Tissink, Williamson top Buffalo Springs 70.3

Eight-time Ironman winner Raynard Tissink of South Africa’s race-best bike trumped Michael Lovato’s better run while Kelly Williamson’s smashing race-best run sealed her dominating win at Buffalo Springs Lake Ironman 70.3 Sunday.

Tissink, coming off a 5th at Ironman Hawaii last October, a third win at Ironman South Africa and a 4th place just 33 seconds off the win at Abu Dhabi International, combined a fifth-best 25:05 swim, a race-best 2:11:32 bike and a sixth-best 1:24:44 run to finish in 4:03:27 with a 55-seconds margin of victory over Michael Lovato of Boulder, Colorado and 2:24 over XTERRA star and third place finisher Josiah Middaugh of Vail, Colorado.

Tissink finished the swim fifth, a minute behind Gavin Anderson's race-best (24:05), also trailing Andres Castillo (24:28), Brent Poulsen (24:34) and James Bowstead (24:35).

By the end of his race-best 2:11:32 bike, Tissink had a 62-seconds lead on James Bowstead of New Zealand (second-best 2:11:54 bike), a 2:23 margin on Michael Lovato (2:13:13 bike), 3:56 on Josiah Middaugh (2:13:35 bike) and 5:50 on Joe McDaniel (2:17:41 bike).

Halfway through the run, Tissink had a 2:08 lead on Lovato, 2:43 on Middaugh, and 3:47 on Bowstead. By the finish, Tissink’s 1:24:44 run surrendered another 1:13 to Lovato’s 1:23:17 half marathon but still maintained a 55-seconds margin at the finish. Middaugh’s 1:23:12 run brought him home third, another 1:29 back of Lovato. And Joe McDaniel’s race-best 1:22:19 run – just 1:42 faster than women’s winner Kelly Williamson – brought him home 4th, 61 seconds back of Middaugh. Bowstead’s 1:31:42 run faded him back to 5th in 4:11:26.

Williamson started off with a race-best 24:01 swim that put time on key rivals Margaret Shapiro (63 seconds) and Jessica Meyers (2:09). Williamson then typically struggled on the bike as her 6th-best 2:35:46 split left her second off the bike, 55 seconds back of Meyers’ second-best 2:32:49 split, 1:09 ahead of 2005 ITU age group world champion and ITU veteran Margaret Shapiro (2:36:08 bike), 3:08 ahead of Amanda Lovato and 3:17 ahead of 2010 USA Triathlon Duathlon National Champion Jessica Jacobs, whose 2:32:32 was the fastest women’s bike.

But when the run started on the rugged, windswept West Texas landscape, Williamson immediately erased all doubt, passing Meyers after a mile on her way to a race-best 1:24:01 run that was 9 minutes 9 seconds better than Meyers, 8 minutes 3 seconds better than Shapiro, and 6 minutes 10 seconds better than Jacobs.
At the finish, Williamson’s 4:26:09 gave her an 8:14 margin of victory over runner-up Meyers, 9:12 over third-place Shapiro, 9:30 over 4th-place Jacobs, and 12:21 over 5th-place Amanda Lovato. Williamson’s decisive victory continues a two-year hot streak that started in 2010 with 70.3 wins at Branson and Steelhead and a runner-up at Rev3 Quassy. This year she has continued her excellence with wins at Rev 3 Costa Rica and San Juan 70.3 and a 2nd place finish in a quality field at Ironman Texas.

Ironman 70.3 Buffalo Springs Lake
Buffalo Springs Lake, Texas
June 26, 2011
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.

Results

Top Men

1. Raynard Tissink (RSA) 4:03:27
2. Michael Lovato (USA) 4:04:22
3. Josiah Middaugh (USA) 4:05:51
4. Joe McDaniel (USA) 4:06:52
5. James Bowstead (NZL) 4:11:26
6. Andres Castillo (COL) 4:13:15
7. Christopher Thomas (USA) 4:13:43 * AG M35-39
8. Justin Henkel (USA) 4:13:53 * AG M35-39
9. Gavin Anderson (USA) 4:14:55
10. Brent Poulsen (USA) 4:15:16

Top Women

1. Kelly Williamson (USA) 4:26:09
2. Jessica Meyers (USA) 4:34:23
3. Margaret Shapiro (USA) 4:35:21
4. Jessica Jacobs (USA) 4:35:39
5. Amanda Lovato (USA) 4:38:30
6. Whitney Garcia (USA) 4:40:49
7. Heather Leiggi (USA) 4:45:47
8. Christine Anderson (USA) 4:50:42 * AG W25-29
9. Lesley Smith (USA) 4:51:48
10. Jackie Arendt (USA) 4:52:35