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Ironman Whistler 2015 – Analyzing Results

Race Conditions

By all accounts, the weather in Whistler was miserable this year: Rain and low temperatures created tough conditions, and almost all athletes were cold, some even to the point of hypothermia:

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Some of the athletes that were already safe for Kona (Jeff Symonds, Liz Lyles) pulled the plug early in the race, some looking for points had to drop out on the bike while others fought all day for their finish.

After a slow bike leg (adjustment -14:46) no one was able to run fast (only two sub-3h runs for the men and 3:16 was the fastest female marathon), leading to an overall adjustment -15:45. This was even slower than the “hot race” in Coeur d’Alene (adjustment of -8:24) where the heat impacted the athletes mainly on the run.

Male Race Results

After catching up to the slightly faster swimmers, Kyle Buckingham was leading the race for most of the day. But Viktor Zyemtsev had the best run of the day, catching Kyle around the 30k mark and eventually pulling away, winning by less than a minute. Justin Daerr used the second best run of the day to finish in third place.

Rank Name Nation Swim Bike Run Time Diff to expected Prize Money
1 Viktor Zyemtsev USA 00:53:03 04:58:32 02:54:28 08:49:46 -01:09 US$ 20000
2 Kyle Buckingham ZAF 00:48:40 04:56:18 03:01:24 08:50:30 02:16 US$ 10000
3 Justin Daerr USA 00:53:02 04:58:35 02:59:13 08:54:45 -04:15 US$ 6500
4 Derek Garcia USA 00:53:30 04:57:54 03:08:05 09:02:55 -13:55 US$ 4000
5 Chris McDonald AUS 00:53:04 04:57:37 03:14:20 09:08:45 08:08 US$ 3000
6 Nathan Killam CAN 00:54:10 05:14:14 03:02:06 09:14:34 -20:37 US$ 2000
7 Matthew Russell USA 00:59:14 05:10:54 03:06:47 09:22:39 16:05 US$ 1500
8 Swen Sundberg GER 00:53:07 05:07:04 03:20:49 09:25:10 20:01 US$ 1250
9 Travis Hawkins USA 01:02:05 05:26:03 03:18:48 09:52:59 n/a US$ 1000
10 Gray Skinner USA 01:01:44 05:10:47 03:36:05 09:53:17 n/a US$ 750
11 Elmar Heger GER 00:56:54 05:16:02 03:40:02 09:59:10 -41:25  
12 Matthew Sheeks USA 01:03:15 05:36:28 10:10:41 10:10:41 36:59  
  Barrett Brandon USA 00:48:22     DNF  
  Luke Bell AUS 00:48:27     DNF  
  Paul Ambrose GBR 00:51:48     DNF  
  Jeff Symonds CAN 00:51:53     DNF  
  Chad Holderbaum USA 00:53:10     DNF  
  Dougal Allan NZL 00:59:12     DNF  
  Jason Watson USA 01:01:05     DNF  

Both Viktor and Kyle scored enough KPR points to move into the Top 40 July spots. Barrett Brandon, Luke Bell and Paul Ambrose DNF’d on the bike and couldn’t improve their score. Luke ends up in #41 in the rankings and is either the first not to qualify or the first one receiving a roll-down slot.

Female Race Results

Melanie McQuaid picked tough conditions for her IM debut race. She stormed to the front early in the bike, and built a five-minute lead into T2 that was stable for most of the run. But after 30k Danielle Mack was quickly coming closer, took the lead around 40k and won by two minutes. Melanie finished second, while Jen Annett had the best run of the day to put herself into third place.

