Rapp and Ellis win Ironman Canada
Gross gets fourth, Blake gets fifth, and lots of Canadian age group winners.
Americans Jordan Rapp and Mary Beth Ellis took overall wins at the 29th Ironman Canada today.
Rapp, the 2009 Ironman Canada champion who missed out on defending his championship last year due to a near death accident while on a training ride, made the best out of his return with a dominating performance. He earned his third career Ironman win by starting off with a 53:41 swim, he then took control of the race with a 4:38:06 bike and got further ahead with a 2:53:17 marathon to cross the line in 8:28:09. Germany’s Torsten Abel came in next (8:41:09), and Belgium’s Bert Jammaer took third in 8:42:34.
Victoria’s Jasper Blake, the 2006 champion, moved from 13th off the bike to finish fifth (8:50:30) thanks to a 2:54:33 run. Toronto’s Nigel Gray finished sixth (8:57:41), and Kelowna’s Trevor Wurtele (9:05:19) finished eighth.
After winning her Ironman debut in Austria (July 3), and taking her second win at Ironman Regensburg (August 7), Ellis earned her third Ironman victory in a row today possibly signaling the arrival of another phenom to the triathlon scene.
Much like Rapp, Ellis also won in convincing fashion thanks to a crushing 4:54:21 ride (the only woman to go sub 5 hours). She swam 53:36, and ran 3:12:10 to finish with a time of 9:03:13 – this also placed her at eighth overall. Fellow American Kim Loeffler passed Meredith Kessler (the defending champion from the USA) with 2 km to go on the run to capture second (9:34:54), leaving Kessler to settle for third (9:37:22). Victoria’s Sara Gross finished fourth (9:46:56), a position she held all day. Vancouver’s Gillian Clayton finished fifth overall and won the very competitive women’s 30-34 age group. Toronto’s Fiona Whitby took seventh (10:13:28), and Vancouver age grouper (women 30-34) Genevieve Cauffope placed ninth in 10:21:31.
Top 10 Men
1. Jordan Rapp 8:28:09
2. Torsten Abel 8:41:09
3. Bert Jammaer 8:42:34
4. Christopher Bagg 8:47:25
5. Jasper Blake CAN 8:50:30
6. Nigel Gray CAN 8:57:41
7. Matthew Russell 8:59:31
8. Trevor Wurtele CAN 9:05:19
9. Scott Tremblay 9:07:03
10. Matthias Buxhofer 9:12:10 *M35-39
Top 10 Women
1. Mary Beth Ellis 9:03:13
2. Kim Loeffler 9:34:54
3. Meredith Kessler 09:37:22
4. Sara Gross CAN 9:46:56
5. Gillian Clayton CAN 10:01:58 *W30-34
6. Rachel Ross 10:12:17 *W35-39
7. Fiona Whitby CAN 10:13:28
8. Jacqueline Pearce 10:19:30 *W30-34
9. Genevieve Cauffope CAN 10:21:31 *W30-34
10. Sharon Houghton 10:22:44 *W30-34
Canadian Age Group Winners
Jonathan Balabuck    M30-34     00:55:53     05:20:16     03:13:38       09:35:41
Joe Rizzi       M40-44   :00:58:06    5:15:06    3:25:52   09:44:25
Eric Suess     M25-29       01:08:02    05:03:43      03:31:09        09:47:58
Chris Young     M18-24        01:06:19       05:06:41      03:32:33       09:53:16
Patrice Kretz     M50-54        00:59:48         05:12:08        03:39:20        09:57:52
Gillian Clayton   F30-34       01:08:39          05:34:33         03:14:27        10:01:58
Hilary Mathis     F25-29       01:10:23           05:47:39         03:38:43        10:43:47
Sandra Foweraker    F45-49       01:04:12       05:44:45       03:49:44        10:46:15
Milos Kostic      M70-74          01:32:23         05:33:21         04:00:04         11:14:24
Laura Leno      F55-59          01:16:51          06:06:14          04:52:06          12:22:15
Roger Barker    M65-69         01:43:40         06:37:00         04:07:38         12:42:09
Ann Hayes    F60-64         01:22:08         07:23:27         05:06:57          14:04:04
