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Tollakson, Wurtele win IM Lake Placid

TJ Tollakson won his first and Heather Wurtele took her fourth Ironman title at the Ford Ironman Lake Placid in upper New York state Sunday.

Tollakson combined a 2nd-best 50:27 swim, a near-record 4:33:33 bike and 3rd-best 2:56:45 run to finish in 8:25:15, which gave him an 8 minute 14 seconds advantage over defending Lake Placid champ and this year’s runner-up, Ben Hoffman, who finished in 8:33.29. Australian Jason Shortis, age 41, fell far back with a 4:53:59 bike split, but finished strong with a race-best 2:50:24 marathon to take third in 8:47.18.

Tollakson’s victory was notable for his race-best bike split which came within 10 seconds of the 10-year-old record of 4:33:23 set by the late Steve Larsen in 2011. Hoffman was nearly as good on the bike, as he posted a bike split exactly 1 minute slower than Tollakson’s 4:33:33.

In the women’s race, Wurtele’s race-best 57:14 swim and race-best 5:08:12 bike gave her a 10-minute lead starting the run. The tall Canadian closed the deal with a race-best 3:08:23 run that put nearly 10 more minutes on Tine Deckers of Belgium. Wurtele’s race-record finish gave her a 15-minute, 38-seconds margin over Deckers and 19 minutes 6 seconds on 3rd place Tyler Stewart of the United States.

Ford Ironman Lake Placid
Lake Placid, New York
July 24, 2011
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.

Unofficial Approximate Results

Men

1. TJ Tollakson (USA) 8:25:15
2. Ben Hoffman (USA) 8:33:29
3. Jason Shortis (AUS) 8:47:18
4. Eduardo Sturla (ARG) 9:04:16
5. Daniel Bretscher (USA) 9:07:05
6. Ian Mikelson (USA) 9:12:42
7. Mike Neill (CAN) 9:13:03
8. Tim Snow (USA) 9:16:01
9. Matthew Russell (USA) 9:26:06
10. David Lamoureux (USA) 9:36:11 * M30-34

Women

1. Heather Wurtele (CAN) 9:19:03
2. Tine Deckers (BEL) 9:34:41
3. Tyler Stewart (USA) 9:38:09
4. Jackie Arendt (USA) 9:56:21
5. Jacqui Gordon (USA) 10:07:22
6. Kim Schwabenbauer (USA) 10:11:54 *F30-34
7. Angela Bancroft (USA) 10:19:21 *F40-44
8. Amanda Kourtz (USA) 10:21:01 *F25-29
9. Suzanne Zelazo (CAN) 10:21:08
10. Suzanne Serpico (USA) 10:25:19 *F30-34