Rank Name Nation Swim Bike Run Time Diff to expected Prize Money
1 Danielle Mack USA 01:01:49 05:23:53 03:16:09 09:46:19 -15:25 US$ 20000
2 Melanie McQuaid CAN 00:57:47 05:22:43 03:23:44 09:48:23 n/a US$ 10000
3 Jen Annett CAN 01:02:01 05:32:14 03:16:03 09:55:06 -43:43 US$ 6500
4 Mackenzie Madison USA 00:58:17 05:33:05 03:23:54 09:59:34 -03:56 US$ 4000
5 Jessica Fleming AUS 01:01:09 05:25:02 03:30:11 10:00:18 -04:06 US$ 3000
6 Jessie Donavan USA 01:05:09 05:25:55 03:29:55 10:04:40 08:06 US$ 2000
7 Cheryl Orlovsky CAN 01:06:42 05:38:35 03:16:57 10:07:07 n/a US$ 1500
8 Kelly Fillnow USA 01:05:47 05:44:07 03:16:08 10:11:17 -17:06 US$ 1250
9 Laurel Wassner USA 00:54:12 05:49:16 03:23:36 10:12:52 16:46 US$ 1000
10 Caitlin Snow USA 00:57:59 05:54:24 03:20:20 10:17:42 30:39 US$ 750
11 Tracy Douglas AUS 01:06:51 05:45:21 03:34:29 10:32:01 09:28  
  Karen Thibodeau CAN 00:54:09     DNF  
  Elizabeth Lyles USA 00:57:55     DNF  
  Richele Frank CAN 01:11:58     DNF  

Both Laurel Wassner and Cait Snow had a chance for a July slot. They struggled in the cold conditions, but still finished – even if their 9th and 10th place finishes were short of the podium finished they would have needed.

Unofficial KPR at end of July cutoff

Here is my calculation of the KPR at the end of July, deciding 40 male and 28 female slots (in addition to the Automatic Qualifiers). My results are unofficial, the official results have been posted on the Ironman website at http://eu.ironman.com/triathlon/triathlon-rankings/points-system.aspx (but as far as I can tell show the same data). I do not count AQs in my rankings, therefore it is a bit easier to determine the Top 40 male and Top 28 females.
I will update this post with new information regarding declined slots and rolldown. For now, the athletes with a rank in brackets (e.g. “(42)”) are outside of the July slots.

Update July 28th: Yvonne Van Vlerken declines (with a post on her German language Facebook page), Dimity-Lee Duke is now in. Here’s a quick translation of Yvonne’s statement:

The race in Hawaii deserves 100% focus and absolute priority if you want to finish at the front. .. I only want to start when I have a chance for a Top 5. That I belong there I have shown with my 2nd place  at IM Melbourne in a world class field and confirmed that with my win at Challenge Roth. If I can add a win at Ironman Maastricht next weekend, I’ll be very happy and have fulfilled my main goals for this year.
Things are going to be different for 2016: For the first time I will completely focus on Kona.

Update 2 July 28th: Patrik Nilsson also declines to focus on racing well at IM Sweden, his slot rolls down to Luke Bell.

Update 3 August 15th: Lisa Hütthaler announced on her blog that she is injured and won’t be able to start 70.3 World Champs or in Kona. Her slot has rolled down to Dede Griesbauer.

Male KPR Ranking

All July slots have been accepted, the only exception is Patrik Nilsson who declined for Luke Bell.

