frankfurt
In den vergangenen Tagen hat Brown in seinem südhessischen Trainingsdomizil Darmstadt zwar vor allem kühle und regnerische Tage erlebt, aber der Rekordsieger des Ironman Neuseeland ist dennoch in Form für seinen zweiten Sieg nach 2006. Der Vorjahresvierte und dreimalige Zweite des Ironman in Frankfurt gewann sein Testrennen, den Ironman 70.3 Korea. Auf seinen zehnten Sieg beim Ironman Neuseeland im März möchte der 39-Jährige am Mai den dritten Saisonerfolg folgen lassen.
Die Laufmaschine Brown dürfte auf der Marathonstrecke längst nicht der einzige Athlet sein, der mit einer starken Zeit auf sich aufmerksam macht. Unter anderem Patrick Vernay ist da zu nennen, natürlich auch dessen französischer Landsmann Sylvain Sudrie, amtierender Langdistanz-Weltmeister und im Mai Dritter des Ironman 70.3 Mallorca hinter Sieger Andreas Raelert.
Ein deutscher Mitfavorit namens Michael Göhner
Ein weiterer Topathlet vertritt bei der Ironman-Europameisterschaft die deutschen Farben. Michael Göhner aus Reutlingen wurde zuletzt Sechster beim Ironman 70.3 in St. Pölten und Vierter beim Ironman 70.3 auf Mallorca – und auf ihm ruhen viele Hoffnungen. Der 31-Jährige war 2007 Zweiter in Frankfurt – und wenn alles nach Plan läuft, will er dieses Mal den Sprung ganz nach vorn schaffen.

1 Al-Sultan, Faris GER (Germany)
2 Brown, Cameron NZL (New Zealand)
3 Göhner, Michael GER (Germany)
4 Vernay,Patrick FRA (France)
5 Widmann, Uwe GER (Germany)
6 Raphael, Jan GER (Germany)
7 Vytrisal, Frank GER (Germany)
8 Jammaer, Bert BEL (Belgium)
9 McKenzie, Luke AUS (Australia)
10 Vuckovic, Stephan GER (Germany)
11 Amey, Paul GBR (Great Britain)
13 Billeau, Simon FRA (France)
14 Castillo, Andres COL (Colombia)
16 Delsaut, Trevor FRA (France)
17 Elgezabal, Mikel ESP (Spain)
18 Felbabel, Erich HKG (Hong Kong)
19 Kuwabara, Hirotsugu JPN (Japan)
22 Lyatskiy, Andrey RUS (Russia)
23 Schifferle, Mike SUI (Switzerland)
25 Snilstveit, GudmundNOR (Norway)
26 Tejero, Ivan ESP (Spain)
27 Twigg, Craig GBR (Great Britain)
28 Wetzel, Michael GER (Germany)
29 Wijnalda, Dirk NED (Netherlands)
30 Raelert, Michael GER (Germany)
31 Hellriegel, Thomas GER (Germany)
32 Bittner, Per GER (Germany)
34 Gomes, Pedro POR (Portugal)
35 Hages, Marc-Andre GER (Germany)
36 Hotchkiss, Jonathan GBR (Great Britain)
37 Kovac, Matjaz SLO (Slovenia)
38 Lemmettylä ,Teemu FIN (Finland)
39 Nemcik, Marek SVK (Slovakia)
40 Potrebitsch, George GER (Germany)
41 Reichel, Horst GER (Germany)
43 Sudrie, Sylvain FRA (France)
44 Suganuma, Shinya JPN (Japan)
46 Göhler, René GER (Germany)
47 Riesen, Stefan SUI (Switzerland)
49 Marques, Sergio POR (Portugal)

1:13 PM Men's Preview:
With the withdrawal of Michael Raelert earlier this week, things have become very interesting when it comes to trying to preview the men's race here at the Frankfurter Sparkasse Ironman European Championship. Traditionally this race has been dominated by Germans - only Cameron Brown (pictured) and Chris McCormack have taken the title and not called Germany home - but this year's race certainly seems wide open for another athlete from down-under to get another win.
While Faris Al-Sultan will be wearing race number 1 on Sunday, he was straight about his current level of fitness heading into Sunday’s race:

“I’m feeling mediocre,” says the 2005 Ford Ironman World champion. “Not super great, not bad. My season has been medium – some good races, some not-so-good races, so I’m in the middle of everything so I’m hoping for a good day.”

