Potts, Wellington win again
Andy Potts led from start to finish as he won 70.3 Timberman three straight times now. Chrissie Wellington also never trailed in this triathlon as she took the title for the third time in as many attempts and finished 10th overall.
The men
2-time defending champion Andy Potts had a comfortable lead as he got out of the waters of Lake Winnipesaukee in 22:43. Tim O'Donnell was next, but was already looking at an almost 2 minute disadvantage.
Potts never slowed down on the bike either and his time of 2:09:27 proved to be fastest of the day. Next into T2, about 2:40 adrift, was Raynard Tissink, who used a 2:09:59 bike split to put himself into that position. Matty White and Joe Gambles were next into transition about 4 minutes back and O'Donnell now was looking to make up 4:45.
Tissink's 1:15:55 was faster than the half marathon time of Potts, but only by 13 seconds, and thus Potts cruised to his third 70.3 Timberman title without too much trouble. Tissink held on to second place, and O'Donnell's identical run time to Potts allowed him to earn third place.
The women
Chrissie Wellington's swim has really improved, and the 3-time Ironman World champion and 2-time defending 70.3 Timberman champion managed to get out of the water first, 7 seconds ahead of Dede Griesbauer. Angela Naeth and Heather Jackson were already handed a deficit of 5 and 6 minutes respectively.
Once Wellington was on the bike, she was fast as had been expected, but Naeth was flying along behind her and clocking faster times at various time checks. But Naeth only managed to take back 25 seconds and after having started the bike segment 5:06 behind, the Canadian started her run just under 5 minutes behind the Brit. Griesbauer was next into transition, 5:30 behind Wellington and Jackson got there in fifth position. Jackson who is quite a strong cyclist in her own right, was actually more than 2 minutes slower on the bike compared to Naeth and Wellington.
Wellington though seemed untouchable once she had her running shoes on and pulled away from all other competitors with a very fluid stride. 1:19:06 later and with the fastest run split in hand, Wellington matched what Potts had done in the men's race and crossed the finish line first to win her straight Timberman title, and just like Potts she also led from start to finish. Naeth held on to second place a Jackson managed to run herself onto the final podium spot with a 1:27:10 run.
Related image gallery
A Timberman 70.3 gallery by Eric Wynn
Ironman 70.3 Timberman
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH / August 22, 2010
1.2 mile swim / 56 mile bike / 13.1 mile run
Top 10 men
1. Andy Potts (USA) 3:50:51
2. Raynard Tissink (RSA) 3:53:32
3. Timothy O'Donnell (USA) 3:55:36
4. Joe Gambles (AUS) 3:57:35
5. Matt White (AUS) 3:59:55
6. Rich Allen (GBR) 4:01:32
7. Josh Rix (AUS) 4:03:05
8. Brent Poulsen (USA) 4:05:17
9. TJ Tollaksen (USA) 4:06:50
10. Ryan Grant (CAN) 4:10:12
Top women
1. Chrissie Wellington (GBR) 4:10:11
2. Angela Naeth (CAN) 4:24:59
3. Heather Jackson (USA) 4:26:08
4. Annie Gervais (CAN) 4:29:04
5. Dede Griesbauer (USA) 4:30:12
6. Amanda Lovato (USA) 4:32:??
7. Heather Leiggi (USA) 4:35:15
8. Kate Pallardy (USA) 4:35:55
9. Stacey Richardson (USA) 4:38:01
10. Sara Domina (CAN) 4:39:23 * AG W30-34
