Lowe, Rollison win Steelhead Duathlon
Weather caused organizers to cancel the swim and Brit Tom Lowe grabbed the win at the Steelhead "Duathlon" in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Aussie Melissa Rollison reeled in American Heather Jackson to take the women's race.
Rip-tide warnings and choppy waters in Lake Michigan were the cause of the swim segment cancellation. That meant all athletes now were doing 69.1 mile duathlon and the Pros took off on their bikes in 30 second intervals.
The fastest bike split of the day was set by Britain's Tom Lowe in 2:03:16. Fraser Cartmell, Chris Legh and Matty Reed also had very fast bike splits but had lost more than a minute to the flying Brit.
Out on the run Reed started to gain on Lowe but ran out of time and space. In the end Lowe won the Steelhead 69.1 Duathlon in 3:19:32, 19 seconds ahead of Reed. Michael Lovato had a very solid day too and took the final podium spot.
Heather Jackson most likely wasn't complaining about the swim not taking place and stormed to the fastest bike split in Benton Harbour. Her 2:16:09 split was 2 minutes faster than the time of Melissa Rollison and 4:40 quicker than 3rd positioned Jessica Jacobs.
Rollison then went on to lay down the fastest run split in 1:16:33 and cruised to a comfortable win in 3:36:02. Jackson crossed the finish in second place about 4 minutes later and Jacobs finished third in 3:44:22.
Whirlpool Ironman 70.3 Steelhead
Benton Harbor, Michigan, USA / August 14, 2011
0m swim / 56m bike / 13.1m run
Top men
1. Tom Lowe (GBR) 3:19:32
2. Matt Reed (USA) 3:19:51
3. Michael Lovato (USA) 3:20:16
4. Chris McDonald (AUS) 3:20:58
5. Chris Legh (AUS) 3:21:02
6. Christian Kemp (AUS) 3:21:20
7. Rich Allen (GBR) 3:21:23
8. Zach Ruble (USA) 3:22:11
9. Daniel Bretscher (USA) 3:22:34
10. Nick Waninger (USA) 3:23:23
Top women
1. Melissa Rollison (AUS) 3:36:02
2. Heather Jackson (USA) 3:39:58
3. Jessica Jacobs (USA) 3:44:22
4. Heather Haviland (USA) 3:51:02 * AG W35-39
5. Andrea Hutchins (USA) 3:53:07 * AG W35-39
6. Kristin White (USA) 3:54:42
7. Heather Leiggi (USA) 3:54:42
8. Jacqui Gordon (RSA) 3:55:30
9. Lesley Smith (USA) 3:55:32
10. Julia Grant (NZL) 3:58:19
