Zimmerman Runs Down Kiley at IM Hamburg
Laura Zimmerman passed Renee Kiley with 7 kilometers to go to win IRONMAN Hamburg. Zimmermann set a women’s course record of 8:54:31 which gave her a 2:17 margin of victory over Kiley and 6:19 over third place finisher Lauren Brandon of the U.S.
Zimmerman overcame a 12-minute deficit to swim star Lauren Brandon’s 47:46 split, pulled within 9:35 to Brandon after the 112-mile bike leg, then passed Brandon and gritted her way past Kiley at 35 kilometers of the run. After a second-best 3:05:43 marathon, 7 minutes better than Kiley’s run, Zimmermann crossed the line to the sheers of the crowd.
Race recap
Brandon rocketed away with a 47:46 swim which was more than 8 minutes faster than Kiley and Carolin Lehrieder of Germany, and another 4 minutes further ahead of Zimmermann.
After a fifth-best 4:44:42 swim, Brandon hit T2 with a 4-minute lead on Carolin Lehrieder of Germany (4:40:10 ride) and 4:02 over Kiley (race-best 4:39:49 ride) and 9:35 over Zimmermann (4:42:06 bike split).
Brandon maintained her lead until the halfway mark of the run, before Lehrieder passed her, then Kiley. Kiley held on to her lead until Zimmermann charged past at the 35 kilometer mark. Still, Kiley did not fall into abject surrender as she stubbornly held on and lost only 2 more minutes.
Zimmermann closed with a second-best 3:05:43 run. “I was running like hell, I wanted it so much,” Zimmermann told Weekly Triathlon News. Kiley ran 3:12:43 for runner-up and Brandon ran 3:20:36 to take the final spot on the podium. Ashley Paulson of the U.S. ran a race-best 2:57:14 split to take 8th place.
Ironman Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany
August 29, 2021
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
1. Laura Zimmerman (GER) S 59:52 T1 3:55 B 4:42:06 T2 2:56 R 3:05:43 TOT 8:54:31
2. Renee Kiley (AUS) S 56:12 T1 4:20 B 4:39:49 T2 3:46 R 3:12:43 TOT 8:56:48
3. Lauren Brandon (USA) S 47:46 T1 3:50 B 4:44:42 T2 3:57 R 3:20:36 TOT 9:00:50
4. Leonie Konczalla (GER) S 1:01:56 Y1 4:40 B 4:43:29 T2 3:07 R 3:11:04 TOT 9:04:14
5. Carolin Lehrieder (GER) S 56:10 T1 3:59 B 4:40:10 T2 3:03 R 3:29:00 TOT 9:12:19
6. Jenney Nae (SWE) S 1:04:13 T1 4:55 B 5:01:57 T2 3:49 R 3:15:08 TOT 9:30:01
7. Cathrine Sands (IRL) S 59:56 T1 4:34 B 4:59:53 T2 3:37 R 3:27:35 TOT 9:35:33
8. Ashley Paulson (USA) 1:13:19 T1 5:30 B 5:16:03 T2 3:41 R 2:57:14 TOT 9:35:45
9. Annika Timm (GER) S 1:09:53 T1 3:59 B 5:03:59 T2 3:48 R 3:49:46 TOT 10:11:21
10. Mirella Karlsson (SWE) S 1:04:23 T1 7:00 B 5:14:23 T2 9:43 R 3:56:05 TOT 10:31:32