Don’t completely count Al-Sultan out, though. He’s changed a few things in his schedule around this year – he’s done more races, this will be his first Ironman of the year and he’s obviously not putting a lot of pressure on himself, which could be a deadly combination.

As is always the case here in Frankfurt, the list of contenders is huge. 2000 Olympic silver medalist Stephan Vuckovic put it perfectly earlier today – there are 15 men who are legitimately vying for the top five positions.

Amongst them is a man who has won here in the past, Cameron Brown. Earlier this year Brown won his 10th Ironman New Zealand title, making him the only person to has managed to win the same Ironman 10 times. He looks really fit and could very well enjoy the way this race is likely to develop. There’s a strong group of swimmers who are likely to exit the water in front and, if he can be among that group, Brown could very well find himself in a group of men leading the way on the bike who will duke things out during the marathon – a race situation that would suit Brown perfectly.

The other man from down under who should be considered a contender here in Frankfurt is Luke McKenzie, who has won virtually all of his five Ironman titles by leading almost from the start. McKenzie will be quite happy for this race to follow a more typical German race plan – blast through the bike and then use a solid run to take the win.

Before I get to the many German contenders, there are a few more men with some impressive credentials gearing up for tomorrow’s race, too. Patrick Vernay, from New Caledonia, has eight Ironman titles to his credit and is another man we’ll be keeping an eye on, as is Belgium’s Bert Jammaer, who is a two-time winner of Ironman Lanzarote. Paul Amey is coming off a fourth place finish in France last month, a race he was using as a build up for this one.

One thing that we’ve seen here in Frankfurt in the past, though, is that the German men arrive here in Frankfurt extremely motivated. Which means that along with Al-Sultan, there will be a group of very determined men who will be after this prestigious title. A sentimental favorite is former Ironman world champion Thomas Hellriegel, but it’s hard to imagine he’ll be able to run with some of the folks in this field. Michael Göhner has finished as high as second in this race, so he’s no stranger to success on this course. Uwe Widmann has finished as high as fourth here in the past and always seems to be in the mix starting the run. Jan Raphael won Ironman Florida in his Ironman debut, but hasn’t been able to win an Ironman since. He was fifth here last year. Then there’s the Olympic silver medalist, Vuckovic, who has been training hard and focusing on this event all year. In addition to a bunch of runner-up and third place finishes on his resume, Vuckovic won Ironman Florida in 2007 and, like Brown, would be thrilled for this race to become a battle during the marathon.

Originally from: ironman.com
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12:30 AM Good morning from Frankfurt! We're now about 20 minutes away from the start of the pros here at the Frankfurter Sparkasse Ironman European Championship. Right now the weather is cool - 11 degrees (51 F), but there's no wind at this point. The temperature is supposed to get up to 15 degrees (59 F) with some light rain later today. Tonight things will cool down again - 12 degrees C (53 Fahrenheit.)
12:34 AM Guten Morgen aus Frankfurt!
Der Start der 10. Frankfurter Sparkasse Ironman European Championship steht kurz bevor. Um 6.45 Uhr wird sich das Profi-Starterfeld gemeinsam mit den besten Altersklassen-Athleten auf den Weg machen, um 7 Uhr folgt das große restliche Feld. Insgesamt gehen mehr als 2300 Athleten ins Wasser.
Es wird ein langer Tag: 3,8 Kilometer Schwimmen, 180 Kilometer Radfahren und 42,2 Kilometer Laufen. Und die Wettervoraussage ist nicht schlecht für schnelle Zeiten, falls es nicht regnet. Im Moment sind es am Frankfurter Römer, dort wo der rote Teppich für den Zieleinlauf bereits ausgerollt ist, 11 Grad. Es ist windstill - für den heutigen Tag sind 14 bis 15 Grad prognostiziert und kaum Wind. Erst zum Abend hin sind leichte Schauer möglich.
12:38 AM This morning's swim promises to be very interesting - many of the top men will be happy if they can beat Lucie Zelenkova out of the water. Sylvain Sudrie is likely to be our men's swim leader. He's the reigning ITU long distance champion and could very well lead off the bike today, too. Some of the other men who are likely to be in the lead group include: Faris Al Sultan, Cameron Brown, Jan Raphael, Bert Jammaer, Luke McKenzie and Stephan Vukovic.
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Ford Ironman Lake Placid

