Andrew Starykowicz (USA) put his stamp on the race early as he was in the first group coming out of the water and he quickly pounded his way to the front of the bike in the opening miles. Starykowicz recorded one of the fastest IRONMAN bike legs ever (4:01:15) and dismounted his bike with a huge 13:04 advantage on his closest rival. This outcome was an incredible feat considering Starykowicz had to overcome a horrific accident when he was hit by a truck in August of last year.
Once on the run, Starykowicz started to slowly hand back time to much of the field. His pace dropped substantially from 10 to 14 when Matt Hanson claimed the lead clipping along at six minute per mile pace. Hanson, the 2015 IRONMAN Texas champion didn't quite meet all his expectations for 2016, but his performance this year would vault the 31-year-old into the record books. With his blistering 2:40:07 run, Hanson claimed the IRONMAN North American title in a winning time of 7:52:44 which bettered his previous course record in Texas and also earned him the title as the fastest IRONMAN time recorded by an American.
It was looking like nothing could go wrong for Lauren Brandon (USA) as the fish recorded the fastest swim for the pro women and men fields on the day. Spending the entire 112 miles off in front of the race Brandon wasn't aware that Jodie Robertson (USA) was tearing through the field, while recording a race-best bike split, attempting to close in on the 14 minute lead Brandon have over her coming out of the water. Notwithstanding, Brandon still had a 5:40 advantage over Robertson at the conclusion of the bike.
Once on the run, the wheels fell off Brandon's race as she gamely hung onto the lead until 10 miles when she succumbed to the relentless pursuit of Robertson from behind. Robertson's lead was never under any real threat in the second half of the run and she went on to capture her first IRONMAN title of her career clocking in a sub nine-hour finish.
Top 5 Pro Men
1 Hanson, Matt USA 0:51:46…4:13:53…2:42:07…7:52:44
2 Schildknecht, Ronnie CHE 0:53:34….4:14:40….2:43:28….7:56:21
3 Butterfield, Tyler BMU 0:49:08…4:15:20…2:49:00…7:58:29
4 Clarke, Will GBR 0:49:16…4:22:30…2:42:01…7:59:02
5 Kotsegarov, Kirill EST 0:54:56…4:11:16…2:48:00…7:59:32
Top 5 Pro Women
1 Robertson, Jodie USA 1:02:31…4:43:45…3:03:41….8:56:32
2 Herlbauer, Michaela AUT 0:57:57…4:53:47…3:02:27…8:59:31
3 Stage-Nielsen, Maja DNK 1:01:02…4:47:31…3:07:45…9:01:00
4 Kaye, Alicia USA 0:52:52…4:55:34…3:11:00…9:04:40
5 Deckers, Tine BEL 1:00:35…4:47:55…3:12:24…9:06:08