Race Conditions
As usual, the race in the Woodlands was hot and steamy, especially as the race progressed. The swim and bike were pretty much as they always are – the bike times were fast as expected. During the run, the athletes struggled a bit more – the run adjustment was -3:51 and we saw a pretty large number of DNFs. This year’s race had an overall adjustment of 8:36 and leading to a new course rating of 11:17.
The conditions lead to an interesting mix of records:
- a new men’s bike course record by Joe Skipper – his 4:10:07 was the third fastest bike leg in an Ironman ever (only Andrew Starykowicz posted two faster splits in Florida), improving on the old record by Mathias Hecht (4:18:17 in 2012)
- a new women’s bike course record by Corinne Abraham – her 4:40:39 improved on the old record by Rachel Joyce (04:42:29 in 2013)
- a new overall male course record by Matt Hanson – his 8:07:03 improved on Eneko Llanos’ 8:08:20 from 2011
- a new fastest 2015 IM marathon by Kelly Williamson in 3:01:02, improving on Susie Cheetham’s 3:03:38 in SouthAfrica
Male Race Results
Joe Skipper and Lionel Sanders put out two spectacular bike rides, and even with having to make up some time after the swim, they had a decent lead going into the run. Lionel quickly looked like he was working hard and was slowly dropping back from Joe. Matt Hanson was quickly working his way to the front, and the cameras were surprised when he was taking the lead around the half-marathon mark.
He slowed down a bit on the third run loop, but won by almost ten minutes in front of Joe Skipper. Third place went to veteran racer Ronnie Schildknecht, who had one of only three sub-3h marathons.
| Rank | Name | Nation | Swim | Bike | Run | Time | Diff to expected | Prize Money |
| 1 | Matt Hanson | USA | 00:55:02 | 04:21:25 | 02:45:47 | 08:07:03 | -28:02 | US$ 30000 |
| 2 | Joe Skipper | GBR | 00:55:09 | 04:10:07 | 03:04:35 | 08:16:26 | -17:58 | US$ 15000 |
| 3 | Ronnie Schildknecht | SUI | 00:55:07 | 04:24:27 | 02:55:54 | 08:21:03 | 02:08 | US$ 8000 |
| 4 | Lionel Sanders | CAN | 00:57:19 | 04:11:25 | 03:11:22 | 08:24:54 | n/a | US$ 6500 |
| 5 | Pedro Gomes | POR | 00:54:48 | 04:32:02 | 02:54:43 | 08:26:42 | -08:22 | US$ 5000 |
| 6 | Jeremy Jurkiewicz | FRA | 00:48:45 | 04:31:34 | 03:05:45 | 08:31:30 | 05:08 | US$ 3500 |
| 7 | Matthew Russell | USA | 00:59:35 | 04:27:01 | 03:00:51 | 08:33:28 | -09:11 | US$ 2500 |
| 8 | Ben Hoffman | USA | 00:49:29 | 04:20:38 | 03:18:30 | 08:33:55 | 11:00 | US$ 2000 |
| 9 | David Plese | SLO | 00:54:59 | 04:21:20 | 03:14:37 | 08:36:32 | 05:50 | US$ 1500 |
| 10 | Jarmo Hast | FIN | 00:52:57 | 04:37:12 | 03:03:41 | 08:39:48 | 00:47 | US$ 1000 |
| 11 | Matthew Curbeau | USA | 00:55:05 | 04:31:32 | 03:17:11 | 08:49:29 | -27:21 | |
| 12 | Raymond Botelho | USA | 00:55:12 | 04:30:03 | 03:46:43 | 09:19:07 | -01:53 | |
| 13 | Patrick Schuster | USA | 01:06:56 | 04:38:27 | 03:46:49 | 09:38:36 | 12:09 | |
| 14 | Timothy Clarke | USA | 00:58:14 | 04:53:08 | 03:41:36 | 09:39:23 | n/a | |
| 15 | Peter Kotland | CZE | 01:03:09 | 04:46:06 | 03:44:29 | 09:40:54 | -08:41 | |
| 16 | Mario Radevic | DEU | 01:03:58 | 04:51:35 | 03:39:42 | 09:42:07 | n/a | |
| Todd Skipworth | AUS | 00:48:05 | 04:28:12 | DNF | ||||
| Barrett Brandon | USA | 00:48:07 | 04:28:39 | DNF | ||||
| Jonathan Shearon | USA | 00:55:08 | 04:22:25 | DNF | ||||
| Andreas Raelert | GER | 00:49:58 | 04:30:26 | DNF | ||||
| Chad Holderbaum | USA | 00:55:10 | 04:40:47 | DNF | ||||
| Faris Al-Sultan | GER | 00:48:44 | 04:47:17 | DNF | ||||
| Victor Del Corral | ESP | 01:03:06 | 04:37:37 | DNF | ||||
| Patrick Wheeler | USA | 00:55:01 | 04:50:44 | DNF | ||||
| Jordan Rapp | USA | 00:55:05 | 04:53:35 | DNF | ||||
| Patrice Brisindi | CAN | 01:01:39 | 05:13:33 | DNF | ||||
| Jorge Vazquez | MEX | 00:54:54 | 07:18:50 | DNF | ||||
| Chris McDonald | AUS | 00:54:57 | DNF |
As the winner, Matt Hanson gets an automatic Kona slot. Ben Hoffmann (9.650), Lionel Sanders (7.680), and Ronnie Schildknecht (5.310) are in safe Kona territory. Pedro Gomes (4.090) and Joe Skipper (4.015) are closer but should be fine. Jeremy Jurkiewicz (2.755) and Matt Russell (2.160) still have to race for more points.