kevin — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:09:35 +0000

8:13 AM Welcome to Ford Ironman Lake Placid. Heading into the 13th year of the oldest Ironman on the mainland United States, we're looking forward to an exciting day of racing.
5:29 PM It was another hot and humid day in Lake Placid (mid to high 80’s most of the day) but that did not sap the energy of the athletes in town. The Ironman buzz is in the air and the presence is unmistakable.
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Ironman 70.3 Vineman

kevin — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 21:14:29 +0000

12:41 AM Athlete tracking from the swim may be delayed due to the lack of cell or internet coverage at the exit; the times will be populated once the timers have connectivity.
1:14 AM Well, the expo and packet pick up are over. Hopefully all the athletes are sleeping. Meanwhile the work crew and staff at Vineman are wrapping up everything from the day and finalizing everything for what we hope to be a very memorable race tomorrow.
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1:27 AM We'll see you all bright and early tomorrow morning from Johnson's Beach, the swim start. It's in a relatively remote area so hopefully we will have coverage! The weather report for tomorrow is partly cloudy with a high of 77 in Windsor. Could we see some course records broken tomorrow?
6:57 AM Good Morning! Just about to head out to the swim start in Guerneville. It looks like the marine layer moved in overnight so the athletes in at least the early waves could have a cool morning.
6:58 AM Race start time is 6:30 where we will see the pro men begin. The pro women will start 2 minutes later.
11:54 AM Okay folks. Sorry for the lack of coverage from the swim this morning. The internet was down.
11:54 AM So latest word from the course is that Chris Lieto has just taken the lead fromPaul Matthews. This happened at mile 48
11:55 AM He holds a 16 lead. Then it's another 1:30 to Matt Lieto
11:56 AM Potts is another 10 seconds back from there
11:56 AM Another 40 seconds back is
11:57 AM Joe Gambles, followed by O'Grady,Leto,Reed and O'Donnell
11:59 AM Last we heard in the women's race (at mile 28) Leanda Cave had a 3 minute lead over Tenille Hoogland. Another minute back was Meredith Kessler
12:00 PM Followed by Melissa Rollison at 5 min, Challis at 6 min and Carfrae at 8 minutes. Rinny will have her work cut out for her on the run.
12:02 PM Chris Lieto is out on the run followed close behind by Paul matthews.
12:02 PM Potts and Matt Lieto just into T2
12:03 PM potts hot on matt's heels as they exit T2
12:03 PM gambles,reed and Odonnell into t2.
12:04 PM They are 3:45 down on the lead
12:04 PM OGrady,Leto,Reed,O'Donnell and Gambles all leaving T2 together.
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Ironman Zurich Switzerland

kevin — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 18:03:35 +0000

9:08 AM Die Bühne für den Ironman Switzerland ist eröffnet: McCormack wird Dritter im Zürich-Triathlon

Im Wohnzimmer von Ronnie Schildknecht scheint die Sonne auch für Chris McCormack. Am Tag vor dem Ironman Switzerland powered by EWZ läuft der australische Ironman-Weltmeister als Dritter des Zürich-Triathlons, des Schweizer Toprennens der 5150-Serie, ins Ziel.