Rank  Name Validated Points Races
AQ Frodeno, Jan V 14680 2+3 (4000/750)
AQ Kienle, Sebastian V 12415 2+2
AQ Van Lierde, Frederik V 10455 3+1 (2090/0)
1 Hoffman, Ben V 9970 2+3 (1070/415)
2 Potts, Andy V 9475 2+3 (2000/500)
3 Frommhold, Nils V 9185 2+2
4 Aernouts, Bart V 8310 2+2
5 Sanders, Lionel V 8140 2+3 (2000/750)
6 Van Berkel, Tim V 8060 2+3 (3400/45)
7 Schildknecht, Ronnie V 7550 3+2 (2000/180)
8 Don, Tim V 7430 1+3 (2000/1500)
9 McMahon, Brent V 7270 2+3 (2000/500)
10 Trautman, Matt V 7195 3+2 (1670/320)
11 Viennot, Cyril V 6995 2+2
AQ Hanson, Matt V 6990 3+2 (720/50)
AQ Vanhoenacker, Marino V 6735 3+1 (235/0)
12 Guillaume, Romain V 6200 3+2 (960/320)
13 Brown, Cameron V 6145 3+2 (960/500)
14 O’Donnell, Timothy V 6065 3+2 (235/435)
15 Rana, Ivan V 5840 3+1 (880/0)
16 Skipper, Joe V 5295 3+1 (540/0)
17 Diederen, Bas V 5245 3+1 (720/0)
18 Weiss, Michael V 5025 3+2 (1100/85)
19 Llanos, Eneko V 4980 3+1 (1070/0)
20 Butterfield, Tyler V 4965 2+3 (1335/110)
21 Alonso McKernan, Clemente V 4880 3+0 (1280/0)
22 Millward, Callum V 4825 2+3 (1600/180)
— Reed, Tim NV 4710 1+3 (340/1275)
23 Mcnamee, David V 4695 2+3 (1335/280)
AQ Symonds, Jeff V 4675 1+2
24 Boecherer, Andi V 4530 1+3 (2890/500)
25 McKenzie, Luke V 4450 2+3 (1375/240)
26 Kahlefeldt, Brad V 4400 1+3 (2890/435)
27 Amorelli, Igor V 4340 2+3 (340/125)
28 McNeice, Dylan V 4305 3+1 (960/0)
DECL Nilsson, Patrik V 4240 2+1
— Alexander, Craig NV 4210 1+3 (1900/640)
29 Gomes, Pedro V 4090 3+0 (720/0)
30 Kramer, Christian V 4055 2+0
31 Zyemtsev, Viktor V 3980 2+3 (540/400)
32 Croneborg, Fredrik V 3975 2+3 (1600/135)
33 Buckingham, Kyle V 3925 3+2 (515/195)
34 Van Berkel, Jan V 3895 2+3 (1335/320)
35 Twelsiek, Maik V 3875 3+2 (85/80)
36 Del Corral, Victor V 3860 3+2 (855/45)
37 Bozzone, Terenzo V 3850 1+3 (1600/320)
— Gomez, Javier NV 3750 0+2
38 Bretscher, Daniel V 3745 2+3 (1600/20)
39 Blanchart Tinto, Miquel V 3700 3+1 (960/0)
40 Bell, Luke V 3665 2+3 (160/345)
(41) Chrabot, Matt V 3630 1+3 (1600/640)
(42) Cartmell, Fraser V 3545 3+2 (50/15)
(43) Manocchio, Guilherme V 3540 2+2
(44) Chevrot, Denis V 3540 2+2

As a previous champion and with his validation race at IM Australia, Pete Jacobs is another Automatic Qualifier (even if he is well outside the Top40).

Female KPR Ranking

As for the male side, there was only one slot rolling down: Yvonne Van Vlerken declined, and Dimity-Lee Duke now received a July slot.

