News LIVE: Ironman 70.3 St. George; photos, winners, ‘everyman’

Written by Joyce Kuzmanic
May 7, 2016
Lionel Sanders Ironman - StGeorgeNews.com
Lionel Sanders crosses the finish line in 3:48:18, first place overall and for pro men in Ironman 70.3 St. George North American Pro Championship. St. George, Utah, May 7, 2016 | Photo by Andy Griffin, St. George News

NEWS LIVE: This report contains news live as it develops and is being  updated continuously. Bookmark and refresh the page periodically for updates and photos. Last update 3:30 p.m. Fin.

Heather Wurtele crosses the finish line in 4:16:47, first place for pro women in Ironman 70.3 St. George North American Pro Championship. St. George, Utah, May 7, 2016 | Photo by Andy Griffin, St. George News
Heather Wurtele crosses the finish line in 4:16:48, first place for pro women in Ironman 70.3 St. George North American Pro Championship. St. George, Utah, May 7, 2016 | Photo by Andy Griffin, St. George News

Top finishes:

First in at 3:48:18 it’s Lionel Sanders, of Canada. From the Ironman blog, “That time is unreal folks. Crazy fast.”

First in for pro women is Heather Wurtele, of Canada, with a finishing time of 4:16:48. From the Ironman blog, “Heather Wurtele continues to prove she’s one of the best 70.3 athletes out there with a big back to back win at St. George!”

ST. GEORGE – The Ironman 70.3 St. George North American Pro Championship race is on, marking the seventh consecutive year that St. George has hosted an Ironman or Ironman 70.3 triathlon. This is your news LIVE for quick photos and reports as the race progresses.

Professional triathletes are competing for a prize purse of $100,000, which will be distributed among the top 10 male and female professional finishers.

In addition, more than 2,700 registered athletes representing 24 countries are competing for 30 age-group qualifying slots for the 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championship that will take place in Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia Sept. 4.

Facing these competitors is a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike race and 13.1-mile run. The triathletes have eight hours and 30 minutes after the final swim wave to complete the triathlon.

Outdoor temperature at 7 a.m. was 54 degrees with a high of 68 degrees forecast for the day overall. Water temperature at Sand Hollow Saturday morning is 64 degrees, 4 degrees warmer than last year. Skies are overcast with fairly steady rain falling during the swim portion of the race.

Good stuff:  When a bicycle spoke broke on competitor Michael Daily’s bike, St. George Police Officer Vincent Lusk was there and gave him his jacket. It was so cold the athlete had goosebumps. They fixed the bike and the officer told Daily to keep his jacket. Daily did and rode off wearing that policeman’s jacket.

Read more: 

Result listings below are from the Ironman live blog as the race progresses.

Pro triathlete Cameron Dye coming out of the water first among the pro men competing for Ironman 70.3 St. George North American Pro Championship. Sand Hollow Reservoir, Sand Hollow State Park, Hurricane, Utah, May 7, 2016 | Photo by Hollie Reina, St. George News
Pro triathlete Cameron Dye coming out of the water first among the pro men competing for Ironman 70.3 St. George North American Pro Championship. Sand Hollow Reservoir, Hurricane, Utah, May 7, 2016 | Photo by Hollie Reina, St. George News

Top 10 Pro Men – fastest swim

1 23:09 Cameron Dye
2 23:11 0:03 Tim O’Donnell
3 23:12 0:03 Michael Raelert
4 23:15 0:07 Manuel Kueng
5 23:15 0:07 Brian Fleischmann
6 23:18 0:09 Sylvain Sudrie
7 23:18 0:10 Brent McMahon
8 23:23 0:14 Matt Chrabot
9 23:32 0:24 Jaroslav Kovacic
10 24:48 1:39 Joe Gambles

Pro triathlete Meredith Kessler before the swim. Kessler was the first pro woman out of the water at Ironman 70.3 St. George North American Pro Championship. Sand Hollow Reservoir, Sand Hollow State Park, Hurricane, Utah, May 7, 2016 | Photo by Hollie Reina, St. George News
Pro triathlete Meredith Kessler before the swim. Kessler was the first pro woman out of the water at Ironman 70.3 St. George North American Pro Championship. Sand Hollow Reservoir, Hurricane, Utah, May 7, 2016 | Photo by Hollie Reina, St. George News