McCormack lächelt auf der Zielgerade, winkt ins Publikum und freut sich über einen weiteren Schritt in Richtung Olympische Spiele 2012 in London. „In Kitzbühel war ich noch zu platt“, sagt er im Rückblick auf seinen Start beim österreichischen Weltcuprennen vor drei Wochen, „heute lief es schon wesentlich besser.“ Trotz einer Penalty-Strafe beim Radfahren, die den Australier eine gute halbe Minute kostet, holt er beim Laufen einen respektablen Rückstand auf und fängt die Schweizer Favoritengruppe mit Sven Rieder und Ruedi Wild sowie den drei starken Salvisberg-Brüdern Florin, Lukas und Andrea noch ab. McCormack spurtet nach dem jungen Schotten Ritchi Nicholls und dem auf dem Rad enteilten Australier Joshua Amberger ins Ziel. In 1:48:33 Stunden fehlen dem zweifachen Ironman-Weltmeister auf Sieger Nicholls 73 Sekunden. Die lange verletzteSchweizerin Nicola Spirig gewinnt das Rennen der Frauen locker in 2:02:17 Stunden.

Tipps für und vom Altmeister
Am Nachmittag tauschen sich McCormack und Schildknecht auf der Landiwiese vor dem Zürichsee noch ein letztes Mal bei einem kurzen Talk aus. McCormack erzählte von seinem Missgeschick auf der Radstrecke, als er eine Abfahrt in Aerolenker-Position nahm, an der dies aus Sicherheitsgründen verboten ist. „Ich habe das vorher nicht mitbekommen“, sagt McCormack – hätte er vor seinem Start doch mal besser bei Schildknecht nachgefragt.
Schildknecht, der viermalige Sieger des Ironman Switzerland, kennt die Radstrecke wie kein Zweiter im Feld des 15. Ironman in Zürich. Es ist sein Heimrennen, im vergangenen Jahr gewann Schildknecht mit mehr als 16 Minuten Vorsprung vor dem Deutschen Swen Sundberg. Auch diesmal geht der 31-jährige als Favorit in den Wettkampf. „Eins steht fest“, erklärt Schildknecht vielsagend, „als Zweiter ist man schon der erste Verlierer.“

Matthias Hecht fordert Schildknecht heraus
Sein Schweizer Herausforderer Matthias Hecht sagt: „Jeder möchte hier Ronnie angreifen.“ Hecht hat bereits einen Sieg in diesem Jahr erreicht, er gewann den Ironman St. George – zudem wurde er Dritter beim Ironman Neuseeland. Nachteil: Hecht geht bereits sein drittes Langstreckenrennen seit diesem Frühjahr an.
Schildknecht startet dagegen frisch in den Ironman Switzerland. Er hat sich mit drei Starts auf der Ironman-70.3-Distanz die nötige Wettkampfhärte erarbeitet, die ihn dieses Mal zum Streckenrekord bringen soll. Im Vorjahr benötigte Schildknecht 8:12:40 Stunden und blieb damit 13 Sekunden über der Rekordmarke von Olivier Bernhard aus dem Jahr 2000. Athleten, die Schildknecht auf der Strecke treiben werden, sind unter anderem der Schweizer 2006-Sieger Stefan Riesen und der Vorjahresdritte Mike Aigroz sowie der Franzose Cyril Viennot.

