Both have won here before, and this year used a blend of fitness and experience to steal the show on a late-summer day in the South.
Defending champion Chris McDonald and two-time IRONMAN Louisville winner Nina Kraft won the last pro race in this town, which has hosted this race for the last eight years. The two took this year's edition of IRONMAN Louisville, presented by Norton Sports Health, using a wealth of experience on the course that has served them well before. Next year, this event will be one of a handful of races that won't feature a paid pro field. Additionally, it has been moved to October to make for a cooler race.
Race veteran races strong, consistent
New Zealand's Guy Crawford led the swim from start to finish. Behind him, McDonald battled with Americans Mike Hermanson, Tom Wood, and Raymond Bothelo in a close pack. (Crawford exited the water with a 1:10 minute lead over Hermanson.) Wood led a group 2:20 minutes back of Crawford containing Bothelo, McDonald, Thomas Gerlach and Clay Emge.
Through transition and onto the foggy bike course, McDonald used his familiarity with the course to his advantage and powered ahead quickly to the front of the race, where he sat in second, behind Crawford, for the remainder of the ride. Thomas Gerlach and Patrick Evoe went with him, making short work of their swim deficits. Crawford raced strong, and maintained his lead throughout with little changing behind him. McDonald lost a bit of time on the bike, increasing his deficit from a minute to 3:30 by the end of the 112-mile ride through rural Louisville.
On the run, the multiple-IRONMAN champion and father of three-week-old twins showed why he's won this race three times before. Knowing this course like the back of his hand, McDonald appeared to use tactics and experience to move to the front steadily. Last year's runner up Patrick Evoe made an early move into first, passing McDonald, but as Crawford began to fade, McDonald stayed strong and took the lead at mile eight. McDonald worked hard for his 8:40:51 victory, running a 3:08 marathon to take first ahead of runner-up Gerlach, who cut into McDonald's lead all day with his race-best 3:07 marathon.
Kraft sets new standard
Nina Kraft is originally from Germany, but lives and trains in Clermont, Florida. She won this race in 2009 and 2011 both, and returned this year to become the oldest woman (at 46) to win an IRONMAN race—doing so in a respectable 9:31:19.
Kraft displayed her dominance early on, pulling ahead of defending champion Kate Bevilaqua (AUS), who stayed strong and finished only one minute back. Jackie Arendt (USA) was out of the water 1:20 back of Kraft, with the rest of the pro field coming into T1 more than six minutes back.
On the bike, it was all Kraft and Bevilaqua's show, who rode together exchanging leads as the rest of the field thinned out to 10 and then 20 minutes behind them. Bevilaqua led the run strong until mile 9, when Kraft overtook her. From there, Bevilaqua faded and was eventually passed by Arendt, Molly Roohi, and the fast-advancing Caroline Gregory—who used her race-best marathon (3:16) to sneak onto the podium in third, behind Jackie Arendt.
Kraft embraced her husband, Tim, at the finish line, telling the crowd how happy it made her to win: "People don't know what it means to me to win here, and to be the oldest pro to win an IRONMAN. At 46 ... I don't think I win so often anymore."
Top 5 Pro Men
1.Chris McDonald AUS 8:40:51
2.Thomas Gerlach USA 8:41:07
3.Patrick Evoe USA 8:49:27
4.Mike Hermanson USA 9:00:27
5.Michael Starkey USA 9:01:10
Top 5 Pro Women
1.Nina Kraft DEU 9:31:19
2.Jackie Arendt USA 9:43:25
3.Caroline Gregory USA 9:47:02
4.Molly Roohi USA 9:51:49
5.Amy Javens USA 10:07:16