Published April 5, 2015 03:02PM
Don, Frederiksen On Top At 70.3 Latin American Championships
Great Britain's Tim Don and Denmark's Helle Frederiksen showed strong early-season form.
(Photo: Wagner Araujo)
Great Britain’s Tim Don and Denmark’s Helle Frederiksen showed strong early-season form, earning the Ironman 70.3 Latin American Championships in Brazil’s capital city of Brasília.
Men’s Race
The men’s race was a battle of two Tims. Don and American Tim O’Donnell were a part of a front group that exited the swim in just over 24 minutes. O’Donnell pushed hard on the bike, posting a 1:59:03 bike split to earn a two-minute advantage to start the run. The American knew he’d need every second he could get, with Don (one of the fastest runners in the sport) chasing from behind. O’Donnell turned in a 1:16:20 half-marathon split, but it wasn’t enough as Don passed him on the second half of the run. Ultimately Don combined a 24:25 swim, 2:01:15 bike and a 1:13:20 run to earn the victory and defend his title in 3:41:47. O’Donnell finished in the runner-up spot at 3:42:54, with Bermuda’s Tyler Butterfield rounding out the top three at 3:45:48.
Women’s Race
Super swimmer Haley Chura led the women out of the water in 25:24, but she had company with pre-race favorite Fredriksen on her heels at 25:27. Great Britain’s Rachel Joyce, another pre-race favorite came into T1 more than two minutes back. Once on the bike, Frederiksen quickly took the lead and never looked back. Joyce went off course during the bike leg, taking her out of contention. By the time bike turned to run, Frederiksen’s lead stood at more than seven minutes over Chura. She added a 1:24:24 run split to turn in a dominant win, crossing the finish line at 4:04:16. Belgium’s Sofie Goos turned in a solid bike/run effort to work up to the runner-up spot at 4:17:15. American Ruth Brennan-Morrey had the fastest run split of the women (1:22:27) to finish third. Joyce appeared ultimately finished ninth.
Ironman 70.3 Latin American Championships
Brasília, Brazil – April 5, 2015
1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run
Men
1. Tim Don 3:41:47 (GBR)
2. Timothy O’Donnell 3:42:40 (USA)
3. Tyler Butterfield 3:45:48 (BER)
4. Igor Amorelli 3:47:53 (BRA)
5. Santiago Ascenço 3:48:11 (BRA)
Women
1. Helle Frederiksen (DEN) 4:04:16
2. Sofie Goos (BEL) 4:17:15
3. Ruth Brennan-Morrey (USA) 4:18:16
4. Haley Chura (USA) 4:21:20
5. Kristin Moeller (GER) 4:22:47