Das Frauen-Rennen: Thürig gegen Csomor
Bei den Frauen geht es um nicht weniger als den Streckenrekord und eine Zeit unter 9 Stunden. Im Vorjahr blieb Karin Thürig in 9:00:04 Stunden nur knapp über der magischen Marke – dieses Mal könnte das Rennen noch schneller werden als bei Thürigs Rekordritt 2010. Als härteste Gegnerin hat die Hawaii-Sechste die Ungarin Erika Csomor gegen sich. Csomor ist eine der stärksten Läuferinnen im Ironman-Zirkus und will Thürigs dritten Sieg nach 2005 und 2010 verhindern. Wie Csomor ist auch die US-Amerikanerin Amy Marsh hoch einzuschätzen. Doch Thürig ist extrem motiviert, nicht nur, weil - wie immer - ihre Radstärke außergewöhnlich ist. Die zweimalige Olympiadritte im Straßen-Zeitfahren bestreitet in Zürich ihr letztes großes Rennen vor heimischem Publikum – sie beendet 2011 ihre lange Karriere. „Ich möchte einen richtig erfolgreichen Schlusspunkt setzen“, blickt die 38-Jährige voraus.

Am Sonntag starten 2000 Athleten zur 15. Auflage des Ironman Switzerland – verfolgen Sie unsere Live-Berichterstattung bei ironmanlive.com.
9:15 AM McCormack opens the stage: Welcome to Ironman Switzerland

It’s history time in Zurich. On Sunday the 15th edition of the Ironman Zurich Switzerland, powered by EWZ, will be held – with the two swiss made Favourites Karin Thürig and Ronnie Schildknecht. Schildknecht already has won the race in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 – he is the man to beat on Sunday.

If Schildknecht wins for the fith time he would be on top of the list with Swiss Ironman legend Olivier Bernhard who has won five times in Zurich. “I am looking forward to the race and will be giving it my best shot”, Schildknecht said before the race. “We will see if I could be as good as last year. One thing is clear, though, becoming second means being the first loser”, the 31-year-old joked. Last year´s second placed german athlete Swen Sundberg was more than 16 minutes behind.

In 2010 Schildknecht missed the race record of Olivier Bernhard after 8:12:40 only by 13 seconds. One of his challengers on Sunday will be Matthias Hecht, who has already won Ironman St. George this season. Swissman Hecht was third at Ironman New Zealand and feels fresh enough to push again.

The women’s field should be dominated by two athletes: Karin Thürig and Erika Csomor. Thürig has won last year’s race in a new record 9:00:04 – and now she is ready to break the 9-hours-mark. The extraordinary talented bike rider is highly motivated for this race: It will be her last big race in Switzerland. The 38-year old Thürig will conclude her great career at the end of this season. Especially the marathon could be interesting: Comes it all down to a battle between Thürig and Csomor in the run?

The warm-up-program in Zurich was excellent: On Saturday afternoon Australia’s two time Ironman world champion Chris McCormack managed to finish in third place in the 5150-Event (1,5 km swim, 40 km bike, 10 km run). In the transition zone after the swim, McCormack lost important seconds and worked hard on the bike to catch up with the group including all favorites like Ruedi Wild and Sven Riederer. McCormack got a penalty and lost another 30 seconds – but he had a great run. Behind the young flying Scotsman Ritchi Nicholls (winner in 1:47:20) and Joshua Amberger from Australia (1:48:04) he finished third in 1:48:33 and held off his world cup rivals from Switzerland. The women’s race was easily dominated by Swiss Star Nicola Spirig – she won the 5150-Event in 2:02:17. It was a pretty good warm-up for the 15th edition of Ironman Switzerland.