Rank  Name Validated Points Races
AQ Ryf, Daniela V 15450 2+3 (4000/500)
AQ Swallow, Jodie V 14370 2+3 (4000/750)
1 Steffen, Caroline V 13055 3+2 (2890/750)
2 Joyce, Rachel V 11100 2+3 (2890/320)
AQ Carfrae, Mirinda V 10275 2+2
3 Gajer, Julia V 9905 2+3 (3400/500)
4 Kessler, Meredith V 8960 2+3 (2000/1275)
5 Crawford, Gina V 8940 3+2 (1600/640)
AQ Monticeli, Ariane V 7810 3+2 (960/500)
6 Lyles, Elizabeth V 7790 2+1
7 Blatchford, Liz V 7770 3+2 (1280/640)
AQ Naeth, Angela V 7580 2+3 (2000/400)
8 Ellis, Mary Beth V 7515 2+2
9 Wurtele, Heather V 7390 2+3 (1335/750)
10 Gossage, Lucy V 7190 2+3 (2000/400)
DECL Van Vlerken, Yvonne V 7160 3+2 (720/500)
11 Wutti, Eva V 6920 3+2 (1670/500)
12 Stevens, Amanda V 6290 3+2 (720/540)
13 Cheetham, Susie V 6290 2+3 (1280/640)
14 Riesler, Diana V 6270 3+1 (2000/0)
15 Pedersen, Camilla V 5875 2+3 (1600/320)
16 Gerdes, Beth V 5795 3+2 (960/345)
17 Martin, Britta V 5340 3+1 (1335/0)
18 Brennan-Morrey, Ruth V 5325 2+3 (1600/35)
AQ Cave, Leanda V 5290 2+2
19 Jackson, Heather V 5285 2+3 (1280/540)
20 Hufe, Mareen V 5255 3+2 (1280/500)
DECL Huetthaler, Lisa V 5195 2+2
21 Chura, Haley V 5150 2+3 (1670/240)
22 Luxford, Annabel V 5080 1+3 (1670/920)
23 Williamson, Kelly V 5055 3+2 (565/320)
24 Abraham, Corinne V 4725 2+0
25 Deckers, Tine V 4660 2+2
26 Lundstroem, Asa V 4625 3+1 (855/0)
27 Duke, Dimity-Lee V 4585 3+2 (960/345)
28 Griesbauer, Dede V 4500 2+2
(29) Piampiano, Sarah V 4410 2+3 (1280/320)
(30) Clifford, Ashley V 4130 3+1 (1070/0)
AQ Hauschildt, Melissa V 4000 1+0
(31) Wassner, Laurel V 3760 3+2 (230/135)
(32) Snow, Caitlin V 3735 3+1 (340/0)

Ironman Whistler (June 26th) – Predictions

IMWhistler

Previous Winners

Year Male Winner Time Female Winner Time
2013 Trevor Wurtele (CAN) 08:39:33 Uli Bromme (USA) 09:28:13
2014 Marino Vanhoenacker (BEL) 08:16:10 Bree Wee (USA) 09:46:58

Last Year’s TOP 3

Male Race Results

Rank Name Nation Swim Bike Run Time
1 Marino Vanhoenacker BEL 00:50:56 04:31:34 02:51:17 08:16:10
2 Jeff Symonds CAN 00:50:59 04:51:15 02:40:34 08:25:22
3 Paul Ambrose GBR 00:50:58 04:41:05 02:58:16 08:33:10

Female Race Results

Rank Name Nation Swim Bike Run Time
1 Bree Wee USA 00:56:15 05:29:07 03:17:41 09:46:58
2 Karen Thibodeau CAN 00:55:59 05:29:19 03:22:52 09:51:35
3 Mackenzie Madison USA 00:58:53 05:25:05 03:24:45 09:52:46

Course Records

Leg Gender Record Athlete Date
Total overall 08:16:10 Marino Vanhoenacker 2014-07-27
Swim overall 00:48:45 Bryan Rhodes 2013-08-25
Bike overall 04:31:34 Marino Vanhoenacker 2014-07-27
Run overall 02:40:34 Jeff Symonds 2014-07-27
Total female 09:28:13 Uli Bromme 2013-08-25
Swim female 00:53:09 Anna Cleaver 2014-07-27
Bike female 05:13:51 Uli Bromme 2013-08-25
Run female 03:06:53 Uli Bromme 2013-08-25

Course Rating

The Course Rating for IM Canada (Whistler) is 01:53.

Race Adjustments for IM Canada

Year Adjustment Swim Adj. Bike Adj. Run Adj. # of Athletes Rating Swim Rating Bike Rating Run Rating
2013 00:57 -00:01 -01:14 03:13 19 00:57 -00:01 -01:14 03:13
2014 02:49 -00:07 -04:03 -00:13 13 01:53 -00:04 -02:38 01:30

KPR points and Prize Money

IM Canada is a P-2000 race. It has a total prize purse of 100.000 US$.

