4/23（土）IRONMAN TEXAが開催された。この大会は2022年のフルディスタンスの初戦となり、2300名近い選手が参戦した。今年10月のKONAの出場権もかかったレースで、エイジ選手にとっても注目となっていた。
男子優勝は、アメリカのBEN HOFFMANで、KONAでは最高2位を含み4度のTOP10入りを果たしている38歳のベテラン選手だ。タイムもSUB8を記録し「スピードアイアンマン」に対応している。女子優勝は、同じくアメリカのJocelyn McCauleyで、17年にはコナ10位、同年、19年では老舗IMニュージーランドで優勝している実力派だ。そして、日本人選手は上田藍選手が3週間前のIRONMAN70.3 OCEANSIDEに続き、フルの初参戦となった。結果はプロ7位だったが、得意とするランでは優勝のMcCauleyより8分以上速い3時間5分台の快走を見せてくれた。
この大会は、2週間後にセントジョージのIRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2021を控えたスケジューリングとなるが、なんと男女とも優勝者が、そのセントジョージに参戦予定となっている。無謀とも思えるが、出場するからには最高のパフォーマンスを見せてほしい。
以下、大会NEWSとなる。
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BEN HOFFMAN (USA) AND JOCELYN MCCAULEY (USA) CLAIM VICTORIES AT THE 2022 MEMORIAL HERMANN IRONMAN TEXAS TRIATHLON
– Nearly 2,300 athletes converged in The Woodlands, Texas for the first full-distance IRONMAN triathlon in North America of the 2022 season
THE WOODLANDS, Texas (April 23, 2022) – The Woodlands, Texas and northern Harris County once again played host to the 2022 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas triathlon on Saturday, April 23. Nearly 2,300 athletes, including professionals and age-group athletes took on the popular event to kick off the 2022 North America full-distance IRONMAN triathlon season. The event saw Ben Hoffman sprint away from second place Magnus Ditlev (DNK) in the final stretch of the 140.6-mile race to take the overall victory with a finishing time of 7:57:58. In the women’s professional race, it was Jocelyn McCauley who had a solid race finishing first with a time of 8:58:13 The 2022 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas triathlon also featured live event coverage that was on Facebook Watch via the IRONMAN Now channel. The full broadcast of today’s race on Facebook Watch via the IRONMAN Now channel can be viewed here.
Magnus Ditlev (DNK) making his debut in the full-distance IRONMAN triathlon overcame a punctured tire on the bike portion of the event to finish the event running side-by-side with the eventual winner to claim an impressive second-place finish. Ditlev would finish with an overall time of 7:58:12. Jesper Svensson (SWE) rounded out the podium in third with a time of 8:08:54. In the professional women’s race, Lauren Brandon (USA) took second behind McCauley with an overall time of 9:10:43 while Joanna Ryter (CHE) finished in third with a time of 9:13:24.
Top five professional men’s results:
| SWIM | BIKE | RUN | FINISH | ||
| 1. Ben Hoffman | USA | 00:52:33 | 04:19:58 | 02:40:20 | 07:57:58 |
| 2. Magnus Ditlev | DNK | 00:52:36 | 04:20:22 | 02:40:56 | 07:58:12 |
| 3. Jesper Svensson | SWE | 00:50:26 | 04:22:45 | 02:51:37 | 08:08:54 |
| 4. Cody Beals | CAN | 00:52:31 | 04:27:12 | 02:45:51 | 08:09:55 |
| 5. Tomasz Szala | POL | 00:52:33 | 04:27:00 | 02:51:09 | 08:15:38 |
Top five professional women’s results:
| SWIM | BIKE | RUN | FINISH | ||
| 1. Jocelyn McCauley | USA | 00:56:04 | 04:43:02 | 03:13:51 | 08:58:13 |
| 2. Lauren Brandon | USA | 00:50:28 | 04:55:18 | 03:19:31 | 09:10:43 |
| 3. Joanna Ryter | CHE | 01:05:12 | 05:00:57 | 03:02:52 | 09:13:24 |
| 4. Rachel Zilinskas | USA | 00:50:30 | 05:07:03 | 03:19:50 | 09:23:36 |
| 5. Jen Annett | CAN | 01:05:21 | 04:57:28 | 03:18:24 | 09:25:52 |
The 2022 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas triathlon saw athletes take on a 140.6-mile journey throughout The Woodlands and surrounding areas in Harris County. Nearly 2,300 athletes ranging in age from 18 to 81 competed in the 2022 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas triathlon. The race began at North Shore Park with a 2.4-mile point-to-point swim in Lake Woodlands taking athletes to Town Green Park. From there athletes continued with a 112-mile flat and fast bike through Harris County on closed toll roads and a 26.2-mile run entirely within The Woodlands before a spectacular finish on Waterway Ave. The event offered age-group qualifying slots to compete at the 2022 Supersapiens IRONMAN World Championship taking place in Kailua-Kona Hawai`i on Oct. 6 & 8, 2022. Official results can be found at www.ironman.com/im-texas-results. For more information on the 2022 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas triathlon visit www.ironman.com/im-texas. For more information on the IRONMAN brand and global event series, visit www.ironman.com.
