Tim O'Donnell was in a class of his own on Sunday. The former U.S. Naval Officer recorded the race-best swim, bike and run splits on the day to grab the IRONMAN Boulder title. O'Donnell rode solo for 112 miles and dismounted his bike with a seven-minute advantage. That would be as close to the front runner anyone would be for the remainder of day as O'Donnell padded his lead throughout the 26-mile run to record a 21-minute winning margin over his closest rival.
In the women's race, it was apparent from early into the bike this was going to be a two-women race. Rachel Joyce (GBR) was the leader in the first half of the bike when Heather Jackson (USA) forged her way towards the front to challenge the Brit. It took Jackson a few miles to shake the pesky Joyce, but the American managed to break free of Joyce's grasp in the late stages of the bike to carry a three-minute advantage coming out of T2.
Once on the run, the pair were evenly matched until seven miles when Joyce started to claw her way back towards the front of the race. At 17 miles into the run, Joyce made the pass for the lead as Jackson was unable to respond to the challenge. Joyce claimed the win, grabbing the finish line banner by a winning margin of 7:10.
Top 5 Pro Men
1 O'Donnell, Tim USA 0:49:20…4:24:25…2:53:55…8:13:30
2 Chrabot, Matt USA 0:50:25…4:30:33…3:07:42…8:34:36
3 McKeon, Patrick USA 0:57:08…4:35:15…3:03:40…8:42:24
4 Shoemaker, Jarrod USA 0:50:18…4:50:25…2:59:21…8:45:38
5 Major, Jozsef HUN 1:03:20…4:31:10…3:10:57…8:51:35
Top 5 Pro Women
1 Joyce, Rachel GBR 0:54:59…4:56:09…3:16:01…9:13:32
2 Jackson, Heather USA 0:59:51…4:49:06…3:26:09…9:20:42
3 Mack, Danielle USA 1:04:46…5:11:02…3:20:24…9:42:16
4 Williamson, Kelly USA 0:54:56…5:26:15…3:16:35…9:44:08
5 Bromme, Uli USA 1:04:49…5:05:30…?:??:??…9:52:32