Male Race Participants

Rank Bib Name Nation Expected Time Rating Exp. Swim Exp. Bike Exp. Run Overall
1 2 Jeff Symonds CAN 08:27:08 08:34:12 00:50:34 04:47:15 02:44:19 34
2 9 Kyle Buckingham ZAF 08:34:10 08:32:46 00:48:57 04:40:45 02:59:28 28
3 4 Viktor Zyemtsev USA 08:34:28 08:35:28 00:50:06 04:47:09 02:52:13 37
4 22 Maik Twelsiek GER 08:34:49 08:38:14 00:49:57 04:33:09 03:06:43 42
5 11 Dougal Allan NZL 08:36:07 08:48:02 01:03:01 04:32:22 02:55:44 (83)
6 12 Justin Daerr USA 08:38:18 08:43:24 00:52:44 04:45:18 02:55:16 63
7 3 Paul Ambrose GBR 08:39:57 08:44:29 00:49:51 04:41:57 03:03:09 66
8 10 Barrett Brandon USA 08:43:21 08:50:34 00:48:03 04:53:59 02:56:20 (91)
9 6 Luke Bell AUS 08:43:39 08:48:38 00:47:27 04:45:34 03:05:38 85
10 5 Chris McDonald AUS 08:44:00 08:55:10 00:53:03 04:45:04 03:00:54 111
11 1 Matthew Russell USA 08:45:10 08:50:09 00:57:20 04:44:29 02:58:21 89
12 8 Swen Sundberg GER 08:49:46 08:48:40 00:52:24 04:47:53 03:04:28 86
13 14 Derek Garcia USA 09:00:44 09:06:25 00:52:48 04:49:43 03:13:13 154
14 17 Chad Holderbaum USA 09:02:25 09:19:15 00:54:12 04:53:43 03:09:30 215
15 19 Matthew Sheeks USA 09:12:02 09:29:54 01:02:31 05:05:35 02:58:57 260
16 18 Nathan Killam CAN 09:22:27 09:24:37 00:55:43 05:03:37 03:18:08 246
17 16 Elmar Heger GER 10:26:26 10:29:21 00:54:48 05:12:13 04:14:26 463
18 21 Jason Watson USA 11:05:04 11:09:00 00:59:19 05:37:25 04:23:19 487
13 Alistair Eeckman USA n/a unrated unrated unrated unrated (n/a)
15 Travis Hawkins USA n/a unrated unrated unrated unrated (n/a)
20 Gray Skinner USA n/a unrated unrated unrated unrated (n/a)

Female Race Participants

Rank Bib Name Nation Expected Time Rating Exp. Swim Exp. Bike Exp. Run Overall
1 33 (Mary Beth Ellis) USA 09:20:12 09:17:15 00:51:03 05:07:52 03:16:17 9
2 35 Elizabeth Lyles USA 09:23:17 09:24:14 00:56:49 05:17:04 03:04:25 19
3 53 Caitlin Snow USA 09:26:50 09:29:02 00:55:46 05:23:15 03:02:49 24
4 38 (Beth Gerdes) USA 09:27:14 09:42:34 01:00:24 05:19:59 03:01:51 50
5 37 Danielle Mack USA 09:31:25 09:56:23 01:02:25 05:13:48 03:10:12 82
6 48 (Amanda Stevens) USA 09:32:11 09:33:26 00:50:44 05:17:09 03:19:18 33
7 51 Laurel Wassner USA 09:38:55 09:44:01 00:53:49 05:28:35 03:11:32 53
8 34 Jessie Donavan USA 09:40:52 09:38:56 01:07:04 05:11:22 03:17:27 46
9 43 Mackenzie Madison USA 09:46:51 09:51:52 00:59:06 05:21:20 03:21:25 69
10 32 Karen Thibodeau CAN 09:48:17 09:53:50 00:54:48 05:28:46 03:19:43 74
11 41 Jessica Fleming AUS 09:49:37 09:52:46 01:00:01 05:16:33 03:28:03 71
12 49 Christie Sym AUS 10:04:06 10:05:17 00:58:39 05:32:30 03:27:57 105
13 39 Tracy Douglas AUS 10:04:53 10:10:10 01:05:23 05:24:43 03:29:47 114
14 40 Kelly Fillnow USA 10:09:00 10:16:40 01:04:19 05:33:51 03:25:51 125
15 52 Molly Roohi USA 10:13:16 10:16:44 01:04:44 05:34:43 03:28:50 126
16 50 Jen Annett CAN 10:13:29 10:27:41 01:05:16 05:23:28 03:39:45 158
36 Melanie McQuaid CAN n/a unrated unrated unrated unrated (n/a)
42 Richele Frank CAN n/a unrated unrated unrated unrated (n/a)
44 Cheryl Orlovsky CAN n/a unrated unrated unrated unrated (n/a)

