Colorado athletes Ben Hoffman (second), Justin Metzler (third) and Steven Zawaski (ninth) posted top-10 finishes in the men’s pro field at IRONMAN 70.3 Santa Cruz.
Eric Lagerstrom claimed victory in 3 hours 47 minutes 25 seconds. Hoffman finished about a minute and a half later in 3:49:04, followed by Metzler in 3:51:45. Metzler posted the fastest run split of the day with his impressive 1:15:09 half-marathon.
Zawaski, who just missed the men’s lead pack in the swim, put in a solid 2:10:19 bike split and 1:18:54 run for his ninth-place finish. See what he has to say to about the race dynamics in our video interview.
On the women’s side, Sarah Crowley of Australia, who exited the water in seventh, took the title after coming back from a 1:21 deficit. Crowley’s 2:17:17 bike split (women’s fastest of the day) brought her into the lead. On the run, she managed to hold off Paula Findlay of Canada who was looking to close the gap with her fastest women’s run split of the day in 1:22:39. Skye Moench placed third, 3:27 behind Crowley.
It was a gorgeous day in Santa Cruz with a customary wetsuit swim in the brisk water alongside the wharf. The bike course featured rolling hills and California coastline vistas, and the challenging run took athletes along the coastal bluffs before finishing on the beach. Finishers came in under sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s.
Top Pro Men
| Name | Country | Div Rank | Swim | Bike | Run | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lagerstrom, Eric | USA | 1 | 00:22:22 | 02:04:41 | 01:15:57 | 03:47:25 |
| Hoffman, Ben | USA | 2 | 00:23:45 | 02:04:43 | 01:16:01 | 03:49:04 |
| Metzler, Justin | USA | 3 | 00:23:36 | 02:08:19 | 01:15:09 | 03:51:45 |
| Buckingham, Kyle | ZAF | 4 | 00:23:38 | 02:08:17 | 01:17:05 | 03:53:38 |
| Cunnama, James | ZAF | 5 | 00:24:14 | 02:07:25 | 01:19:10 | 03:55:22 |
| Talansky, Andrew | USA | 6 | 00:25:10 | 02:01:59 | 01:26:21 | 03:58:14 |
| Bach, Elliot | USA | 7 | 00:23:44 | 02:08:09 | 01:22:04 | 03:58:32 |
| Harrington, Sean | USA | 8 | 00:25:09 | 02:14:33 | 01:14:05 | 03:58:36 |
| Zawaski, Steven | USA | 9 | 00:25:12 | 02:10:04 | 01:18:54 | 03:58:57 |
| Portmann, Kevin | FRA | 10 | 00:25:59 | 02:09:00 | 01:19:53 | 03:59:38 |
Top Pro Women
| Name | Country | Div Rank | Swim | Bike | Run | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crowley, Sarah | AUS | 1 | 00:25:29 | 02:17:00 | 01:24:05 | 04:11:40 |
| Findlay, Paula | CAN | 2 | 00:24:18 | 02:20:39 | 01:22:38 | 04:12:09 |
| Moench, Skye | USA | 3 | 00:25:55 | 02:18:34 | 01:25:26 | 04:15:07 |
| Norden, Lisa | SWE | 4 | 00:24:09 | 02:18:09 | 01:32:11 | 04:19:29 |
| Spieldenner, Jennifer | USA | 5 | 00:24:12 | 02:24:49 | 01:26:55 | 04:20:47 |
| Thek, Grace | AUS | 6 | 00:25:38 | 02:30:38 | 01:24:49 | 04:26:22 |
| Barnett, Lauren | USA | 7 | 00:27:51 | 02:25:47 | 01:28:33 | 04:27:27 |
| Bachelder St-Pierre, Pamela-Ann | CAN | 8 | 00:27:55 | 02:27:56 | 01:27:00 | 04:27:51 |
| Laine, Kinsey | USA | 9 | 00:25:28 | 02:29:31 | 01:27:50 | 04:28:21 |
| Huse, Sue | CAN | 10 | 00:31:23 | 02:26:22 | 01:28:08 | 04:32:16 |
