Trautman, Watkinson win Durban
Matt Trautman and Annah Watkinson led an all-South African sweep at Ironman 70.3 Durban.
Men
While the age group swim was canceled due to high surf, hardy pros worked hard to hammer through the shore break and many were swept towards the pier. Home country competitor Clinton Gravett led the pack with a 23:12 split that gave him a 3:09 lead on Trautman, 3:09 on fellow South African Stuart Marais, 3:13 on Kent Horner, and 3:17 on Freddy Lampret.
After the race, Marais was disqualified for receiving assistance in the swim which many observers, including James Cunnama, declared should have been canceled due to life threatening conditions.
After 35k of the bike leg, Trautman led Gravett by 21 seconds, Marais by 1:53, Lampret by 4:01, and Cunnama by 5:38.
At 50k, Trautman took the lead and opened a gap of 1:16 on Gravett.
By the finish of the bike leg, Trautman’s race-best 2:06:03 split gave him a 4:45 lead on Marais (2:10:27 bike split), 9:21 on Cunnama (2:11:02 split), 10:41 on Lampret (2:16:31), and 10:50 on Gravett (2:19:58).
Halfway through the run, Trautman maintained a 4:34 lead on doomed-to-be-DQ'd Marais and increased his margins on Cunnama (+11:09), Lampret (+12:38) and Travis Johnston (+12:27).
After a 2nd-fastest 1:16:27 run, Trautman finished in 3:53:36 with a 13:11 advantage on 2nd-place Cunnama, and 15:37 on Lampret.
Trautman’s win comes after a 4th place finish at Ironman South Africa and a course record win at Ironman 70.2 South Africa.
Women
As usual, Lucie Zelenkova of the Czech Republic led the swim in 27:09, which gave her a 2:56 lead on Claire Horner, 3:05 on Annah Watkinson, 4:40 on Claire Fischer, and 7:55 on Parys Edwards.
After a women's 2nd-best 2:28:30 bike split, Watkinson had a 3 minutes lead on Edwards, 6 minutes on Horner and 7 minutes on Zelenkova.
On her way to a women’s-best 1:30:43 run, Watkinson finished in 4:35:41 with a margin of victory of 3:07 over Edwards (1:31:30 run) and 12:41 over 3rd-place finisher Horner (1:38:18 run). Zelenkova ran 1:39:01 to take 4th, 2:35 after Horner.
Watkinson successfully defended her 2015 Durban 70.3 title, and her win comes after a 3rd place finish at Ironman 70.3 South Africa, a 10th at Dubai 70.3, and an 8th at Ironman South Africa.
Ironman 70.3 Durban
Durban, South Africa
June 19, 2016
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Men
1. Matt Trautman (RSA) 3:53:36
2. James Cunnama (RSA) 4:06:47
3. Freddy Lampret (RSA) 4:09:13
4. Travis Johnston (RSA) 4:11:08
Women
1. Annah Watkinson (RSA) 4:35:40
2. Parys Edwards (GBR) 4:38:46
3. Claire Horner (RSA) 4:48:20
4. Lucie Zelenkova (CZE) 4:50:55
6. Carlyn Fischer (RSA) 5:03:22
