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Raelert repeats and Swallow wins first at Clearwater

Tisseyre gets third, Symonds finishes 13th.

Germany’s Michael Raelert successfully defended his Ironman 70.3 World title, and Great Britain’s Jodie Swallow became the fifth women’s champion in five years today in Clearwater, Florida.

Rougher water conditions, and more wind on the bike made for a slightly slower finish time from last year but Raelert still managed a quick 1:09:57 half marathon earn his unprecedented title defense in 3:41:19. Filip Ospaly (CZE), three-time Olympian, battled Raelert for a good portion of the run but lacked the endurance to keep up, he lost touch with Raelert a few miles after the halfway point and had to settle for second (3:42:56). American Tim O’Donnell finished third (3:44:18). Penticton’s Jeff Symonds was the fastest Canadian in 3:49:45, 13th overall.

Swallow’s victory went much differently. The 2009 ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Champion was first out of the water (24:20), and she never surrendered that lead all day. Swallow even topped off her day with the fastest run 1:21:59, to take the win in 4:06:28. Fellow Brit, Leanda Cave struggled early but recovered to finish second (4:12:34), while Canada’s Magali Tisseyre ran strong to get third (4:13:04). B.C.’s Angela Naeth finished 7th (4:18:40), and XTERRA legend Melanie McQuaid was 16th (4:24:59).

Next year’s 70.3 Championship will be held at a much tougher course in Lake Las Vegas, so we may never see anyone approach Raelert’s 2009 Championship record of 3:34:04. However, Clearwater will still be a site for fast racing because it is the host of the new 5150 series season finale.

Top 10 Women
1 Swallow, Jodie 1/1/1 29/WPRO 00:24:20 02:16:37 01:21:59 04:06:28
2 Cave, Leanda 5/4/2 32/WPRO 00:25:56 02:18:57 01:23:15 04:12:34
3 Tisseyre, Magali (CAN) 12/6/3 29/WPRO 00:27:22 02:19:25 01:22:28 04:13:04
4 Stevens, Amanda 2/3/4 33/WPRO 00:25:13 02:19:43 01:24:47 04:13:32
5 Jackson, Heather 21/8/5 26/WPRO 00:31:51 02:16:03 01:25:02 04:17:08
6 Paterson, Lesley 16/10/6 30/WPRO 00:30:23 02:18:19 01:25:07 04:18:01
7 Naeth, Angela 18/9/7 28/WPRO 00:30:30 02:17:41 01:26:22 04:18:40
8 Dibens, Julie 3/2/8 35/WPRO 00:25:16 02:16:19 01:35:03 04:20:55
9 Kraft, Nina 6/15/9 42/WPRO 00:26:33 02:26:20 01:23:57 04:21:18
10 Lidbury, Emma-Kate 10/7/10 30/WPRO 00:27:21 02:20:10 01:31:04 04:22:55

16 McQuaid, Melanie 15/11/12 37/WPRO 00:29:59 02:19:49 01:31:20 04:24:59

26 Rollinson, Ayesha 9/18/15 33/WPRO 00:27:20 02:27:49 01:30:59 04:30:37

32 Tomenson-Bharadwaj, Miranda 9/14/10 25/W25-29 00:27:27 02:24:50 01:35:42 04:33:01


Top 10 Men
1 Raelert, Michael 15/2/1 30/MPRO 00:24:16 02:03:58 01:09:57 03:41:19
2 Ospaly, Filip 6/7/2 34/MPRO 00:23:19 02:04:56 01:11:24 03:42:56
3 O”Donnell, Timothy 10/4/3 30/MPRO 00:23:20 02:04:52 01:12:43 03:44:18
4 Gambles, Joe 20/1/4 28/MPRO 00:24:18 02:02:24 01:14:39 03:44:48
5 Cunningham, Richie 13/6/5 37/MPRO 00:23:54 02:04:17 01:13:58 03:45:33
6 Amorelli, Igor 14/8/6 26/MPRO 00:24:14 02:03:58 01:13:58 03:45:46
7 Fontana, Daniel 8/19/7 35/MPRO 00:23:19 02:08:12 01:12:24 03:47:15
8 Collington, Kevin 17/23/8 26/MPRO 00:24:16 02:07:03 01:12:32 03:47:32
9 Reed, Matty 11/3/9 35/MPRO 00:23:25 02:04:24 01:16:37 03:48:13
10 Legh, Christopher 33/20/10 38/MPRO 00:25:37 02:05:45 01:13:33 03:48:33

13 Symonds, Jeff (CAN) 25/24/13 25/MPRO 00:25:21 02:06:14 01:14:25 03:49:45

37 Ricard, Alexandre 8/17/3 22/M18-24 00:26:53 02:13:05 01:17:54 04:03:00

40 Poulsen, Brent 24/29/30 28/MPRO 00:24:36 02:15:23 01:19:38 04:03:18