Female Winners
There is a similar story to men’s battle between Sebi and Frodo on the women’s side: Last year’s champion Mirinda Carfrae had her typical quiet year, but she is always ready to race in October. Based on her previous Kona races, she is still the statistical favorite. But Rinny will be challenged by Frankfurt winner and 70.3 Champion Daniela Ryf who has continued her amazing development from last year. Rachel Joyce is relatively close to these two but hasn’t had a great season so far. The low numbers of the Long Shots show how dominant the chances of the main contenders are.
Favorites
- Mirinda Carfrae 38% (2-1)
- Daniela Ryf 22% (3-1)
In the Mix
- Rachel Joyce 17% (5-1)
Long Shots
- Caroline Steffen 4% (27-1)
- Eva Wutti 3% (29-1)
- Leanda Cave 2% (52-1)
Female TOP 3
For the women, there are good chances for the same podium as last year: Rinny, Rachel and Daniela are safe podium bets. But repeat podiums in Kona are very race – there have only been two ever: 2002 to 2004 saw Natascha, Lori Bowden and Nina Kraft in different order on the podium. Therefore we can expect at least one other athlete on this year’s podium. The likeliest candidates are Kona rookies Eva Wutti and Angela Naeth, and the more experienced Meredith Kessler, Leanda Cave, Caroline Steffen or Jodie Swallow.
Safe Bets
- Mirinda Carfrae 46% (1-1)
- Rachel Joyce 46% (1-1)
- Daniela Ryf 44% (1-1)
Knocking on the Door
- Eva Wutti 25% (3-1)
- Meredith Kessler 18% (4-1)
- Leanda Cave 17% (5-1)
- Caroline Steffen 16% (5-1)
- Jodie Swallow 15% (6-1)
- Angela Naeth 14% (6-1)
Outside Chances
- Julia Gajer 11% (8-1)
- Haley Chura 9% (10-1)
- Liz Blatchford 3% (29-1)
- Mary Beth Ellis 2% (39-1)
(Photo: Rinny close the finish line in 2014. Credit: Jay Prasuhn)
This is an excerpt from my free “Kona Rating Report” – 150+ pages with tons of information about the Kona Pro races!