Pro Women Capitalize in Cozumel
IRONMAN 70.3 Cozumel is becoming quite a popular race for our Colorado pros; and, as someone who has spectated on that particular course, I can see why they might want to suffer on such a tough, hot course down there in paradise! Regardless of the conditions, our pros went out hard and came up with some great results.
Seymour, Stott Sail to Podium

Boulderites, and Lovato Performance-coached athletes, Jeanni Seymour and Georgia Stott took it to the competition and finished second and third on a very hot and humid day. The pair started the day only two seconds apart out of the water with Stott arriving in 24:36 and Seymour in 24:38.
From there, Seymour started out on what would be the fastest bike split of the day for the women, 2:22:19, putting herself in the lead. Stott kept a solid turnover on the bike as well, keeping herself in the hunt for a podium finish and turning in a bike time of 2:27:35.
“I was able to come first off the bike which is not an unknown feeling, but still a new one. I felt nervous yet excited being in the front. My day went 90% smoothly, I had a good swim, a solid bike but really struggled in the last three miles on the run,” said Seymour.

Seymour stayed strong most of the run, turning in a time of 1:38:27, but it wasn’t enough to hold off eventual winner Celine Schaerer, who made up time with her run split of 1:34:29. Not far behind was Stott who would turn in a steady run time of 1:39:08 and solidify the final podium spot behind Schaerer and Seymour.
“Going into the run, I was in the lead, but all I was thinking about was staying steady and surviving the conditions out there. It was an awesome experience battling it out with Celine on the run and I definitely took some great lesson away from this race,” added Seymour.
Besides finishing second and third on the day, Seymour and Stott were greeted by the race emcee, and their coach, Michael Lovato, at the finish line. Lovato, who is fluent in Spanish, is a regular race-announcer for many of IRONMAN’s events, and for Seymour it was a very happy race ending.
“It was really special having my coach Michael Lovato announcing at the race. Just knowing that he is there makes me push even harder. It was also great to have him at the finish and announce myself and teammate Georgia Stott on the podium,” Seymour said.
Two other Colorado 70.3 specialists, Danielle Mack and Lesley Smith, also competed, finishing fourth and seventh on the day. Mack finished in 4:41:27 thanks to a solid overall day, while Smith, who turned in the fastest run time in the women’s race, 1:27:31, crossed the finish line in 5:00:19. Congrats to all of our Colorado ladies and way to represent!
Scott Leads Colorado Men in Cozumel

Our Colorado men may not have made the podium this race, but still had a good showing, finishing sixth, seventh, and eighth respectively. Boulderite Drew Scott was the top Colorado pro, finishing in an overall time of 3:53:20, followed by Boulderite Leon Griffin, who finished only 39 seconds behind Scott in 3:53:59. Boulderite James Hadley hit the finish line in 3:55:10 and turned in the second fastest swim time, 22:13, which was only six seconds slower than eventual winner Andi Boecherer. We hear Griffin and Hadley will be racing IRONMAN 70.3 Cabos next month and wish them the best of luck. Way to go, guys!
Rakita Rips Up Utah
I admit it. I do not know much about XTERRA racing, but I know that Colorado pro Branden Rakita is very good. A week ago he finished XTERRA Utah in fifth place overall. Not only did he have a great showing, but his performance put him in fifth place on the year in the Pro Series. Great job, Branden!