Before storm stops race, Seymour, Starky win Texas 70.3
Before a dangerous local storm forced race officials to suspend and then cancel Texas 70.3, forcing many age groupers off the course, Jeanni Seymour of South Africa and Andrew Starykowicz of the U.S. won the pro titles at Galveston.
The race, which was suspended at 12:02 pm Mountain Daylight time and was canceled at 12:56, left many age group competitors unable to complete the race.
Women
Seymour combined a women’s second best 25:27 swim, women’s third-quickest 2:15:13 bike split and a women’s-fastest 1:18:01 run to finish in 4:01:44 with a 2:50 margin of victory over Lesley Smith of the U.S. and 5:12 over 3rd place finisher Jackie Hering of the U.S.
Showing that a woman in her mid-40s can make an impact at the top level of the sport, Dede Griesbauer stormed the bike leg and arrived at T2 with a 3:30 lead on eventual top finishers Seymour, Kessler, and Alicia Kaye. However, Griesbauer struggled on the run and fell out of the top 10.
Men
Starykowicz gave up 44 seconds on the swim, then gained back 7 minutes with a 1:56:16 split on the 56-mile bike course that gave him a 7:11 lead on Matt Hanson of the U.S., 7:15 on Elliot Bach, 8:20 on Matt Russell and 8:21 on T.J. Tollakson.
On his good days Starykowicz can protect a bike lead with a decent run and this was a good day. While runner-up Matt Hanson gained back 2:41 with his third-best 1:16:58 half marathon, Starky’s 1:19:39 split brought him to the line in 3:43:25 with a 4:34 margin of victory over Hanson and 5:19 over 3rd place Matt Russell.
While this was a notable Ironman 70.3 bike split, it was not Starykowicz’s fastest. In 2018 he posted a 1:54:04 split at Ironman 70.3 Monterrey.
Ironman 70.3 Texas
Galveston, Texas
April 7, 2019
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Women
1. Jeanni Seymour (RSA) 4:01:44 S 25:27 T1 1:31 B 2:15:13 T2 1:13 R 1:18:01
2. Lesley Smith (USA) 4:04:34 S 26:51 T1 2:01 B 2:15:02 T2 1:19 R 1:19:23
3. Jackie Hering (USA) 4:06:56 S 25:58 T1 1:47 B 2:16:04 T2 1:22 R 1:21:46
4. Alicia Kaye (USA) 4:07:29 S 25:5 T1 1:40 B 2:15:07 T2 1:22 R 1:23:29
5. Meredith Kessler (USA) 4:08:07 S 25:52 T1 1:49 B 2:14:51 T2 1:24 R 1:24:13
Men
1. Andrew Starykowicz (USA) 3:43:25 S 24:43 T1 1:38 B 1:56:16 T2 1:13 R 1:19:39
2. Matt Hanson (USA) 3:47:47 S 24:59 T1 1:41 B 2:03:08 T2 1:04 R 1:16:58
3. Matt Russell (USA) 3:48:44 S 29:15 T1 1:43 B 1:59:59 T2 1:12 R 1:16:37
4. TJ Tollakson (USA) 3:50:03 S 24:40 T1 1:42 B 2:04:35 T2 1:18 R 1:17:50
5. Clay Emge (USA) 3:52:10 S 27:19 T1 2:05 B 2:05:37 T2 1:23 R 1:15:48
