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

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.

Frodeno, last year’s third place finisher, took control of the race at the beginning of the bike course, and ran away with the victory, completing his race in 8:14:40 as he beat out fellow German Andreas Raelert, who finished in 8:17:43. Tim O’Donnell (USA) stayed at the top of the leaderboard throughout the day with a strong and steady race, ultimately finishing third. Andy Potts (USA) equaled his result from last year with a fourth-place finish helping to mark the second year-in-a-row that two American men finished in the top five. Tyler Butterfield (BMU) had his best day as a professional finishing fifth while last year’s champion, Sebastian Kienle (DEU), finished in eighth place with a time of 8:29:43.

Top 10 professional men’s results are below:

                                                                                                                                        SWIM                           BIKE                             RUN                               FINISH

1. Jan Frodeno DEU               00:50:50                   04:27:27                   02:52:21                   08:14:40
2. Andreas Raelert                         DEU               00:52:24                   04:30:52                   02:50:02                   08:17:43
3. Timothy O’Donnell                 USA               00:52:24                   04:26:13                   02:55:46                   08:18:50
4. Andy Potts                                     USA               00:50:56                   04:32:41                   02:53:45                   08:21:25
5. Tyler Butterfield                         BMU               00:52:33                   04:29:35                   02:56:19                   08:23:09
6. Cyril Viennot                                 FRA                 00:52:35                   04:34:27                   02:53:05                   08:25:05
7. Eneko Llanos                               ESP               00:52:36                   04:26:56                   03:04:10                   08:28:10
8. Sebastian Kienle                   DEU               00:52:36                   04:25:53                   03:06:08                   08:29:43
9. Brent McMahon                       CAN               00:52:26                   04:27:51                   03:06:02                   08:30:13
10. Boris Stein DEU               00:57:27                   04:30:48                   02:58:48                   08:31:43

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