News & Racing

Daniela Ryf part of first duo to win both IRONMAN 70.3 World and IRONMAN World Championship in same season

FAVORITES JAN FRODENO AND DANIELA RYF CAP OFF DOMINANT SEASONS WITH 2015 IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY GOPRO TITLES  Frodeno and Ryf first duo to win both the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship and the IRONMAN World Championship in the same season U.S. grabs two spots in men’s top five for se

Karl Hayes

Karl Hayes

— 3 min read

FAVORITES JAN FRODENO AND DANIELA RYF CAP OFF DOMINANT SEASONS WITH 2015 IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY GOPRO TITLES

  • Frodeno and Ryf first duo to win both the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship and the IRONMAN World Championship in the same season
  • U.S. grabs two spots in men’s top five for second straight year; American Heather Jackson finishes fifth in IRONMAN World Championship debut

KAILUA-KONA, Hawai`i (October 10, 2015) – Jan Frodeno (DEU) and Daniela Ryf (CHE), both of whom stood on the podium in Kailua-Kona in 2014, capped off impressive seasons to capture the male and female titles at the 2015 IRONMAN World Championship presented by GoPro. Fresh off of wins at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Zell am See-Kaprun less than two months ago, Frodeno and Ryf, became just the third and fourth athletes in IRONMAN history to accomplish the double win with their victories today. Frodeno is also the first Olympic Gold Medalist to also win the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship and the IRONMAN World Championship.

Ryf bested her runner-up finish from 2014 as she used the fastest bike and third fastest run splits of the day for the women to capture the championship with a time of 8:57:57. Ryf’s overall time marked the fifth fastest winning time in the women’s race as she became just the second woman in IRONMAN history to win both the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship and the IRONMAN World Championship in the same year. Rachel Joyce (GBR) battled her way into second place with a time of 9:10:59 marking the third consecutive year with a finish on the podium. Liz Blatchford (AUS) improved upon her 10th place finish a year ago regaining her podium form from 2013, capturing third with a time of 9:14:52. Michelle Vesterby (DNK) earned the fourth spot with a strong swim and solid bike effort in one of the top performances of her career.

Heather Jackson (USA) fought back from a significant swim deficit with a steady bike and a quick run to claim fifth in her rookie pro start in Kona to round out the top five women. Women’s back-to-back IRONMAN World Champion Mirinda Carfrae (AUS) unfortunately needed to drop from the race during the bike portion due to injury.

Top 10 professional women’s results are below:

SWIM              BIKE               RUN                FINISH

  1. Daniela Ryf                   CHE        00:56:14          04:50:46          03:06:37          08:57:57
  2. Rachel Joyce                GBR        00:56:11          05:01:29          03:08:42          09:10:59
  3. Liz Blatchford                AUS        00:56:13          05:07:25          03:06:25          09:14:52
  4. Michelle Vesterby          DNK        00:56:11          05:00:41          03:17:14          09:18:50
  5. Heather Jackson           USA        01:04:36          05:04:43          03:07:53          09:21:45
  6. Susie Cheetham            GBR        00:57:39          05:14:33          03:06:55          09:23:50
  7. Sarah Piampiano           USA        01:10:01          05:02:28          03:06:33          09:24:32
  8. Camilla Pederson          DNK        00:56:14          04:59:17          03:25:23          09:25:41
  9. Caroline Steffen            CHE        00:56:16          05:10:53          03:15:27          09:27:54
  10. Lucy Gossage               GBR        01:05:08          05:02:40          03:15:51          09:28:36

More than 2,300 athletes representing more than 62 countries and 49 states started the 2015 IRONMAN World Championship presented by GoPro, which consisted of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run on the Island of Hawai`i. The diverse field of competitors included the American star of blockbuster films “Rudy” and “The Lord of the Rings,” Sean Astin, competing on behalf of Run3rd; Italian CART racing legend and Paralympic handcycle champion Alex Zanardi who finished in an impressive 9:40:37; and U.S. Representative Kyrsten Sinema, the first sitting member of Congress to participate in the IRONMAN World Championship. Triathletes ranging in age from 19 to 85 took on the world’s toughest endurance event which was the culmination of 37 global qualifying IRONMAN® events.

The swim started and finished at Kailua Pier, the bike took cyclists through the lava fields of the Kona and Kohala Coasts and the run course traveled through Kailua-Kona. Athletes finished the 140.6 miles to the cheers of thousands of spectators on Ali’i Drive. Each year, over 110,000 athletes vie for slots to the IRONMAN World Championship. The race offered a professional prize purse of $650,000.

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