Lake Placid, NY (July 28, 2013) – Andy Potts (USA) successfully defended his title, becoming the only man to do so, with a time of 8:43:29 and Jennie Hansen (USA) captured her first IRONMAN win with a time of 9:35:06 in the 15th year of the IRONMAN Lake Placid triathlon.
Like last year, Potts led everyone out of Mirror Lake. This time he swam 46:48 (down from his 45:10 course record swim in 2012), followed by Hungary’s Balazs Csoke (49:22) and Italy’s Daniel Fontana (49:23). Potts left T1 with close to a three-minute lead over the pair.
Once on the bike course, Potts continued to gain momentum and further extended his lead over Fontana and Csoke. He led by 7:21 after 56 miles, and upon completing the 112-mile jaunt in the Adirondacks, he clocked in a 4:48:33 ride and led by 10:39.
Taking a generous lead into the run, Potts ran a controlled 3:02:41 marathon capturing the win with 8:43:29. Fontana finished second in his first IRONMAN race in North America (8:48:29), and American Ian Mikelson had his best race at Lake Placid going 8:51:07.
Top five professional men’s results are below:
In the women’s race, American Katy Blakemore set the pace for the field on the swim. The Denver native completed the swim in 52:05. Twelve seconds ahead of fellow American Dede Griesbauer, 3:13 ahead of Australian Carrie Lester, and 11:12 ahead of Hansen.
Blakemore left T1 with a 16 second lead but Griesbauer quickly got to the front and led the rest of the bike ride. She rode 5:23:02 and entered T2 with a 3:35 lead over Lester. However, with the top ride of the day (5:20:25), Hansen quietly made up ground and was only 8:38 back.
While Griesbauer and Lester battled up front, with Lester taking over the lead just after the four-mile mark, Hansen continued her mission to get to the front after having had enough of finishing second at Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas and IRONMAN Lake Placid last year.
Hansen posted the top marathon last year to claim second place, so Lester and Griesbauer had good reason to be concerned that the strong running Rochester native could duplicate that feat. Hansen actually surpassed that performance. She passed Lester just past the 12-mile mark and stayed in front for good. Hansen closed with a women’s best 3:05:04 marathon to earn her first career IRONMAN victory in 9:35:06 – a vast improvement over her 9:56:40 last year where she swam 1:09:58, biked 5:27:16, and ran 3:12:25.
Sporting a smile throughout the run, the energetic Blakemore moved up two positions during the marathon to earn second in 9:42:35. Lester toughed out a third place finish (9:47:59).
Top five professional women’s results are below:
One of nearly 30 events in the global IRONMAN Series, IRONMAN Lake Placid is the oldest IRONMAN event in the continental U.S. and features one of the most beautiful courses on the circuit. The two-loop swim course took place in Mirror Lake, followed by a unique transition in the Olympic Speed-Skating Oval. The 112-mile bike led athletes along state, county and local roads while passing breathtaking vistas of the Adirondack Mountains and the New York country-side. The spectator friendly marathon went through downtown Lake Placid four times and features tree-lined river scenery. The event offered a total professional prize purse of $25,000 and 60 coveted slots to the 2013 IRONMAN World Championship, taking place on Oct. 12 in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i.
Source: IRONMAN.com
Photos: Nils Nilsen
