Lionel Sanders, Danielle Lewis Victorious at Indian Wells 70.3
Lionel Sanders of Canada overcame a 2:57 deficit after the swim with a race-best 2:00:26 bike split that brought him to a 9-second lead at T2. Sanders then uncorked a second-fastest 1:09:19 half marathon to finish in 3:38:19 with a 2:48 margin on Vincent Luis of France and 4:11 over 3rd place Jelle Geens of Belgium.
Danielle Lewis of the U.S. unleashed a race-best bike split that outweighed the race-best run of Tamara Jewett of Canada for a 58 seconds margin of victory.
Men
Luis led the swim with a 22:09 split that gave him a 53 seconds lead on Andy Potts of the U.S., 59 seconds on Jelle Geens of Belgium, and 2:57 and 2:58 on Sanders and Chris Leiferman of the U.S.
Propelled to the lead at T2 by a sizzling fast 2:00:26 bike split, Sanders led Luis, whose 2:03:49 bike split included a crash involving a car, by 9 seconds starting the run, and 5:19 ahead of Jelle Geens (2:07:55 bike).
On the run, Geens made a furious charge with a race-best 1:08:18 split. But by the end, Sanders held firm for the win with a third-best 1:09:19 half marathon that brought him to the line in 3:38:19 with a 2:48 lead on Luis and 4:11 on Geens.
Women
Danielle Lewis took the victory after a rousing duel with Tamara Jewett of Canada at Indian Wells 70.3 Sunday. Jewett started off with a women’s 12th-best 27:57 swim which gave her a 1:52 lead on Lewis. The dynamic duo switched places on the bike as Lewis advanced to second place behind Line Thams of Denmark with a dazzling women’s-best 2:15:52 bike split, while Jewett dropped to 7th place, with a 2:25:52 bike mark that left her nearly 10 minutes behind Lewis.
Jewett, one of triathlon’s most dominant runners, made a desperate attack with a 1:16:01 half marathon that cut 8:27 off Lewis’ lead. But Jewett fell short of her rival, as Lewis finished in 4:14:02, 58 seconds ahead of the Canadian and 5:19 ahead of Olympian Jelle Geens.
Ironman 70.3 Indian Wells – La Quinta
La Quinta, California
December 5, 2021
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Men's Results
1. Lionel Sanders (CAN) S 25:07 TR1 2:04 B 2:00:26 T2 1:26 R 1:09:16 TOT 3:38:19
2. Vincent Luis (FRA) S 22:09 T1 1:48 B 2:03:49 T2 1:15 R 1:12:07 TOT 3:41:07
3. Jelle Geens (BEL) S 23:09 T1 1:53 B 2:07:55 T2 1:18 R 1:08:18 TOT 3:42:30
4. Chris Leiferman (USA) S 25:08 T1 2:11 B 2:01:21 T2 1:543 R 1:14:05 TOT 3:44:26
5. Trevor Foley (USA) S 25:52 T1 2:19 B 2:06:30 T2 1:27 R 1:09:55 TOT 3:46:02
6. Thor Bendix Madsen (DEN) S 24:03 T1 2:32 B 2:02:01 T2 1:23 R 1:16:46 TOT 3:46:44
7. Andy Potts (USA) S 23:03 T1 1:57 B 2:04:26 T2 1:24 R 1:16:07 TOT 3:46:56
8. Luciano Taccone (ARG) S 23:23 T1 2:00 B 2:09:29 T2 1:31 R 1:12:50 TOT 3:49:12
9. James Scott-Farrington (GBR) S 23:22 T1 2:04 B 2:09:41 T2 1:26 R 1:14:01 TOT 3:50:31
10. Robbie Deckard (USA) S 25:03 T1 2:00 B 2:07:42 T2 1:22 R 1:16:48 TOT 3:52:53
Women
1. Danielle Lewis (USA) S 29:49 T1 2:05 B 2:15:52 T2 1:50 R 1:24:28 TOT 4:14:02
2. Tamara Jewett (CAN) S 27:57 T1 3:17 B 2:25:52 T2 1:55 R 1:16:01 TOT 4:15:00
3. Ali Brauer (USA) S 26:00 T1 2:20 B 2:19:53 T2 1:55 R 1:29:23 TOT 4:19:30
4. Dominika Jamnicky (CAN) S 25:58 T1 2:18 B 2:26:04 T2 2:26 R 1:24:03 TOT 4:20:47
5. Grace Thek (USA) S 27:37 T1 2:20 B 2:27:24 T2 1:41 R 1:23:05 TOT 4:22:04
6. Amy Sloan (USA) S 27:5`1 T1 2:24 B 2:28:15 T2 1:31 R 1:24:55 TOT 4:24:53
7. Sonja Catano (USA) S 26:05 T1 2:21 B 2:21:46 T2 1:14 R 1:33:59 TOT 4:25:51
8. Haley Chura (USA) S 24:30 T1 2:28 B 2:29:29 T2 2:04 R 1:28:29 TOT 4:26:59
9. Jessica Smith (USA) S 27:38 T1 2:20 B 2:26:33 T2 1:49 R 1:29:16 TOT 4:27:33
10. Nicole Falcaro (USA) S 30:29 T1 3:51 B 2:27:35 T2 1:44 R 1:25:21 TOT 4:28:58