KPR Situation

Male Race Participants

Jeff Symonds is already safe for Kona, but there are a handful of athletes looking for more points to get a July Kona slot. A good number to shoot for is Terenzo Bozzone’s 3.850 points.

  • Luke Bell (3.665 – just needs a few more points, a 7th will probably be enough)
  • Paul Ambrose (3.095 – needs a podium finish)
  • Kyle Buckingham (2.665 – needs second place finish)
  • Matthew Russell (2.440), Barrett Brandon (2.320) and Viktor Zyemtsev (1.980) probably need a win

Female Race Participants

There are two athletes that can get a July slot with a good result:

  • Caitlin Snow (3.735 but already three IMs, needs a third place finish)
  • Laurel Wassner (3.580 – needs a third place finish)

Winning Odds

Male Race Participants

Jeff Symonds is the favorite to win his home IM:

  • Jeff Symonds: 36% (2-1)
  • Justin Daerr: 13% (7-1)
  • Maik Twelsiek: 11% (8-1)
  • Paul Ambrose: 8% (11-1)
  • Viktor Zyemtsev: 8% (11-1)
  • Kyle Buckingham: 8% (11-1)
  • Dougal Allan: 6% (15-1)
  • Chris McDonald: 4% (22-1)
  • Luke Bell: 3% (36-1)
  • Matthew Russell: 2% (53-1)

Female Race Participants

With Mary Beth Ellis, Beth Gerdes and Amanda Stevens a lot of the top contenders on paper are probably not starting in Whistler, I’ve put them (in brackets) in the list of participants and in the odds. Leaving them aside, Liz Lyles is the favorite on the female side:

  • (Mary Beth Ellis: 27% (3-1))
  • Elizabeth Lyles: 21% (4-1)
  • (Beth Gerdes: 18% (5-1))
  • Caitlin Snow: 14% (6-1)
  • Danielle Mack: 14% (6-1)
  • (Amanda Stevens: 2% (46-1))

Ironman UK 2015 – Analyzing Results

Race Conditions

The weather this year was cold and rainy, resulting in slow conditions even for the tough bike course of Ironman UK: A -20:27 adjustment for the bike and an overall adjustment of -17:24 are some of the slowest numbers we’ve seen all year so far.

Male Race Results

David McNamee was leading the race for almost the whole day – after the swim he was joined by Fraser Cartmell who built a three minute lead into T2. Fraser ran well and finished second but David’s 2:51 marathon won the race by a comfortable margin. Joe Skipper managed to get onto the UK podium for the third time in three years – but not in the place he was looking for.

While both Fraser and Denis Chevrot (5th place) are just short of the 40th July cutoff place, David, Joe and Victor Del Corral (4th place) are safe for a July slot.

Rank Name Nation Swim Bike Run Time Diff to expected Prize Money
1 David Mcnamee GBR 00:48:01 05:02:34 02:51:48 08:46:37 00:47 US$ 14000
2 Fraser Cartmell GBR 00:48:28 04:58:39 02:59:52 08:51:06 -13:20 US$ 7000
3 Joe Skipper GBR 00:56:06 04:58:30 02:55:44 08:55:38 00:12 US$ 4500
4 Victor Del Corral ESP 00:55:54 05:00:07 02:56:32 08:58:45 07:59 US$ 3000
5 Denis Chevrot FRA 00:48:06 05:08:51 03:05:38 09:09:09 17:37 US$ 2500
6 Brad Williams USA 00:57:06 05:14:43 03:09:10 09:27:56 n/a US$ 2000
7 Sam Clark NZL 00:57:29 05:17:19 03:07:09 09:28:26 n/a US$ 1500
8 Oliver Simon GBR 00:51:36 05:20:29 03:19:05 09:37:40 -07:02 US$ 1250
9 Yu Shinozaki JPN 00:56:48 05:27:38 03:52:14 10:22:54 01:09 US$ 1000
10 Simon Brierley SEY 01:00:41 06:00:03 03:48:09 11:03:14 n/a US$ 750
  David Dellow AUS 00:48:32     DNF  

