Published August 25, 2013 07:44PM
Wurtele, Brömme On Top At First Ironman Canada At Whistler
Canada’s Trevor Wurtele and the United States’ Uli Bromme earned their first pro Ironman victories.
Uli Brömme wins in Whistler. Photo: Nils Nilsen/Ironman
Ironman Canada welcomed a new venue after the Challenge Series took over the former location at Penticton. A sold-out field swam 2.4-miles before biking on a difficult 112-mile course and running on a scenic marathon course. In the end it was Canada’s Trevor Wurtele and the United States’ Uli Brömme who earned their first pro Ironman victories.
Men’s Race
New Zealand’s Bryan Rhodes kicked off the action for the men with the top swim time of 50:42. Dominik Berger (AUT), Andrew Russell (CAN) and Jonathan Caron (CAN) were the only men to come into T1 within two minutes of Rhodes. Wurtele’s 56:15 swim put him more than five minutes behind, giving him a good chunk of work to do over the 112-mile bike ride.
Rhodes enjoyed his time out front before being taken over by Berger, who held the lead at the midway point of the bike. Berger’s lead didn’t last and a front group that included Matt Lieto (USA), Matthew Russell (USA) and Wurtele formed. After 112 miles of riding on the tough course, Lieto emerged as the leader with the other two following close behind.
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Wurtele found the lead early on in the marathon and built upon it all the way to the finish line. Ultimately Wurtele combined a 54:27 swim, 4:46:51 bike and a 2:54:31 marathon to claim the 8:39:33 win in his home country. Russell followed the best bike split of the day (4:42:53) with a strong marathon (3:00:12) to finish second. Great Britain’s Paul Amey rounded out the top three.
Women’s Race
The trio of Christina Jackson (USA), Christine Anderson (USA) and Keiko Tanaka (JPN) led the women out of swim at just over 55 minutes. Brömme came out of the swim eight minutes back of the three leaders, but had a long day to try to make up that gap.
Anderson rode strong in the first position through the first miles of the bike, but a strong-riding Brömme found herself in the lead before the midway point. By the time bike turned to run, Brömme’s advantage stood at more than seven minutes over Anderson and Fletcher, with American Lisa Ribes another minute back.
Brömme cruised to the finish line, posting a 3:06:53 marathon and taking the 9:28:13 win. Ribes finished second 10 minutes later.
Ironman Canada
Whistler, B.C., Canada – Aug. 25, 2013
2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run
Men
1. Trevor Wurtele (CAN) 8:39:33
2. Matthew Russell (USA) 8:45:15
3. Paul Amey (GBR) 8:53:27
4. Mike Schifferle (CZE) 8:53:58
5. Andrew Russell (CAN) 8:58:23
Women
1. Uli Bromme (USA) 9:28:13
2. Lisa Ribes (USA) 9:38:34
3. Gillian Moody (CAN) 9:49:09
4. Christine Fletcher (CAN) 9:56:45
5. Morgan Anderson (USA) 10:01:35
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