Richie Cunningham and Catriona Morrison take Ironman 70.3 St. Croix
Flats prevent Angela Naeth from defending.
Australia’s Richie Cunningham completed the swim in sixth position (24:26), rode up to second (2:24:37), then passed American Ben Collins with a 1:21:26 run for the victory in 4:10:29.
“Super excited to finally get the win at St. Croix 70.3 after 8 years of trying. Lady luck was on my side today,” said the 40-year-old Cunningham on Twitter.
Great Britain’s Catriona Morrison exited the water in 11th (29:44), but got herself into the lead with the top ride of 2:39:16 bike, and got event further away from the rest of the field with the top half marathon of 1:29:56 to take the relatively easy win (4:38:56). Victoria’s Sara Gross finished seventh (5:00:07).
Canada’s Angela Naeth, the defending champion, was forced to withdraw during the bike.
“Made it to mile 3, front flat, repairs first tubular, only to flat again mile 25. Lots of dnfs from bad conditions. Will be racing again soon,” said Naeth on Twitter.
Top 10 Men
| CUNNINGHAM, RICHIE | USA | 00:24:26 | 02:24:37 | 01:21:26 | 04:10:29 | 1 |
| CLARKE, WILL | GBR | 00:24:35 | 02:27:40 | 01:21:12 | 04:13:27 | 2 |
| ELLICE, CLARK | NZL | 00:24:16 | 02:25:53 | 01:23:23 | 04:13:32 | 3 |
| LOVATO, MICHAEL | USA | 00:26:58 | 02:26:02 | 01:26:58 | 04:19:58 | 4 |
| GALINDEZ, OSCAR | BRA | 00:27:14 | 02:23:55 | 01:32:47 | 04:23:56 | 5 |
| JEULAND, JOSE | FRA | 00:27:20 | 02:32:20 | 01:25:26 | 04:25:06 | 6 |
| VELEZ, EDGARDO | PRI | 00:24:31 | 02:34:31 | 01:27:39 | 04:26:41 | 7 |
| LUFT, MIKOLAJ | POL | 00:27:23 | 02:27:35 | 01:32:34 | 04:27:32 | 8 |
| SCHUMANN, FELIX | DEU | 00:26:46 | 02:29:04 | 01:31:58 | 04:27:48 | 9 |
| CORDOVEZ, PEDRO | PAN | 00:29:53 | 02:30:04 | 01:28:53 | 04:28:50 | 10 |
Top 10 Women
| MORRISON, CATRIONA | GBR | 00:29:44 | 02:39:16 | 01:29:56 | 04:38:56 | 1 |
| LAWN, JOANNA | NZL | 00:28:09 | 02:42:18 | 01:33:33 | 04:44:00 | 2 |
| CZESNIK, MARIA | POL | 00:28:02 | 02:45:26 | 01:32:20 | 04:45:48 | 3 |
| STEVENS, AMANDA | USA | 00:26:14 | 02:42:51 | 01:40:12 | 04:49:17 | 4 |
| CLIFFORD, ASHLEY | USA | 00:28:00 | 02:53:50 | 01:32:21 | 04:54:11 | 5 |
| KRAFT, NINA | USA | 00:27:05 | 02:52:52 | 01:39:06 | 04:59:03 | 6 |
| GROSS, SARA | CAN | 00:28:08 | 02:55:07 | 01:36:52 | 05:00:07 | 7 |
| FILLNOW, KELLY | USA | 00:32:33 | 02:52:49 | 01:37:00 | 05:02:22 | 8 |
| ROOHI, MOLLY | USA | 00:32:28 | 02:54:56 | 01:36:12 | 05:03:36 | 9 |
| ROBINSON, KRISTYN | BMU | 00:34:46 | 02:47:56 | 01:43:33 | 05:06:15 | 10 |