KAILUA-KONA — Jan Frodeno had time to stroll down the finishing chute on the way to his first IRONMAN World Championship. Daniela Ryf could have, but couldn’t wait to celebrate.
Frodeno pounded through the 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike and marathon run in 8 hours, 14 minutes, 40 seconds for his first IRONMAN world title. Frodeno — known affectionately as “Frodo” — is the reigning IRONMAN 70.3 world champion and won the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The German is the first person to have both an Olympic gold and Kona gold on his resume.
“The race didn’t unfold as I expected, but running down that chute first was emotional,” Frodeno said.
Ryf, of Switzerland, secured her first women’s title in dominant fashion, giving credence to all the prerace hype with a time of 8:57:57. Wrapped in her country’s flag, she emphatically broke the finishing tape more than 10 minutes ahead of the next closest competitor.
“I had almost the perfect race. That doesn’t happen often in IRONMAN,” Ryf said. “For me the motivation that I race with is to show my best, so I just try to focus on that. The biggest pressure I feel, I make for myself. So if people say that I am a favorite, I see it as a compliment.”
Frodeno finished the scenic morning swim along side American Andy Potts and Kona rookie Dylan McNeice at the front of the pack. The trio all exited Kailua Bay just under 51 minutes and ahead of a fairly large chase pack.
Frodeno ripped through the bike in 4:27:28 to hit the transition in first place. He wrapped up his championship with a 2:52:22 run.
Frodeno came out blazing on the marathon, with a near 5:30 pace for the first three miles. He maintained his lead for the full marathon, starting his celebration once turning onto Alii drive.
Germany’s Andreas Raelert was second, and American Timothy O’Donnell finished third. Raelert — who finished on the podium four-straight times from 2009 to 2012 — passed O’Donnell late on the run for his fourth runner-up finish.
“It wasn’t perfect, but I’m very happy to be back on the podium after two bad years,” Raelert said.
O’Donnell actually led for a large portion of the bike, and his third place finish was the best of his career.
“I’m sorry to take it from an American again,” Frodeno said at the finish line. “I’m glad Tim didn’t have any garlic last night. He was breathing down my neck. I am just over the world.”
Defending male champion Sebastian Kienle finished in eighth.
Ryf was strong and steady in her championship performance.
In 2014, eventual champion Mirinda Carfrae caught Ryf late on the marathon and she had to settle for second. There would be no comebacks this time around. Ryf learned from her rookie run last year and finished more than 12 minutes ahead of second-place Rachel Joyce of Britain, who came in at 9:10:59.
“The run was really hot, with ups and downs. It was not a good feeling, but I got it done,” Ryf said. “It definitely was an advantage to do it a second time. I try to take every experience as a positive.”
Australia’s Liz Blatchford (9:14:52) rounded out the women’s podium.
Defending, and three-time IRONMAN world champion Carfrae — who had podiumed in all six of her previous attempts in Kona — was forced to pull out midway through the bike because of soreness. She posted on Facebook after the race, “Gutted to pull the plug, but back seizing up after minor crash last week and had to make the hard call.”
Carfrae’s husband happens to be O’Donnell, the third place male finisher. After her DNF, Carfrae greeted him at the finish line with a big smile on her face.
“She’s carried the weight enough for the last couple years,” O’Donnell said. “We share each other’s ups and downs. Hopefully, we’ll both come out here next year guns blazing.”