On July 10th 2011 over 2000 athletes will be taking part in the Ironman Zurich Switzerland. Just follow our live coverage of Sunday’s race, including text updates, photos and live athlete tracking of Ironman Zurich Switzerland here on Ironman.com.
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12:48 AM Guten Morgen aus Zürich,
gut zehn Minuten noch bis zum Start. Nach einem heftigen Regen in der Nacht ist der Morgen frisch, aber er verspricht einen tollen Renntag beim 15. Ironman Switzerland, powered by ewz. Mehr als 2000 Athleten warten auf den Start - die Spannung steigt.
12:52 AM Good morning everybody from Zurich! We are waiting for the start - 10 minutes to go. There was a lot of rain last night - but now everything looks fine. 2000 athletes are ready for the 15th edition of Ironman Switzerland
12:55 AM 6.55 Uhr, Landiwiese Zürich: Der Profi-Start ist in diesem Moment erfolgt. Ronnie Schildknecht, der Lokalmatador vom Zürisee mit der Startnummer 1, ist auf der Jagd nach seinem fünften Sieg in Serie. In 5 Minuten startet das große Feld der Altersklassen-Athleten.
12:56 AM 6.55, Zurich, Landiwiese: The field of the pros is on the way! In 5 minutes there will be the start of the agegroupers.
1:00 AM 7.00 Uhr: Der Start ist erfolgt! 2000 Athleten sind unterwegs!
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1:35 AM Die ersten Zwischenzeiten des Profirennens: Beim Schwimmen macht Mathias Hecht das Tempo - wie kaum anders zu erwarten. Seine Zeit für die ersten 2 Kilometer: 24:34 Minuten. Gemeinsam mit Daniel Fontana und Clemente Alonso bildet er eine Dreierspitze.. Mit 20 Sekunden Abstand dahinter: Mike Aigroz und Ronnie Schildknecht
1:37 AM After 2 k of the swim Mathias Hecht is leading: 24:34 minutes. He's leading a small group of three athletes - with Daniel Fontana and Clemente Alonso. Ronnie Schildknecht is 20 seconds behind
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1:48 AM Die ersten Pros kommt aus dem Wasser: Clemente Alonso aus Spanien vor Mathias Hecht und Daniel Fontana. Und Hecht hat's eilig: Er fliegt durch den Wechsel und will als Erster aufs Rad
1:49 AM Third out of water - first on the bike: Mathias Hecht is leading the race after the swim. Clemente Alonso from spain finished the swim in first position, followed by Hecht and Daniel Fontana. Fastest man in the transition zone was Hecht.
1:50 AM Rückstand für Ronnie Schildknecht und Mike Aigroz beim Wechsel: 2:10 Minuten
1:50 AM Ronnie Schildknecht and Mike Aigroz are 2:10 behind the leader
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2:00 AM Die Top-Frauen sind aus dem Wasser - Karin Thürig hat als Titelverteidigerin sieben Minuten Rückstand auf die schnellste Schwimmerin: Anja Ippach aus Deutschland, die zusammen mit der US-Amerikanerin Amy Marsh an der Spitze liegt
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Ironman Korea

kevin — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:57:25 +0000

5:35 PM Welcome to Ironman Korea, Jeju and Ironman 70.3 Korea. We will have live updates, pictures and timing starting tomorrow morning Sunday 3rd July. Race starts at 07:00 and our live coverage shall begin at 06:30.
1:52 AM Yesterday at the Press Conference the day turned into a scorcher and was a stern reminder to athletes and everyone on the island of heat and humidity that athletes could be contesting (along with the hills) in tomorrows race.

In the elite line up there are returning pro’s and some first timers ready to take on Sundays challenge, we had a sampling of the pro’s and their thoughts at the Friday mornings press conference.
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5:29 PM Good morning from Jeju. We are 30minutes away from the Start of IM Korea 2011 and the weather is looking set for a great day of racing.

At this time we regret to inform you that live timing will not be available at throughout today’s race.
5:29 PM We will however be posting splits and as much information as possible from the course to keep you updates throughout the day.
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5:46 PM We are 15minutes away from the start and we have a Korean aerobics instructor leading a warm up on the beach - quite a sight to see hundreds of wet suited athletes doing aerobics prior to an Ironman!
5:52 PM We are 10minutes away from the swim start and all is looking good for a full IM today.
5:54 PM If conditions worsen then athletes may be stopped after one loop of the swim. But so far we are all systems GO!
5:59 PM I's a mass swim start today and were are one minute away from the start.
6:01 PM IM Korea is officially under way the athletes are in the water.
6:05 PM Once again we apologize for the absence of Live Timing today. We will be giving as much text updates throughout the day as possible.
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Karnten Ironman Austria

