Published November 5, 2014 12:19PM
2014 Ironman Arizona Pro Start List
Americans Jordan Rapp, Meredith Kessler and Tim O'Donnell highlight the start list.
Kessler has had top finishes at Ironman Arizona, but has never taken the win. Photo: Rocky Arroyo
Since the inception of the Kona Pro Rankings (KPR) back in 2010, Ironman Arizona has welcomed a deep field of professionals looking to take advantage of late-season fitness and earn points toward 2015 Kona qualification. This year’s race, set to take place on Sunday, Nov. 16, continues that trend. Americans Jordan Rapp and Meredith Kessler have the most experience on this course, and both would greatly benefit from wins as neither finished the 2014 Ironman World Championship (Rapp didn’t race and Kessler ultimately DNF’d).
Rapp’s biggest competition will likely come from fellow American Tim O’Donnell who, like Kessler, had a disappointing performance in Kona. Recently crowned Ironman Florida champion Lionel Sanders (CAN) is also on the start list, but it will be interesting to see if he makes the start just two weeks after his Florida win. Others to watch for on the men’s side include Maik Twelsiek (GER), Kyle Buckingham (RSA), Viktor Zyemtsev (UKR), Paul Matthews (AUS), Brent McMahon (CAN) and David Kahn (USA).
The women’s field is not quite as strong and Kessler will be the heavy favorite to finally earn a victory on the Tempe course that she loves. The biggest contenders for the podium include Amanda Stevens (USA), Uli Bromme (USA), Lisa Huetthaler (AUT) and Heather Jackson (USA).
RELATED PHOTOS: 2013 Ironman Arizona
Check back for more from Ironman Arizona next week.
Men
1 Jordan Rapp USA
2 Viktor Zyemtsev UKR
3 Tim O’Donnell USA
4 Maik Twelsiek DEU
5 Kyle Buckingham ZAF
6 Paul Matthews AUS
7 Brent McMahon CAN
8 David Kahn USA
9 Lionel Sanders CAN
10 Joe Umphenour USA
11 Pedro Gomes PRT
12 Thomas Gerlach USA
13 Christophe Bastie FRA
14 Clemente Alonso McKernan ESP
15 Randy Arriola USA
16 Blake Becker USA
17 Patrick Bless DEU
18 Chris Boudreaux USA
19 Mike Caiazzo USA
20 Scott DeFilippis USA
21 Vincent Depuiset FRA
22 Marc Duelsen DEU
23 Lewis Elliot USA
24 Markus Fachbach DEU
25 Derek Garcia USA
26 Chad Holderbaum USA
27 James LaMastra USA
28 Jared Milam USA
29 Jimi Minnema USA
30 CW Moran USA
31 Marek Nemcik SVK
32 Devon Palmer USA
33 Jens Petersen-Bach DNK
34 Botond Racz HUN
35 Ryan Rau USA
36 Horst Reichel DEU
37 Eric Reid USA
38 Dominic Rohan-Gates GBR
39 Michael Ruenz DEU
40 Matt Russell USA
41 Mike Schifferle CHE
42 Patrick Schuster USA
43 Jonathan Shearon USA
44 Oliver Simon GBR
45 Anthony Toth CAN
46 Edo Van der Meer NLD
47 Hendrik-Jan Verhaegen BEL
48 Jesse Vondracek USA
49 Stephan Vuckovic DEU
50 Robbie Wade IRL
51 Nicholas Ward Munoz GBR
52 Patrick Wheeler USA
53 Richard Whitfield GBR
54 Richard Wygand BRA
55 Dantley Young USA
56 Steven Zawaski USA
Women
65 Meredith Kessler USA
66 Uli Bromme USA
67 Lisa Huetthaler AUT
68 Eva Wutti AUT
69 Heather Jackson USA
70 Katy Blakemore USA
71 Kate Bruck USA
72 Kathleen Calkins USA
73 Ashley Clifford USA
74 Sarah Graves USA
75 Christine Hammond USA
76 Malaika Homo USA
77 Christina Jackson USA
78 Sarah Jarvis USA
79 Danielle Kehoe USA
80 Corrie Kristick USA
81 Angela Kuehnlein DEU
82 Carolin Lehrieder DEU
83 Jennifer Lentzke CAN
84 Carrie Lester AUS
85 Mackenzie Madison USA
86 Katya Meyers USA
87 Jenni Plane USA
88 Olesya Prystayko UKR
89 Maggie Rusch USA
90 Laura Siddall GBR
91 Jessica Smith USA
92 Jacqui Gordon USA
93 Amanda Stevens USA