Pair of 49-year-olds take the wins at Ultraman Florida
Ultramarathon mother of three wins three-day race by just four minutes while men's champion dominates from start to finish
Photo by:
Phil Cuppernell
Ultraman Florida, held in Clermont, Florida, includes (just like the famed Ultraman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii) a 10 km (6.2 mile) swim followed by a 145 km (90-mile) bike on Day 1, a 276 km (171.4 mile) bike on Day 2, and ends with a double marathon, 84 km (52.4 miles), on Day 3.
American Van Fletcher took the overall and men’s win, while Canadian/ Hungarian endurance super-mom Viktoria Brown won the women’s race by just four minutes.
Fletcher, 49, took the men’s race by well over an hour, leading from start to finish and crossing the line in 22:04:59, with fellow American Steve Keller (23:22:03) and Spain’s Juan Castilla Arroyo (24:00:04) also finishing on the podium. Former pro triathlete (and now a photographer with World Triathlon) Tommy Zaferes was part of Fletcher’s crew.
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Close women’s race
Brown’s win was considerably closer. She trailed American Katie Solbo by almost 25 minutes after Day 1. Despite serving a drafting penalty on the bike, Brown was only three minutes down starting the double marathon on Day 3, and would win the race 25:33:28, with Solbo taking second in 25:37:37. Another American, Kenna Supkis, finished third in 27:20:59.
It’s hardly a surprise that Brown, 48 would excel once she hit dry land – she’s an ultramarathon champion who set a world record for the 72 ultramarathon in Italy last year.
We profiled the 48-year-old when she competed at the Ironman World Championship in 2022 (see below). After starting running when she was 40 as a way to lose weight after the birth of her third daughter, Brown quickly became a force in long-distance running and triathlon events. She competed in Kona in both 2022 and 2023.
Now she’s added an Ultraman title to her impressive resume.