kevin — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:42:33 +0000

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12:15 AM Good morning from sunny Klagenfurt ... sunny but cold Klagenfurt. It's coming up on 6:15 AM here at the race site - we are set up at the finish line, which is quite close to the swim start. The temperature right now is 7 degrees Celsius (45 Fahrenheit) It's supposed to get up to 23 C (74 F) as a high today, and tonight it will cool down to 12 C (54 F). They're not calling for much in the way of wind today (only up to 8 kph, or 5 mph), which bodes really well for fast times.
12:25 AM They're getting things rolling at the start line - race announcers Paul Kaye and Claudio Schuetz are getting things fired up over at the Strandbad. I have one change in the field that they're not aware of - Balazs Csoke won't be starting here in Austria this morning as he is leading the race in Korea right now!
12:34 AM So langsam kommt hier alles ins Laufen an der Startlinie in Klagenfurt- die Kommentatoren Paul Kaye und Claudio Schuetz sind im Strandbad schon voll im Einsatz. Eine neue Ankündigung, die den Kommentatoren noch nicht bekannt ist: Balazs Csoke ist hier in Klagenfurt nicht am Start, da er zur Zeit das Rennen in Korea anführt!
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Ford Ironman Coeur dAlene

kevin — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 07:10:54 +0000

7:12 PM Ironman Coeur d’Alene Fast Facts

Total Participants: 2806
Total Women: 743 – 26.4%
Total Men: 2059 – 73.4%

First-Time Ironman: 933

Breakdown by Division

18-24 25 0.9%
F25-29 89 3.2%
F30-34 125 4.5%
F35-39 146 5.2%
F40-44 141 5.0%
F45-49 117 4.2%
F50-54 55 2.0%
F55-59 18 0.6%
F60-64 10 0.4%
F65-69 3 0.1%
FPRO 11 0.4%
M18-24 63 2.2%
M25-29 197 7.0%
M30-34 261 9.3%
M35-39 334 11.9%
M40-44 500 17.8%
M45-49 317 11.3%
M50-54 209 7.4%
M55-59 94 3.3%
M60-64 41 1.5%
M65-69 13 0.5%
M70-74 8 0.3%
MPRO 20 0.7%
PC 4 0.1%
7:14 PM Women's Pro Field

30 Caitlin Snow USA
32 Julie Dibens GBR
33 Meredith Kessler USA
35 Haley Cooper-Scott USA
38 Caroline Gregory USA
41 Desiree Ficker USA
42 Ali Fitch AUS
7:14 PM Men's Pro Field

1 Tom Evans CAN
2 Maik Tweksiek DEU
4 Tim Snow USA
6 Arland Macasieb PHL
7 Brian Hadley USA
8 Scott Tremblay CAN
9 Logan Franks USA
10 Cesar Valera VEN
11 Adam Jensen USA
12 Blake Becker USA
13 Olly Piggin NZL
14 Kyle Pawlaczyk USA
15 Raul Furtado BRA
16 Brendan Halpin USA
17 Heath Thurston USA
19 Juan Ramirez MEX
20 Billy Edwards USA
21 Lewis Elliot USA
22 Matt Shryock USA
23 Craig Alexander AUS
7:16 PM Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene Women's Preview

At first glance, the women's race appears to be a no-brainer to call. Great Britain's, Julie Dibens (pictured) is the class of the field and is capable of leading the race from the blast of the starter's cannon to the finish line tape. It will be on the run that where the race will likely be determined, though, with USA's, Cait Snow and Meredith Kessler likely forced to make up for lost time to Dibens outstanding swim/bike combination.

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7:18 PM Alexander Shakes up the Field in Idaho

A late addition from Australia shakes up the dynamics of men's race, while a seasoned Canadian veteran hopes draw from his course experience on Sunday at Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene. Add to the mix a German young-gun who likes to race off the front and you have the makings of a great race at this weekend's race.

