Brown, Kessler Continue Success At Ironman New Zealand
After finishing down the podium the last few years, New Zealand's Cameron Brown regained his position on top of the throne in Taupo.
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New Zealand’s Cameron Brown earned his 11th win at Ironman New Zealand, while American Meredith Kessler continued her dominance in Taupo to claim her fourth-straight title at this race.
After finishing down the podium the last few years, New Zealand’s Cameron Brown regained his position on top of the throne in Taupo by earning his 11th win at the race at the age of 42. American Meredith Kessler dominated the women’s race to take home her fourth-straight Ironman New Zealand victory.
Men’s Race
New Zealand’s Dylan McNeice came out of the water at 44:25, with New Zealand’s Graham O’Grady and Australia’s Todd Skipworth following just a few seconds later. Brown came out of the water in eighth position at 50:01 with some work to do to catch the lead men. New Zealand’s Terenzo Bozzone and Brown turned in the strongest bike rides of the day, coming off of the bike together out front, with O’Grady chasing at 90 seconds back of the pair. Bozzone won Challenge Dubai just one week ago, which likely contributed to his inability to keep pace on the marathon. Brown turned in a 2:49:08 marathon to earn his historic 11th Ironman New Zealand victory. He also extended his streak as the oldest man to win an Ironman event, a record he originally set at last year’s Ironman Cairns. Bozzone had to settle for second for the fourth time at this race, with Challenge Wanaka champ McNeice rounding out the podium.
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Women’s Race
Kessler started the day with a lead, exiting the water at 49:35 with New Zealander Gina Crawford following at 51:24. The two favorites made it hard for others to have a hope from the beginning, with the next women exiting nearly seven minutes back of Crawford. The dominant swim from Kessler set the tone for her day as she turned in by far the fastest bike (5:04:29) and run (3:07:18) times of the women to lead from start to finish. She crossed the finish line at 9:05:45 to earn her fourth-straight win in Taupo. Crawford crossed more than 20 minutes later for the runner-up spot. New Zealand’s Melanie Burke finished at 9:41:50 for third.
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Ironman New Zealand
Taupo, New Zealand – March 7, 2015
2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run
Men
1. Cameron Brown (NZL) 8:22:12
2. Terenzo Bozzone (NZL) 8:28:52
3. Dylan McNeice (NZL) 8:38:04
4. Alex Reithmeier (AUS) 8:38:46
5. Mike Schifferle (SUI) 8:46:32
Women
1. Meredith Kessler (USA) 9:05:45
2. Gina Crawford (NZL) 9:26:10
3. Melanie Burke (NZL) 9:41:50
4. Stephanie Jones (USA) 9:47:31
5. Jocelyn McCauley (USA) 9:50:00