Female Race Results
Angela Naeth had to make up six minutes after the swim, but she quickly joined Rachel Joyce and Leanda Cave at the front. Angela and Leanda then rode away and came into T2 within seconds of each other. On the run, Angela was running just a little bit faster than Leanda and won the race by roughly three minutes.
Leanda finished second and also went sub-9. Rachel finished in third place with a decent 3:14 run.
| Rank | Name | Nation | Swim | Bike | Run | Time | Diff to expected | Prize Money |
| 1 | Angela Naeth | CAN | 00:59:35 | 04:41:38 | 03:09:13 | 08:55:19 | -24:55 | US$ 30000 |
| 2 | Leanda Cave | GBR | 00:53:13 | 04:47:43 | 03:12:02 | 08:58:12 | -17:44 | US$ 15000 |
| 3 | Rachel Joyce | GBR | 00:53:08 | 04:52:35 | 03:14:00 | 09:05:02 | 06:42 | US$ 8000 |
| 4 | Kelly Williamson | USA | 00:55:17 | 05:06:43 | 03:01:02 | 09:08:34 | -13:55 | US$ 6500 |
| 5 | Corinne Abraham | GBR | 01:03:24 | 04:40:39 | 03:22:45 | 09:12:20 | -03:06 | US$ 5000 |
| 6 | Sarah Piampiano | USA | 01:04:04 | 04:49:52 | 03:13:54 | 09:13:47 | -21:00 | US$ 3500 |
| 7 | Heather Wurtele | CAN | 00:56:15 | 04:51:35 | 03:21:55 | 09:15:11 | -07:07 | US$ 2500 |
| 8 | Katy Blakemore | USA | 00:53:13 | 04:54:51 | 03:24:22 | 09:18:02 | -10:58 | US$ 2000 |
| 9 | Rebecca Preston | AUS | 00:59:45 | 04:58:36 | 03:22:11 | 09:26:23 | -03:30 | US$ 1500 |
| 10 | Sofie Goos | BEL | 00:59:37 | 04:55:50 | 03:26:44 | 09:27:58 | 00:11 | US$ 1000 |
| 11 | Heather Jackson | USA | 00:59:39 | 04:55:08 | 03:42:49 | 09:43:27 | 34:47 | |
| 12 | Tami Ritchie | USA | 00:54:17 | 05:19:29 | 03:25:53 | 09:46:56 | -40:56 | |
| 13 | Jocelyn Mccauley | USA | 00:59:48 | 05:02:21 | 03:39:52 | 09:49:06 | -00:04 | |
| 14 | Katharina Grohmann | GER | 01:15:59 | 05:12:42 | 03:20:42 | 09:54:40 | -00:05 | |
| 15 | Jessica Meyers | USA | 00:59:03 | 05:02:49 | 03:48:13 | 09:55:46 | 09:02 | |
| 16 | Olesya Prystayko | UKR | 01:06:21 | 05:32:56 | 04:13:38 | 10:59:26 | 57:21 | |
| 17 | Caroline Martineau | CAN | 01:09:11 | 05:43:51 | 04:43:52 | 11:46:22 | n/a | |
| Bree Wee | USA | 00:56:16 | 04:58:34 | DNF | ||||
| Kaitlin Anelauskas | USA | 00:55:57 | 05:06:53 | DNF | ||||
| Natasha Van der Merwe | USA | 01:03:14 | 07:30:40 | DNF | ||||
| Corrie Kristick | USA | 00:55:22 | DNF | |||||
| Keiko Tanaka | JPN | 00:55:59 | DNF | |||||
| Tamara Kozulina | UKR | 01:03:27 | DNF | |||||
| Camilla Lindholm | SWE | 01:26:10 | DNF |
As the winner, Angela Naeth gets an automatic Kona slot, similar for Leanda Cave as the 2012 Kona champion. From a points perspective, Rachel Joyce (11.100) and Heather Wurtele (7.280) are clearly ahead of the projected cutoff. Corinne Abraham (4.725) and Kelly Williamson (4.540) still need a few more points, potentially from 70.3s. Heather Jackson (3.800) and Sarah Piampiano (3.395) have to consider racing another IM if they want to qualify.
Photo Credit: Kelly Burns Gallager, follow Kelly on Twitter