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7:36 PM
7:45 PM
9:08 AM Welcome to the ninth edition of the Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene here in American Northwest. On Sunday, over 2800 age group athletes will start their Ironman journey as they enter the waters of Lake Coeur d’Alene at 7:00 a.m. The vast majority of participants are here simply to finish the challenge ahead of them, while others will be chasing 65 coveted entries into the 2011 Ford Ironman World Championships.

Our professional men and women’s fields will have a separate wave start at 6:25 a.m. and will be contesting for 1000 Kona Qualifying Ranking points, in addition to a prize purse of $25,000.

Come join us Sunday morning at 6:00 a.m., Pacific Time for our IronmanLive coverage that will include live video and commentary of action on the course, text updates, photos and our athlete tracker
9:10 AM Good morning from Idaho with the running of the ninth edition of the Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene, here in the Pacific Northwest. We are currently only 15 minutes from the start of the women and men’s pro race start, scheduled to commence at 6:25 am Pacific Time.

The current temperature is 49 F, sunny with scattered cloud and light winds out of the east at 2-3 mph. The weather forecast today is call for temperatures in the neighborhood of 74 F, with light winds with occasional cloudy periods.

Our age group race will start at 7:00 am with 2600 athletes hitting waters of Lake Coeur d`Alene. Water has warmed up to 58F, warming up considerably from earlier in the week.
9:25 AM The 2011 professional race at the Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene has started with 20 men and 7 women in the field. They will be chasing 1000 Kona Pro Ranking points in addition to $25,000.
9:33 AM About 400 meters into the swim, Tom Evans is leading the way, with Maik Twelsiek and Craig Alexander comfortable to hang on the Canadian's heels in choppy water.
9:35 AM
9:38 AM As expected, Julie Dibens is leading the women’s race as they are nearing the first turn-around buoy.
9:43 AM Evans has pushed the pace, and has separated himself from the chase pack of Twelsiek, Alexander and one unidentified athlete by 20-25 meters, as they head back towards shore on the first of the two lap swim course here.
9:44 AM Swim course records

Men’s swim course is held by John Weston of Florence, Montana, who swam a 45:19 at the 2003 Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene. The same year, Boulder Colorado’s Monica Caplin, established the women’s record with a 48:08.
9:48 AM Dibens continues to lead the women’s race, swimming on her own, as she heads towards the shore on her first lap. Meredith Kessler is believed to be in second, well off Dibens pace.
9:51 AM Evans has really stretched out his lead here as he hits the beach and re-enters the water, about 20-25 seconds ahead of Alexander, Twelsiek and the unidentified athlete.
9:55 AM
First loop of swim

1 24:16 1 Tom Evans Penticton BC CAN
2 24:44 0:29 17 Heath Thurston Orem UT USA
3 24:47 0:31 2 Maik Twelsiek Tucson AZ DEU
4 24:49 0:33 23 Craig Alexande AUS
5 28:04 3:49 12 Blake Becker Fitchburg WI USA
6 28:08 3:53 14 Kyle Pawlaczy Orchard Park NY USA
7 28:16 4:00 21 Lewis Elliot Billings MT USA
8 29:02 4:46 15 Raul Furtado Petr Polis BRA
9 29:02 4:46 4 Tim Snow Brockton MA USA
10 29:34 5:18 13 Olly Piggin Penticton BC NZL
9:56 AM First Loop of swim

1 25:38 32 Julie Dibens Boulder CO GBR
2 26:27 0:49 33 Meredith Kessler San Francisco CA USA
3 28:14 2:36 30 Caitlin Snow Brockton MA USA
10:00 AM Updated Women - First Loop

1 25:38 32 Julie Dibens Boulder CO GBR
2 26:27 0:49 33 Meredith Kessler San Francisco CA USA
3 28:14 2:36 30 Caitlin Snow Brockton MA USA
4 30:27 4:49 38 Caroline Gregory Del Mar CA USA
5 30:32 4:54 41 Desiree Ficker
6 31:55 6:17 35 Haley Cooper-S Spokane WA USA
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