David McNamee, Sarah Lewis win Dublin 70.3
David McNamee and Sarah Lewis of Great Britain topped the fields at Ironman 70.3 Dublin.
McNamee overcame a 4:44 deficit to Romain Guillaume of France after the bike leg with a race-best 1:11:42 half marathon. Passing his rival with 2 kilometers to go, McNamee finished in 3:48:14 with a 29 seconds margin of victory over Guillaume and 7:52 over 3rd place finisher Sean Donnelly of Germany.
Ironman.com photograph
McNamee’s win comes after a 3rd at Ironman South Africa this year, 3rd at 2016 Ironman Lanzarote, 1st at 2015 Ironman UK, and 11th at Kona in 2015.
Sarah Lewis overcame a 29 seconds deficit to fellow Brit Susie Cheetham after the bike leg with a women's-best 1:24:34 run to finish in 4:23:11, with a 3:15 margin of victory over Cheetham and 11:32 over 3rd place finisher Amanda Wilson of Australia.
Lewis’s victory comes after a 6th place at the Ironman European Championship this year and a 3rd at Ironman 70.3 Dublin last year.
Men
Elliot Smales of Great Britain led the men's swim in 24:12 which gave him a 1 second advantage on McNamee, 3 seconds on Sean Donnelly of Germany, 6 seconds on Romain Guillaume of France, 9 seconds on Fraser Cartmell of Great Britain, and 1:41 over Eneko Llanos of Spain in 9th position.
By 29km of the bike leg, Guillaume surged to the front and took a 26 seconds lead on Donnelly and McNamee, 3:49 on Brian McCrystal of Ireland, 4:09 on Smales, and 4:11 on Cartmell. By 76 kilometers, Guillaume stretched his lead to 3:51 on McNamee, 3:53 on Donnelly and 4:34 on McCrystal. At T2, Guillaume had a 4:42 lead on a closely packed trio including Donnelly, McNamee and McCrystal, while Smales, Robbie Wade, Cartmell and Llanos lagged 12:40 arrears.
After 9km of the run, McNamee sliced his deficit to 2 minutes behind Guillaume. By 13km, McNamee lurked 80 seconds back. At the 18th kilometer, McNamee dispatched Guillaume. After a race-best 1:11:42 run, McNamee finished in 3:48:14. Closing with a 1:16:34 half marathon, Guillaume took the runner-up position, 29 seconds behind the winner. Donnelly took 3rd, 7:52 behind the winner. McCrystal took 4th, 2:37 behind Donnelly. After a second-fastest 1:14:32 run, Smales took 5th, 31 seconds behind McCrystal.
Women
After a one lap swim in Scotsman’s Bay, Catherine Jameson of Great Britain posted a 27:00 split which gave her a 1:30 lead on Cheetham, 1:32 on Lewis, 2:44 on Magda Nieuwoudt of South Africa, 3:52 in Emma Deary of Great Britain, and 3:53 on Amanda Wilson of Australia.
After 54.6km, Cheetham, the Dublin 70.3 defending champion, had a solid 1:39 lead on Lewis and Jameson. At T2, Cheetham led by 29 seconds on fast-closing Lewis, 1:29 on Jameson, 7:11 on Aine Donegan of Ireland, and 7:56 on Amanda Wilson of Australia.
Within 6 kilometers of the run, Lewis closed the gap to Cheetham to 5 seconds while Jameson held 3rd, 6:55 back. By 16km, Lewis led Cheetham by 2:38, Amanda Wilson by 10:26, Aine Donegan by 11:05, and Emma Deary by 13:26.
After a women’s-fastest 1:24:34 half marathon, Lewis finished in 4:23:11 with a 3:15 margin of victory on Cheetham (1:28:30 run) and 11:32 on Amanda Wilson (1:28:42 run).
Ironman 70.3 Dublin
Dublin, Ireland
August 20, 2017
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Men
1. David McNamee (GBR) 3:48:14 S 24:15 B 2:33:54 R 1:11:42
2. Romain Guillaume (FRA) 3:48:43 S 24:19 B 2:29:09 R 1:16:34
3. Sean Donnelly (GER) 3:56:06 S 24:17 B 2:33:52 R 1:19:17
4. Brian McCrystal (IRL) 3:58:43 S 27:35 B 2:33:55 R 1:21:49
5. Elliot Smales (GBR) 3:59:14 S 24:13 B 2:15:25 R 1:14:32
Women
1. Sarah Lewis (GBR) 4:23:11 S 28:33 B 2:55:12 R 1:24:34
2. Susie Cheetham (GBR) 4:26:26 S 28:31 B 2:54:42 R 1:28:30
3. Amanda Wilson (AUS) 4:34:43 S 30:54 B 3:02:39 R 1:28:42
4. Aine Donegan (IRL) 4:36:22 S 32:57 B 3:01:53 R 1:31:09
5. Emma Deary (GBR) 4:36:39 S 30:53 B 3:06:26 R 1:27:26
