Published July 29, 2012 03:20PM
Henning And Tisseyre Take Wins At 70.3 Calgary
Tom Lowe finishes fifth, knocking Germany's Michael Raelert out of the Kona Pro Ranking July qualifying group.
Photo: Anita Henning
Denmark’s Rasmus Henning and Canada’s Magali Tisseyre took the victories at today’s Ironman 70.3 Calgary race.
Men’s Race
Henning combined a 22:50 swim, a 2:11:10 bike and a field-leading 1:15:08 half marathon to earn the 3:51:02 win. Triathlon veteran Chris Legh of Australia overcame a slow swim with a fast bike and run to earn second. Canada’s Jeffrey Symonds, who finished third at last year’s Ironman 70.3 World Championship and has struggled with injury all year, earned third with well-rounded efforts across swim, bike and run.
Women’s Race
Tisseyre showed improvement on her weakest event, the swim, and cruised through the bike and run to take the victory. Her 26:45 swim, 2:22:35 bike and 1:25:15 run narrowly gave her the 4:17:24 victory over Wildflower champion Heather Jackson of the United States. Jackson posted the fastest run of the women to earn second. Xterra all-star Melanie McQuaid of Canada rounded out the podium.
Kona Pro Rankings
The race served as the final point-earning opportunity for the July qualifying cutoff for the Kona Pro Rankings. Both Henning and Great Britain’s Tom Lowe were on the edge of Ironman World Championship qualification prior to this race, and cemented their Kona spots with the finishes. Lowe will move up from 42nd place in the rankings and will push Germany’s Michael Raelert out of the top 41 and out of the July qualifying group. If anyone declines his spot, Raelert will be offered a start. He will have an opportunity to qualify as part of the August qualifying group, where 10 more men will be given Kona slots. (See the current rankings here.)
Ironman 70.3 Calgary
Calgary, Alberta, Canada – July 29, 2012
1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run
Men
1. Rasmus Henning (DEN) 3:51:02
2. Chris Legh (AUS) 3:51:42
3. Jeffrey Symonds (CAN) 3:52:36
4. Rich Allen (USA) 3:54:00
5. Tom Lowe (GBR) 3:55:08
Women
1. Magali Tisseyre (CAN) 4:17:24
2. Heather Jackson (USA) 4:18:12
3. Melanie McQuaid (CAN) 4:23:09
4. Sara Gross (CAN) 4:25:18
5. Lisa Mensink (CAN) 4:26:17