Australian triathlete Chris McDonald wins Ironman Lake Tahoe 2013

Chris McDonald (AUS) won and Joe Gambles (AUS) placed third at Ironman Lake Tahoe in the weekend.

Sweden’s Asa Lundstrom (SWE) won the women’s race.

McDonald earned his sixth IRONMAN crown with a finish time of 8:55:14, while Lundstrom earned her second title with a time of 9:58:53. Both the men’s and women’s pro races were not determined until late in the race and resulted in some terrific action during the run.

In the men’s race, emerging out of the settled mist on Lake Tahoe, Romain Guillaume (FRA), Joe Gambles (AUS), Paul Ambrose (AUS), Maik Twelsiek (GER) and Matt Lieto (USA) came out of the water within 13 seconds of each other.

On the bike, Twelsiek took control of the men’s race as he forged his way to the lead late in the first half of the bike. Gambles appeared content to shadow Twelsiek until Chris McDonald (AUS) and Guillaume forced the pace. Coming into transition, Twelsiek carried a tentative 1:30 advantage over McDonald, while Gambles slipped to well over six minutes off the leaders pace over the late miles of the bike.

Hitting the run, Twelsiek looked strong and held the lead throughout the first 13 miles, however the German succumbed to McDonald’s relentless pressure from behind just before mile 14. McDonald finished off the marathon strong and went on to capture the IRONMAN Lake Tahoe title, making this his second IRONMAN win in four weeks. Twelsiek hung on to second with his 8:57:53 clocking, while Gambles finished third with his 9:02:55 clocking.

Top five professional men’s results are below:

1. Chris McDonald AUS 08:55:14

2. Maik Twelsiek GER 08:57:53

3. Joe Gambles AUS 09:02:55

4. Kirill Kotsegarov EST 09:04:39

5. Kevin Taddonio USA 09:09:09

In the women’s race, veteran Dede Griesbauer (USA) celebrated her 42nd birthday by dominating the swim and carried a 4:50 advantage over Catriona Morrison (GBR) and over six minutes on Angela Naeth (CAN), Jeanne Collonge (FRA), and Asa Lundstrom (SWE).

Griesbauer relinquished the lead to Lundstrom after 25 miles, with Morrison, Naeth and Collonge biking strong and closing the gap to the front of the race. The field jockeyed for position behind Lundstrom throughout the remainder of the race but it was Lundstrom who dismounted her bike first, with Collonge following her into T2 a half minute back, while Naeth found herself coming off the bike in third in her first IRONMAN, 4:12 off the leaders pace.

Lundstrom initially built up over a two minute advantage over Collonge in this first three miles but the lead didn’t last long as Collonge ran her way into the lead at five miles. The battle between the two waged on for the remainder of the run that saw Collonge’s lead expand at one point to over two minutes. Lundstrom’s perseverance proved to be her asset today as she clawed her way back to the front of the race, and had eliminated all but 20 seconds as the women’s race reached 24 miles. Collonge surrendered the lead to Lundstrom in the final mile of the run, and went on to claim the victory. Coming into the finish line chute in second, Collonge finished with a 9:59:43 time, just 51 seconds short of the win. Closing the podium was Morrison with her 10:03:38 finish time.

Top five professional women’s results are below:

1. Asa Lundstrom SWE 09:58:53

2. Jeanne Collonge FRA 09:59:43

3. Catriona Morrison GBR 10:03:38

4. Elizabeth Lyles USA 10:08:41

5. Angela Naeth CAN 10:10:47