Taylor Knibb returns to dominant form with big win at Ironman 70.3 Boulder
American returning to top form after foot surgery earlier this year
Photo by:
Kevin Mackinnon
The reigning Ironman 70.3 world champion, Taylor Knibb (pictured above racing in St. George last year), proved she’s returning to top form after undergoing foot surgery earlier this year with a dominant performance at her hometown race – Ironman 70.3 Boulder. While the American might still be focussed on the Olympics next year, she proved her half-distance prowess in style today, staying at, or near, the front from the gun.
Brandon first out of the water
Knibb was just three seconds behind swim specialist Lauren Brandon out of the water, with the other two women expected to challenge Knibb for the win – South Africa’s Jeanni Metzler and Great Britain’s Holly Lawrence both trailing the leaders by about two minutes.
Metzler makes it close … for second
Once on the bike Knibb continued to pull clear of the rest of the field, hitting T2 with a lead of 6:36 on Lawrence, 9:16 on Brandon and 10:36 over Metzler. There wasn’t much change by the end of the run, either, as Knibb put together a solid 1:22:24 run split to cross the line in 3:56:34. That put her just over eight minutes ahead of Lawrence (4:04:39), who managed to hold off Metzler (4::05:26), who finished the day with a 1:20:28 run split to make things tight for the runner-up spot. American Lesley Smith took fourth (4:12:57), with countrywoman Batya Beard rounding out the top five (4:15:20).