Female Race Results

Lucy Gossage repeated her 2013 win in convincing fashion by posting the fastest bike and run, winning by more than 30 minutes. Carolin Livesey used a strong bike ride to finish in second place, while Alice Hector returned to Ironman UK after an 8-year “break” to finish third, outrunning Eleanor Haresign by just a minute.

With regards to Kona qualifying, Lucy was already safe, but Michelle Vesterby had a frustrating DNF on the run after being misled on the bike, resulting in extra 16k and being well out of contention for the second place she needed. 

Rank Name Nation Swim Bike Run Time Diff to expected Prize Money
1 Lucy Gossage GBR 00:59:11 05:22:56 03:03:43 09:31:58 -05:52 US$ 14000
2 Caroline Livesey GBR 01:01:03 05:36:36 03:21:07 10:05:21 -10:33 US$ 7000
3 Alice Hector GBR 00:56:49 05:59:01 03:16:06 10:18:46 -39:31 US$ 4500
4 Eleanor Haresign GBR 00:59:11 05:46:46 03:26:43 10:19:48 01:06 US$ 3000
5 Shiao-yu Li TWN 01:05:49 06:01:53 03:10:37 10:29:52 14:36 US$ 2500
6 Joanna Carritt GBR 01:04:02 06:01:48 03:35:36 10:48:47 13:57 US$ 2000
7 Anne Jensen DNK 01:13:09 05:56:37 03:48:32 11:05:57 33:16 US$ 1500
8 Kathryn King GBR 01:10:02 06:17:16 03:39:51 11:17:20 n/a US$ 1250
9 Jana Candrova CZE 01:08:58 06:18:53 03:42:43 11:19:40 32:16 US$ 1000
10 Suzie Richards GBR 01:03:23 06:31:08 04:05:06 11:48:48 n/a US$ 750
  Michelle Vesterby DEN 00:54:57 06:06:10   DNF  
  Keiko Tanaka JPN 00:55:02 06:12:25   DNF  
  Amy Forshaw GBR 01:03:44     DNF  

Ironman Switzerland 2015 – Analyzing Results

Race Conditions

As seems to be the norm for Switzerland the last few years, the race was again a slow one. A non-wetsuit swim and hot weather on the run lead to an adjustment of -8:09 and a new course rating of 4:49. Obviously, no new course record could be set in these conditions.

Male Race Results

Ronnie Schildknecht & IM Switzerland – what else is there to say?! Ronnie raced a very smart race to win his home race for the eighth time! This year he needed a strong 2:50 marathon to overtake the T2-leaders. Of these Manuel Küng couldn’t quite hold on to the lead (he still finished a respectable 7th), but Jan Van Berkel fought hard for his second place and a Kona slot. Alessandro Degasperi had the fastest marathon (2:47), but he lost too much time on the bike to move further ahead than third place.

Only Jan was able to score enough points for a Kona slot (Ronnie was already safe), especially Michael Raelert (DNF with cramps, decided not not to risk too much for 70.3 Worlds) and Mike Aigroz (had a good swim but hurt his foot when exiting the water) were frustrated with their races.

