First 2012 Kona Pro Slots To Be Handed Out In 10 Days

Which pros will be making the start at the 2012 Ironman World Championship? We’ll know the names of 65 professionals, plus a few automatic qualifiers, who will earn a slot to the race in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on Oct. 13 in 10 days.

After months of chasing points, 43 men and 26 women will breathe a sigh of relief on July 29 when they are offered registration to the Ironman World Championship as part of the July qualifying group. There are only four point-earning opportunities left between now and that July 29 deadline: Ironman Lake Placid (7/22), Ironman 70.3 Antwerp (7/22), Ironman UK (7/22) and Ironman 70.3 Calgary (7/29). So who’s in and who’s sweating on the border of the cutoff? Let’s take a look at the standings as of today, July 19.

Men’s Rankings
Three-time Ironman world champion Craig Alexander doesn’t need any points because he’s won the race within the last five years, but he sits comfortably in the top spot thanks to his two world championship (70.3 and Ironman) and his Ironman Asia Pacific Championship title.

Because a top finish in Kona is so important toward the following year’s ranking, most of last year’s top-10 Ironman world championship finishers are in a solid position. The two exceptions are Germany’s Andi Boecherer, who sits outside of the top-40 and has yet to validate with an Ironman finish, and Australia’s Pete Jacobs, who has been battling an injury and plans to validate with a finish at Ironman Lake Placid this weekend.

A few athletes who will be considered legitimate contenders for the Kona podium are near the bottom of the cutoff. Denmark’s Rasmus Henning (No. 35), Germany’s Michael Raelert (No. 38) and Great Britain’s Tom Lowe (No. 39) will all be cutting it close to make the July qualifying group.

Despite not being high in the rankings, Australians Chris McCormack and Greg Bennett will be offered spots to the Hawaii race. McCormack won the Ironman world championship within the past five years and Bennett is the reigning Hy-Vee 5150 champion, giving them both automatic spots (they have both validated with Ironman finishes in 2012). Alexander also meets the automatic selection criteria, so his invitation will not count toward the 40 spots, meaning that ranking in the top-41 will mean a ticket to Kona for the men.

An additional 10 men will be offered spots as part of the August qualifying group on Aug. 27.

PHOTOS: 2011 Hawaii Ironman Pro Men’s Race

Men
1. Craig Alexander AUS 13970 (does not count toward top-40)
2. Andreas Raelert DEU 8360
3. Marino Vanhoenacker BEL 7230
4. Cameron Brown NZL 6840
5. Sebastian Kienle DEU 6590
6. Pete Jacobs AUS 6425 (has not validated, plans to race at Ironman Lake Placid this weekend)
7. Timo Bracht DEU 6000
8. Marko Albert EST 5640
9. Faris Al-sultan DEU 5589
10. Frederik Van Lierde BEL 5480
11. Dirk Bockel LUX 5450
12. Mike Aigroz CHE 5360
13. Daniel Fontana ITA 5280
14. Petr Vabrousek CZE 5200
15. Clemente Alonso-Mckernan ESP 5120
16. Ronnie Schildknecht CHE 5100
17. David Dellow AUS 5000
18. Raynard Tissink ZAF 4910
19. Joe Gambles AUS 4830
20. Viktor Zyemtsev UKR 4810
21. Eneko Llanos ESP 4800
22. Paul Matthews AUS 4725
23. Jérémy Jurkiewicz FRA 4720
24. Mike Schifferle CHE 4700
25. Paul Amey GBR 4690
26. Timothy Odonnell USA 4645
27. Andrey Lyatskiy RUS 4610
28. Luke Mckenzie AUS 4570
29. Trevor Delsaut FRA 4420
30. Cyril Viennot FRA 4205
31. Joshua Rix AUS 4095
32. Luke Bell AUS 4070
33. Romain Guillaume FRA 3980
34. Michael Lovato USA 3925
35. Rasmus Henning DNK 3880
36. Sergio Marques PRT 3880
37. Matthew Russell USA 3840
38. Michael Raelert DEU 3830
39. Tom Lowe GBR 3810
40. Jason Shortis AUS 3780
41. Alejandro Santamaria ESP 3780
42. Aaron Farlow AUS 3760
**Current July Qualifying Cutoff**
43. Bruno Clerbout BEL 3725
44. Tim Reed AUS 3705
45. Andi Boecherer DEU 3650
46. Leon Griffin AUS 3645
47. Axel Zeebroek BEL 3605
48. Bart Aernouts BEL 3510
49. Clayton Fettell AUS 3510
50. Ezequiel Morales ARG 3400
77. Greg Bennett AUS 2260*
102. Chris McCormack AUS 1880*

Complete rankings.

Click “next page” to see the current women’s rankings.

Women’s Rankings
Switzerland’s Caroline Steffen easily holds the top spot in the rankings thanks to her fifth place finish at the 2011 Ironman World Championship and wins at the 2012 Ironman Asia Pacific Championship and 2012 Ironman European Championship.

We know we won’t see all of the top-10 women from the 2011 Kona race return this year. Reigning champion Chrissie Wellington (GBR) is taking a year away from triathlon racing, while last year’s sixth-place finisher Karin Thuerig (SUI) has retired. Spain’s Virginia Berasategui finished 10^th last year, but currently sits in 35^th position and will not make the July cutoff unless she shows up at one of the four remaining events.

Wellington, Sweden’s Lisa Norden, and Australia’s Mirinda Carfrae and Melissa Hauschildt all meet the automatic qualifying criteria, but only Carfrae has validated with an Ironman finish. This means that, unless one of the other three validate this weekend, 26 women will be offered spots on July 29.

An additional five women will be offered spots as part of the August qualifying group on Aug. 27.

PHOTOS: 2011 Ford Ironman World Championship

Women
1. Caroline Steffen CHE 13320
2. Mirinda Carfrae AUS 9995 (does not count toward top-25)
3. Leanda Cave GBR 9250
4. Rachel Joyce GBR 8910
5. Meredith Kessler USA 7440
6. Linsey Corbin USA 6820
7. Joanna Lawn NZL 6545
8. Heather Wurtele CAN 6540
9. Kelly Williamson USA 6470
10. Gina Crawford NZL 6335
11. Carrie Lester AUS 6230
12. Simone Brandli CHE 6160
13. Natascha Badmann CHE 6005
14. Chrissie Wellington GBR 6000 (does not count toward top-25 and has not validated)
15. Jessica Jacobs USA 5980
16. Caitlin Snow USA 5960
17. Anja Beranek DEU 5865
18. Sofie Goos BEL 5810
19. Tine Deckers BEL 5725
20. Kristin Moeller DEU 5700
21. Sonja Tajsich DEU 5385
22. Karin Thuerig CHE 5300 (has not validated)
23. Erika Csomor HUN 5200
24. Susan Dietrich DEU 5180
25. Mary Beth Ellis USA 5160
26. Melissa Rollison (Hauschildt) AUS 5160 (does not count toward top-25 and has not validated)
27. Amanda Stevens USA 5120
28. Michelle Vesterby DNK 4880
29. Corinne Abraham GBR 4830
**Current July Qualifying Cutoff**
30. Mareen Hufe DEU 4400
31. Belinda Granger AUS 4330
32. Sara Gross CAN 4065
33. Kate Bevilaqua AUS 3990
34. Sarah Piampiano USA 3745
35. Virginia Berasategui ESP 3620

Complete rankings.