Brent McMahon runaway winner at Placid
Canadian Brent McMahon ran away from the field at Ironman Lake Placid, topping two-time Lake Placid winner Andy Potts by 23:42 and 3rd place Justin Daerr by 31:36.
In an Ironman for male pros only, McMahon won the $8,000 top prize from a $40,000 purse.
McMahon began his day with a 5th place 50:12 swim that was 12 seconds behind swim leader James Capparell, 7 seconds behind TJ Tollakson and 2 seconds behind Potts. After 100 miles of the bike leg, McMahon took over the lead from Tollakson. McMahon then hit T2 after a race-best 4:35:25 bike split which gave him a 1:06 lead on Tollakson and 1:42 on Potts.
McMahon took off like a streak and by mile 3 of the run had a 4 minutes lead on Potts and 5 minutes on Tollakson. Halfway through the marathon, McMahon had a 6:54 lead on Potts and a 26:14 lead on Justin Daerr as Tollakson fell out of the top 10.
After 20 miles, Potts was 14 minutes off the pace and falling. After a race-best 2:43:40 run, McMahon finished in 8:13:53 with his remaining rivals a virtual time zone behind.
While McMahon's overall time may not compare with his four sub-8 hour performances, considering the difficulty of the course, his performance at Lake Placid is revealed to be an extraordinary achievement.
Still at the peak of his powers in 2004, five-time ITU World Champion Simon Lessing set the Ironman Lake Placid race record of 8:23:12 and the run record of 2:46:39. In the intervening 12 years, no one has come close. On Sunday, McMahon broke Lessing's race record by 9 minutes and 19 seconds. On a rather hilly run course, McMahon topped Lessing's impressive marathon by precisely 3 minutes.
McMahon’s stated goal was to cinch a Kona qualifying spot, which he did handily. After two Olympic appearances, a Pan Am Games silver and bronze, and four sub-8 hour Ironman performances highlighted by his 7:46:10 at the 2016 Ironman Brazil, McMahon’s prime goal is to finally perform to his ability on the Big Island.
Ironman Lake Placid
Lake Placid, New York
July 23, 2017
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
Results
Pro Men
1. Brent McMahon (CAN) 8:13:53
2. Andy Potts (USA) 8:37:46
3. Justin Daerr (USA) 8:45:40
4. Gregory Close (USA) 8:57:09
5. Lucas Pozzetta (USA) 9:02:55
6. Paul Ambrose (AUS) 9:05:54
7. Daniel Clarke (CAN) 9:07:54
8. Colin Laughery (USA) 9:09:34
9. Chad Holderbaum (USA) 9:12:55
10. James Capparell (USA) 9:16:31
