Matt Trautman won his first title, while Jodie Swallow made it five in a row in Buffalo City. South African Matt Trautman took his first IRONMAN 70.3 title after an epic battle with Stuart Marais, while Great Britain’s Jodie Swallow made it five in a row with a dominant display of racing.
Trautman edges victory after exciting battle
In a week when the weather watch was on high alert due to a blustery easterly, race morning was greeted with a slightly more timid ocean. In an evenly matched field, it was Matt Trautman (RSA) who exited the water first in 24 minutes and 37 seconds with virtually nothing separating him, Kyle Buckingham (RSA) and Stuart Marais (RSA). Two minutes back was Bart Aernouts (BEL), followed by Gerhard de Bruin (RSA) and Cyril Viennot (FRA).
The South African trio of Trautman, Buckingham and Marais headed out onto the bike with seconds separating them. The lead continued to change hands until the 45 km turnaround, with Trautman taking a slight lead. Further back, Aernouts and Viennot made up some time, bridging the gap to just over a minute from the front three. Trautman was first into T2 with a bike split of 02:46:10, the fastest of the day. Marais followed in second (02:46:12), while Aernouts (02:49:19) and Viennot (02:49:21) managed to get ahead of Buckingham (02:51:01) who slowed towards the end of the 90 km ride.
Trautman and Marais continued their tussle on the run as the lead changed between them a few times. Going at an almost identical pace, and with no one giving an inch, an exciting finish was on the cards. Not until the 16 km mark did Trautman move ahead, eventually winning by a minute and a half in 4:04:34, with Marais in second in 4:06:03. Bart Aernouts rounded out the top three in 4:11:36.
High five for Swallow
Jodie Swallow (GBR) made light work of the swim in less than comfortable conditions, taking a commanding early lead as she exited the water in 24:40. Emma Bilham (GBR) exited the water exactly two minutes later, with Lucie Reed (CZE) a further nine seconds behind. Swallow was first onto the bike, followed by Bilham, Reed, Susie Cheetham (GBR) and Lynette Van Der Merwe (RSA). A second group headed out onto the bike that included Parys Edwards (GBR), Andrea Steyn (RSA) and Jeanni Seymour (RSA).
With temperatures soaring to 33 degrees at some points on the bike, Swallow continued to power forward and increase her lead. By the 45 km turnaround Swallow was eight minutes ahead of Bilham, while Cheetham trailed by a further 16 seconds. Edwards and Steyn followed in a group two minutes behind Cheetham. Swallow proceeded into T2 having stretched her lead to 10 minutes.
With Swallow in such a commanding position the real question was would she break the course record. Although she made things look easy throughout the day, she admitted that it was one of the tougher races she’s had on the course. Swallow finished in 4:30:53, breaking the course record by nearly four minutes to take her fifth consecutive Standard Bank IRONMAN 70.3 South Africa title. Susie Cheetham finished second nearly 11 minutes back in 4:41:48, while Parys Edward completed the British clean sweep in a time of 4:47:44.
Men’s Provisional Top 10
1. Matt Trautman- 04:04:34 (RSA)
2. Stuart Marais- 04:06:03 (RSA)
3. Bart Aernouts- 04:11:36 (BEL)
4. Cyril Viennot- 04:14:28 (FRA)
5. Johannes Moldan- 04:15:57 (GER)
6. Kyle Buckingham- 04:16:04 (RSA)
7. Karol Dzalaj- 04:24:12 (SVK)
8. Cool Hannes- 04:28:55 (BEL)
9. Swen Sundberg- 04:30:57 GER)
10. Jeremy Morel- 04:38:18 (FRA)
Women’s Provisional Top 10
1. Jody Swallow- 04:30:53 (GBR)
2. Susie Cheetham- 04:41:48 (GBR)
3. Parys Edwards- 04:47:44 (GBR)
4. Emma Bilham- 04:55:30 (SUI)
5. Jeani Seymour 05:02:02 (RSA)
6. Sarah Piampiano- 05:08:54 (USA)
7. Andrea Steyn- 05:20:03 (RSA)
8. Amy Forshaw- 05:24:42 (GBR)
9. Lynette Van der Merwe- 05:28:03 (RSA)
10. Linda Scattolin- 05:36:23 (ITA)