Published April 25, 2010 01:13PM
The inaugural Ironman 70.3 U.S. Pro Championship saw a Canadian and a New Zealander take home the titles. Terenzo Bozzone (NZL) and Samantha McGlone (CAN) beat out some of the sport’s top athletes. The championship took place in correlation with today’s Ironman 70.3 Texas race.
The men’s race started off with American Andy Potts leading the men into T1 with a time of 25:24. Another American, David Kahn, was right on Potts’ heals at 25:25. The chase pack of five athletes, including Bozzone, headed onto the bike a minute later. Despite heading onto the bike in 11th place, American Chris Lieto quickly put his cycling legs to work and took the lead around the midway point of the 56-mile bike course. Lieto headed onto the run in first and hoped he could carry the lead to the finish line. Another uber-cyclist, Great Brian’s Philip Graves, kept pace with Lieto and headed onto the run less than two minutes back. The two fastest runners in the competition, Bozzone and American Tim O’Donnell, started the half-marathon in third and fourth respectively. The two quickly passed Graves and set their sights on Lieto. With less than two miles to go Bozzone passed Lieto and carried the lead to the finish line for the win and a time of 3:49:06. Although he was slowly cutting down on Bozzone’s lead, O’Donnell ran out of space and finished second at 3:49:35. Lieto rounded out the podium at 3:50:35. Despite posting the fastest swim time and a blazing half-marathon time of 1:10:09, Potts had a disappointing bike and had to settle for fourth at 3:52:01.
The women’s race started with American Amanda Stevens heading into T1 all alone thanks to a swim time of 27:48. Australian Pip Taylor and Americans Joanna Zeiger and Andrea Fisher followed Stevens onto the bike. Stevens took advantage of the gap and maintained the lead throughout the entire 56-mile bike ride. McGlone quietly worked her through the pack on the bike and headed on the run with only one woman to catch. McGlone found her stride and passed Stevens, taking the win at 4:17:22. Stevens earned second at 4:18:26. American Kelly Williamson turned in the fastest half-marathon of the women at 1:18:18 to earn third and a time of 4:19:02.
Ironman 70.3 U.S. Pro Championship
Galveston, Texas – April 25, 2010
1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run
Men
1. Terenzo Bozzone (NZL) 3:49:06
2. Tim O’Donnell (USA) 3:49:35
3. Chris Lieto (USA) 3:50:35
4. Andy Potts (USA) 3:52:01
5. Tyler Butterfield (USA) 3:53:25
Women
1. Samantha McGlone (CAN) 4:17:22
2. Amanda Stevens (USA) 4:18:26
3. Kelly Williamson (USA) 4:19:02
4. Desiree Ficker (USA) 4:21:30
5. Karin Thuerig (CHE) 4:22:20