Sammy Appleton and first-year pro Kim Morrison win by small margins at the inaugural Motorola IRONMAN 70.3 Buenos Aires.

Appleton wins by 6 seconds in a close one

Seven men broke away early from the field in the small lake of Puerto Canoas. The lead group came out of the water within 14 seconds of each other, including Aussie Sammy Appleton who led the charge up the ramp. Daniel Fontana (ITA), Jonathan Tryoen (FRA), Ben Collins (USA), Paulo Maciel (ARG), Ben Hoffman, and Mario de Ellas (ARG) were all nipping at the leaders’ heels as they all headed into transition.

Once on the bike, Collins, Hoffman, and Appleton proved to be the strongest on the day; the trio built a significant gap on their completion throughout the two- loop bike course. Collins was first to reach the bike dismount line with tentative leads of three and 13 seconds on Hoffman and Appleton.

Heading out on the run, the three were virtually tied for much of the beginning of the two-loop run course. Collins would be first to crack and fade back which left a battle between Hoffman and Appleton. Appleton made a gallant late-race surge that stuck and went on to capture the win with a narrow winning margin of six seconds over Hoffman. Collins would claim the final podium spot.

Morrison holds on to claim her first

In the women’s race, Heather Lendway (USA) built up sizable leads of almost a minute and a half on Dede Griesbauer (USA) and Laurel Wassner (USA), both considered to be strong swimmers. Kim Morrison (GBR) followed closely while Sofie Goos (BEL) and Ariane Monticeli (BRA) both had well over four minute deficits after the swim to overcome on the bike and run.

Morrison, who only just received her pro card in September 2015, would lay down the fastest bike split on the day that propelled her into the lead at the conclusion of the 90-kilometer bike. Morrison carried a 3:45 advantage on Griesbauer and 4:07 on Lendway as the women ran out of T2 and onto the run course.

On the run, Morrison struggled with her pace early, and Griesbauer started clawing back time on the leader. Behind Griesbauer, Lendway was faltering too, while Monticeli, who was 12 minutes off the leaders’ pace at the end of the bike, was flying through the field at almost a minute per mile pace faster than Morrison.

Late in the run, Griesbauer, 45, had a much younger Morrision in her sights, but came up a mere 9 seconds short of catching her at the finish line. Morrison,
a former field hockey player, claimed her first IRONMAN 70.3 title in an elapsed time of 4:20:43. Griesbauer had a bittersweet second-place finish, while Monticeli smashed herself on the run for a well-deserved third-place finish as her reward.

Top 5 Pro Men

Top 5 Pro Women

Source: Ironman.com