The Ironman South Africa women’s race didn’t have an exceptionally large pro field, but it had quality. One other thing the race had was Chrissie Wellington and her presence was felt as she smashed the world record she set in Arizona and moved the bar even higher for women.
Dr. Amanda Stevens led the women out of the water, swimming the 2.4 miles in a very strong 48:55. Stevens’ time tied the 4thplace time in the men’s race. Rachel Joyce was next out in 51:06. Wellington was in third with a 51:40.
Stevens was the first woman out onto the 3 loop bike route, but that lead wouldn’t last long. Wellington soon took over and dominated the rest of the race. Chrissie set a new course record for the bike ride, covering the 112 miles in 4:45:23, giving her a solid lead. Joyce rode a 5:02:29 to be the second woman into T2. Belinda Granger rode a 4:58:25 split to be in third place at the end of the bike leg.
The marathon was a race to see who was going to claim second place to Wellington. The bike record wasn’t enough for Chrissie. Her 2:52:54 split for the 26.2 mile run set a new course record for the run. Chrissie Wellington won the 2011 Ironman South Africa with a new world record of 8:33:56, besting her previous record of 8:36:13 set back in November 2010. In the end, all but 7 men in the race got “chicked” by the Chrissinator.
A 3:10:30 split was enough to earn a second place finish for Rachel Joyce, who finished with an overall time of 9:08:23. Diana Riesler recorded a 3:18:45 split that earned her third place and a trip to the podium with an overall time of 9:20:37.
The women’s top 10:
1) Chrissie Wellington (Feltwell, England/Boulder, CO) – 8:33:56**
2) Rachel Joyce (London, England) – 9:08:23
3) Diana Riesler (Germany) – 9:20:37
4) Silvia Felt (Germany) – 9:24:31
5) Dr. Amanda Stevens (Colorado Springs, CO) - 9:25:50
6) Belinda Granger (Australia) – 9:28:59
7) Simone Benz (Switzerland) – 9:31:21
8) Dianne Emery (South Africa) – 9:44:47*
9) Martina Dogana (Italy) – 9:47:47
10) Yvette Grice (Eastbourne, England) – 9:59:28
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