Rank Name Nation Swim Bike Run Time Diff to expected Prize Money
1 Ronnie Schildknecht SUI 00:55:14 04:32:11 02:50:02 08:21:19 -13:27 US$ 10000
2 Jan Van Berkel SUI 00:50:47 04:33:04 03:00:53 08:28:57 -26:51 US$ 5000
3 Alessandro Degasperi ITA 00:55:16 04:44:47 02:47:07 08:31:36 -04:30 US$ 3250
4 Mike Schifferle SUI 01:03:07 04:39:30 02:56:23 08:46:44 -25:00 US$ 2500
5 Pascal Ramali GER 01:01:56 04:37:08 03:06:47 08:50:44 n/a US$ 1750
6 David Plese SLO 00:55:12 04:48:15 03:08:29 08:56:19 09:17 US$ 1250
7 Manuel Kueng SUI 00:48:52 04:33:19 03:33:02 09:00:10 -23:15 US$ 750
8 Dirk Wijnalda NED 01:02:23 04:58:06 03:09:03 09:13:57 06:19 US$ 500
9 Rafael Wyss SUI 01:02:18 04:52:42 03:17:00 09:17:23 -00:30  
10 Samuel Huerzeler SUI 00:55:20 04:59:13 03:25:41 09:25:41 11:14  
11 Rinus Holvoet BEL 00:58:41 05:03:48 03:26:26 09:37:32 14:45  
12 Kevin Everett USA 00:50:49 05:17:04 03:41:52 09:57:31 38:44  
13 Matthew Smith CZE 01:06:44 05:27:20 03:27:48 10:08:30 00:28  
14 Lukas Polan CZE 01:06:27 05:25:25 04:21:55 10:59:18 55:44  
15 Michal Volejnik CZE 01:06:35 05:21:50 04:35:03 11:12:16 n/a  
16 Ivan Kharin RUS 01:06:59 05:33:05 06:09:33 12:54:50 1:46:08  
17 Mathias Nagel GER 02:00:54 06:51:46 06:13:29 15:14:34 n/a  
  Michael Raelert GER 00:50:43 04:47:11   DNF  
  Mauro Baertsch SUI 00:58:36 04:41:03   DNF  
  Matteo Fontana ITA 01:01:55 04:41:53   DNF  
  Alberto Casadei ITA 00:50:48 04:56:16   DNF  
  Martin Bader AUT 00:51:35 05:02:27   DNF  
  Thomas Kaiser GER 01:03:04 04:59:00   DNF  
  Marek Nemcik SVK 01:15:41 06:31:17   DNF  
  Mike Aigroz SUI 00:53:42     DNF  
  Evgeniy Nikitin RUS 00:54:53     DNF  
  Damien With FRA 00:58:06     DNF  
  Gilian Oriet SUI 01:01:52     DNF  
  Valentin Zasypkin RUS 01:28:02     DNF  

Female Race Results

Mary Beth Ellis was the race leader for most of the day. She was setting the pace on the swim and the bike, but she was struggling on the run. However, it took Beth Gerdes a phenomenal 3:01:24 marathon (only 38 seconds slower than Kristin Möller’s course record) to close the gap to MBE. Beth took the lead at 36k and went on to win her first professional Ironman. MBE finished second and Mareen Hufe took a solid third place. All podium finishers can be happy with their results as all of them secured Kona slots. 

Rank Name Nation Swim Bike Run Time Diff to expected Prize Money
1 Beth Gerdes USA 01:00:53 05:13:40 03:01:24 09:21:05 -28:36 US$ 10000
2 Mary Beth Ellis USA 00:55:12 05:02:07 03:24:13 09:26:37 00:55 US$ 5000
3 Mareen Hufe GER 01:01:42 05:10:33 03:18:06 09:35:26 -10:20 US$ 3250
4 Dimity-Lee Duke AUS 01:03:56 05:18:26 03:23:32 09:51:24 -03:40 US$ 2500
5 Lina-Kristin Schink GER 01:14:00 05:26:57 03:25:27 10:11:12 -14:41 US$ 1750
6 Alena Stevens SVK 01:04:39 05:26:41 03:35:22 10:11:40 -19:44 US$ 1250
7 Mariana Andrade BRA 01:03:58 05:40:59 03:55:37 10:46:04 26:08 US$ 750
  Regula Rohrbach SUI 01:01:45 05:26:59   DNF  
  Angela Kuehnlein GER 01:06:51     DNF  
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