Top 10 Pro Women – fastest swim

1 26:27 Meredith Kessler
2 26:28 0:01 Holly Lawrence
3 26:30 0:03 Ellie Salthouse
4 26:32 0:05 Mary Beth Ellis
5 26:33 0:06 Emily Cocks
6 26:36 0:09 Jeanni Seymour
7 26:37 0:10 Magali Tisseyre
8 26:41 0:14 Amanda Stevens
9 27:59 1:32 Heather Wurtele
10 28:30 2:03 Lauren Capone

Top 10 Pro Men – fastest bike 

1 2:03:58 Lionel Sanders
2 2:06:30 2:33 Sebastian Kienle
3 2:09:29 5:32 Joe Gambles
4 2:09:36 5:39 Kevin Collington
5 2:10:29 6:32 Trevor Wurtele
6 2:10:50 6:53 Steve Mantell
7 2:11:03 7:06 Michael Raelert
8 2:11:36 7:39 Cameron Dye
9 2:12:11 8:14 Tim O’Donnell
10 2:12:24 8:27 Tyler Butterfield

Top 11 Pro Women – through the 56-mile bike finish 

1 2:52:09 Heather Wurtele
2 2:52:12 0:04 Holly Lawrence
3 2:52:56 0:48 Meredith Kessler
4 2:54:50 2:42 Magali Tisseyre
5 2:59:14 7:05 Mary Beth Ellis
6 2:59:48 7:39 Ellie Salthouse
7 3:00:10 8:02 Jeanni Seymour
8 3:03:10 11:02 Laura Siddall
9 3:03:50 11:42 Heather Jackson
10 3:05:13 13:05 Amanda Stevens
11 3:06:30 14:21 Mirinda Carfrae

Top three pro men finishers Lionel Sanders (center), Sebastian Kienle (left) and Joe Gambles (right). Ironman 70.3 St. George North American Pro Championship. St. George, Utah, May 7, 2016 | Photo by Andy Griffin, St. George News
Top three pro men finishers Lionel Sanders (center), Sebastian Kienle (left) and Joe Gambles (right).

Top 10 Pro Men – Finish

1 3:48:18 Lionel Sanders
2 3:51:10 2:52 Sebastian Kienle
3 3:53:26 5:08 Joe Gambles
4 3:54:40 6:23 Kevin Collington
5 3:54:46 6:28 Brent McMahon
6 3:56:00 7:42 Trevor Wurtele
7 3:56:37 8:20 Cody Beals
8 3:57:57 9:40 Michael Raelert
9 3:59:07 10:50 Tim O’Donnell
10 3:59:23 11:06 Cameron Dye

Top 10 Pro Women – Finish

Top 3 Pro Women finishers Heather Wurtele (center), Holly Lawrence (right), Meredith Kessler (left). Ironman 70.3 St. George North American Pro Championship. St. George, Utah, May 7, 2016 | Photo by Andy Griffin, St. George News
Top 3 Pro Women finishers Heather Wurtele (center),Holly Lawrence (right), Meredith Kessler (left).

1 4:16:48 Heather Wurtele
2 4:18:04 1:17 Holly Lawrence
3 4:22:02 5:14 Meredith Kessler
4 4:24:36 7:48 Magali Tisseyre
5 4:26:52 10:05 Ellie Salthouse
6 4:27:58 11:11 Jeanni Seymour
7 4:30:42 13:55 Laura Siddall
8 4:33:19 16:32 Mirinda Carfrae
9 4:36:31 19:44 Mary Beth Ellis
10 4:43:16 26:29 Skye Moench

For Ironman Live coverage and course tracking, see Ironman’s live blog and athlete tracker online.

St. George News Reporter Hollie Reina contributed to this report from Sand Hollow Reservoir in Hurricane.

Photos are arranged somewhat chronologically, most recent first (at the top)

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery. 

Email: jkuzmanic@stgnews.com

Twitter: @JoyceKuzmanic  @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.

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About the Author

Joyce Kuzmanic Joyce Kuzmanic has been editor in chief of St. George News since 2012, having contributed as a reporter and assistant editor since the publication's inception in 2010. Before St. George News, Joyce has been a private business owner and enjoyed a long career as a paralegal in real estate, business and tax law transactions. She enjoys hospitality, thinking, reading and adventuring in the great outdoors. Joyce currently resides in St. George with her husband and her dog, Scratch.

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1 Comment

  • youcandoit May 7, 2016 at 11:26 am

    Yeah go competitors. Where are the winner’s from?

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