Appleton, Sodaro prevail at Santa Rosa 70.3
Sam Appleton beat Tim O’Donnell by 1:27 and Chelsea Sodaro outpaced Mirinda Carfrae on the swim, bike and run legs to win the pro titles at Ironman 70.3 Santa Rosa.
Men
Eric Lagerstrom of the U.S. led the pro men’s swim wave with a 24:25 split that was 3 seconds better than Appleton, 4 seconds better than O’Donnell, 6 seconds better than Tim Reed of Australia, 1:29 better than TJ Tollakson of the U.S. and 1:35 better than Jackson Laundry of Canada.
Halfway through the bike leg, Appleton took a slim lead over O’Donnell (+2s), Reed (+4s) and Lagerstrom (+1:14), and a larger lead over 4:02 over Laundry (+4:02) and Tollakson (+4:03). After a race-best 2:03:49 bike split, Appleton led into T2 by 5 seconds over O’Donnell, 28 seconds over Reed, 5:06 over Lagerstrom, 5:50 over Tollakson and 7:26 over Laundry.
For the first 4 miles of the run, Appleton maintained a 12 seconds lead on O’Donnell and 1:43 over Reed, with Laundry trailing by 7:26. After 9 miles of the run, Appleton stretched his lead over O'Donnell to 15 seconds, with Reed holding steady at 1:43 down.
After a race-best 1:12:16 run split, Appleton crossed the line in 3:46:03 with a 1:21 margin of victory over O’Donnell (1:13:38 run split) and 2:53 over 3rd place finisher Reed (1:14:46 run).
The victory adds to Appleton’s record of 70.3 podiums that include 2nd at Coeur d’Alene this year, wins at Geelong, Santa Rosa and Los Cabos this year, and 2nd at Western Sydney in 2018. Appleton also scored three 70.3 wins and a 2nd at Challenge Melbourne in 2017.
Women
Sodaro captured her second Ironman 70.3 title with a strong all-around performance – a women’s fifth best 27:00 swim, 2nd-best 2:21:44 bike split, and a bravura 1:16:13 half marathon that was 52 seconds better than the renowned, swift-footed Carfrae. Sodaro finished in 4:10:57 with a 3:34 margin of victory over Carfrae and 4:20 over former ITU Olympic distance star Paula Findlay of Canada.
Jennifer Spieldenner of the U.S. led the swim in 26:14 which gave her a 45 seconds lead over Meredith Kessler of the U.S., 46 seconds over Paula Findlay and Kinsey Laine, and 47 seconds over Sodaro, 1:25 over Jocelyn McCauley and 2:44 over Mirinda Carfrae.
Most unfortunately, Spieldenner was hit by a race motorcycle while going through the first bike aid station and was taken to medical treatment. In a post-race note on Facebook, she wrote a note to her fans: “I am going to be okay. In the process of getting a more thorough check. Thank you to my family and coach for being amazing through this.”
Halfway through the 56-mile bike leg, Findlay led by 17 seconds over Sodaro, 2:35 over Laine, 2:41 over McCauley, 2:46 over Carfrae and 5:44 over Kessler. After a women’s-best 2:20:34 bike split, Findlay led at T2 by 1:22 over Sodaro, 3:58 over Carfrae, 4:06 over McCauley and 4:52 over Laine.
After 4 miles of the run, Sodaro took control by 36 seconds over Findlay, 3:25 over Carfrae, 6:19 over Laine and 7:56 over McCauley. After a sizzling fast 1:16:13 half marathon, Sodaro finished in 4:10:57 with a 3:37 margin over Carfrae (1:17:04 run split) and 4:20 over Findlay (1:22:05 run).
The win was Sodaro’s second at the 70.3 distance, after her 2018 win at Indian Wells. She also placed 3rd at the 2018 Waco 70.3.
Ironman 70.3 Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa, California
July 27, 2019
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Men
1. Sam Appleton (AUS) 3:46:03 S 24:27 T1 3:29 B 2:03:49 T2 2:04 R 1:12:16
2. Tim O’Donnell (USA) 3:47:24 S 24:29 T1 3:25 B 2:03:56 T2 1:58 R 1:13:38
3. Tim Reed (AUS) 3:48:56 S 24:30 T1 3:25 B 2:04:18 T2 1:59 R 1:14:46
4. Jackson Laundry (CAN) 3:52:04 S 25:59 T1 3:18 B 2:09:54 T2 2:08 R 1:10:46
5. Eric Lagerstrom (USA) 3:53:32 S 24:25 T1 3:18 B 2:09:07 T2 2:17 R 1:14:26
Women
1. Chelsea Sodaro (USA) 4:10:57 S 27:00 T1 3:41 B 2:21:44 T2 2:20 R 1:16:13
2. Mirinda Carfrae (AUS) 4:14:34 S 28:58 T1 3:34 B 2:22:30 T2 2:30 R 1:17:04
3. Paula Findlay (CAN) 4:15:17 S 26:59 T1 3:32 B 2:20:34 T2 2:10 R 1:22:05
4. Kinsey Laine (USA) 4:22:17 S 27:00 T1 3:43 B 2:25:14 T2 2:23 R 1:24:00
5. Jocelyn McCauley (USA) 4:30:18 S 27:38 T1 4:23 B 2:23:09 R 1:32:10
