Germans On Top At Inaugural Ironman Regensburg
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Germany’s Faris Al-Sultan proved he still has what it takes to win, taking today’s inaugural Ironman Regensburg. Another German, Sonja Tajsich, dominated the women’s race.
Al-Sultan took the win today in an unexpected way. While the former world champion is mostly known for his cycling skills, he found himself in second position after the 112-mile ride. Once on the Al-Sultan turned in a respectable 2:56:16 marathon to take the victory in 8:13:37. He had nearly a five minute cushion over second place finisher Andreas Böcherer of Germany. Yet another German, Nils Goerke, ran a 2:48:07 to overcome deficits on both the bike and the run, to earn a podium placement in third.
Despite finding herself five minutes back of the leaders out of the swim, Tajsich dominated the rest of the women’s field on both the bike and the run. She was the only female in the entire race to go under five hours on the 112-mile bike ride with a 4:59:34 bike split. Showing that she saved some effort for the run, she went on to put forward a 3:09:06 marathon, easily taking the win in 9:09:46. Katja Rabe, also of Germany, finished in second at just over 9:32.
Ironman Regensburg
Regensburg, Germany – August 1, 2010
2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run
Men
1. Faris Al-Sultan (GER) 8:13:37
2. Andreas Böcherer (GER) 8:18:28
3. Nils Goerke (GER) 8:22:57
4. Christian Brader (GER) 8:25:30
5. Nick Saunders (GBR) 8:33:19
Women
1. Sonja Tajsich (GER) 9:06:46
2. Katja Rabe (GER) 9:32:04
3. Corinne Abraham (GBR) 9:41:21
4. Yvonne Rüger-Krömker (GER) 9:44:48
5. Merja Kiviranta (FIN) 9:57:28