Ronnie Schildknecht, Jessie Donavan Win Ironman South Africa

Switzerland’s Ronnie Schildknecht and the United States’ Jessie Donavan earned the Ironman victories in Port Elizabeth.

Schildknecht put together a 52:48 swim, a 4:22:01 bike and a 2:53:03 marathon to easily earn the victory in 8:11:24. France’s Cyril Viennot turned in the fastest marathon of the day (2:48:35) to run his way from 11^th off of the bike to second at the finish line. The Netherlands’ Bas Diederen combined fast swim and run to earn a time fast enough for third.

Donavan spent the majority of her day making up for a 1:07:11 swim. She came out of the water over 17 minutes behind Great Britain’s Jodie Swallow and then lost a few more minutes to Swallow on the bike. Donavan dominated on the run, turning in a 3:09:11 marathon to take her third Ironman title. Swallow finished second, with the Czech Republic’s Lucie Reed rounding out the podium in third.

Ironman South Africa
Port Elizabeth, South Africa – April 14, 2013
2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run

Men
1. Ronnie Schildknecht (SUI) 8:11:24
2. Cyril Viennot (FRA) 8:19:51
3. Bas Diederen (NED) 8:20:09
4. Horst Reichel (GER) 8:22:34
5. Francois Chabaud (FRA) 8:29:30

Women
1. Jessie Donavan (USA) 9:10:58
2. Jodie Swallow (GBR) 9:17:00
3. Lucie Reed (CZE) 9:27:07
4. Simone Braendli (SUI) 9:32:24
5. Dianne Mcewan (RSA) 9:37:45

Complete results.