Cunningham and Lidbury win Ironman 70.3 Texas
Victoria's Sara Gross takes sixth in Galveston.
Australia’s Richie Cunningham and Great Britain’s Emma-Kate Lidbury won Ironman 70.3 Texas titles today in Galveston.
Out of the water in third (23:34), Cunningham quickly got to the front of the notoriously windy but flat 90 km bike course in 2:08:31. Leading by 1:25 over Australia’s Tim Berkel (rode the top split of 2:08:01) after ride, Cunningham padded his lead with the top run of 1:12:45 to earn the victory in 3:48:24. Berkel maintained second (3:51:35), and fellow Aussie Chris McDonald finished third (3:53:15).
Like Cunningham, Lidbury trailed out of the water in third (25:41) but cranked out the top women’s bike split of 2:19:14 to take a commanding 5:44 lead over American Jessica Jacobs who had a great ride too (2:19:58) to overcome a slow swim (31:43). Being in front by a comfortable margin, Lidbury ran a steady 1:24:43 to take the win in 4:13:52. Defending champion Kelly Williamson came off the bike in ninth but ran her way up to second (4:16:04), and fellow American Caitlin Snow placed third (4:17:38). Tenth after the bike, Victoria’s Sara Gross gained a few positions on the half marathon to finish sixth (4:23:46).
Top 10 Men
| CUNNINGHAM, Richie | USA | 00:23:34 | 02:08:31 | 01:12:45 | 03:48:24 | 1 |
| BERKEL, Tim | AUS | 00:25:20 | 02:08:01 | 01:14:24 | 03:51:35 | 2 |
| MCDONALD, Chris | USA | 00:25:25 | 02:08:05 | 01:15:47 | 03:53:15 | 3 |
| JEULAND, Jose | FRA | 00:25:27 | 02:09:11 | 01:15:42 | 03:54:31 | 4 |
| GOMES, Pedro | PT | 00:25:16 | 02:09:56 | 01:15:50 | 03:54:50 | 5 |
| ROBINS, Mitch | AU | 00:24:06 | 02:13:50 | 01:15:09 | 03:57:01 | 6 |
| BAIRD, Christopher | USA | 00:29:20 | 02:08:58 | 01:14:44 | 03:57:15 | 7 |
| DELSAUT, Trevor | MEX | 00:25:36 | 02:12:04 | 01:16:40 | 03:59:23 | 8 |
| BOHACH, Adam | USA | 00:26:39 | 02:12:54 | 01:15:29 | 03:59:40 | 9 |
| GARDNER, Allen | USA | 00:22:51 | 02:10:29 | 01:23:38 | 04:00:54 | 10 |
Top 10 Women
| LIDBURY, Emma-Kate | GBR | 00:25:41 | 02:19:14 | 01:24:43 | 04:13:52 | 1 |
| WILLIAMSON, Kelly | USA | 00:25:42 | 02:28:12 | 01:18:16 | 04:16:04 | 2 |
| SNOW, Caitlin | USA | 00:25:45 | 02:27:47 | 01:19:43 | 04:17:38 | 3 |
| LYLES, Liz | USA | 00:27:52 | 02:25:21 | 01:19:57 | 04:17:48 | 4 |
| JACOBS, Jessica | USA | 00:31:43 | 02:19:58 | 01:24:20 | 04:20:19 | 5 |
| GROSS, Sara | CAN | 00:27:45 | 02:25:53 | 01:25:00 | 04:23:46 | 6 |
| HANSEN, Jennie | USA | 00:31:46 | 02:24:24 | 01:22:25 | 04:23:51 | 7 |
| JONES, Stephanie | USA | 00:31:45 | 02:23:19 | 01:24:49 | 04:24:14 | 8 |
| LEIGGI, Heather | USA | 00:30:06 | 02:22:46 | 01:27:21 | 04:24:42 | 9 |
| CHURA, Haley | USA | 00:24:33 | 02:27:10 | 01:30:43 | 04:27:30 | 10 |
