Race Report: Vernay And Lester Claim Ironman Australia

In a repeat-finish of Ironman Western Australia just a few months ago, Patrick Vernay held off Scott Neyedli to claim his fourth Ironman Australia title. In the women’s race, Carrie Lester destroyed the competition on the bike to take her first ever Ironman win.

The men’s race was tight from start to finish. Neyedli (44:35) was just 14-seconds ahead of Vernay (44:49) as they emerged from the water at the head of a leading pack. A second group of athletes containing former Ironman Western Australia winner Tim Berkel (46:09) was more than a minute back.

And this second pack were unable to bridge the gap to the leaders as the likes of Ambrose, Vernay and Neyedli pushed on.

As the mercury went above 30C, the leaders entered T2 in quick succession, with Paul ambrose (4:41:47) the first out onto the run course. Vernay followed (4:41:59) with Neyedli in third (4:42:06).

Both sub-3 marathon runners, it was always going to be a fascinating battle between Vernay and Neyedli. Vernay opened up an early lead. Vernay soon started to suffer from leg cramps, and Neyedli managed to cut the lead to just 20-seconds.

But Vernay dug deep, and pushed on. Pulling away from Neyedli, the New Caledonian put down a 2:54:04 marathon to take the title in 8:23:54. Neyedli was a little over four-minutes back with a 2:57:47 marathon giving him an 8:27:58. Then came the surprise of the race. Australian Age Group athlete Trent Chapman took third against a stacked field of Pros, crossing the line in 8:32:52.

With a much smaller professional field, the women’s race was always going to come down to a battle between two or three of the top athletes. and pre-race favourite Rebekah Keat was one of them.

Emerging from the swim at the head of the field (48:53), Keat was accompanied by Amelia Pearson (48:54) onto the bike. Lisa Marangon (49:32), another pre-race favourite, emerged from the water with blood gushing from her nose after taking a heavy blow to the face in the swim.

But out on the bike, another mauch-vaunted athlete entered the fray. A 49:43 swim had put Carrie Lester nearly a minute down going onto the bike. But a 5:00:57 bike split had her entering T2 with a comfortable lead.

Brave Lisa Marangon somehow managed a 5:05:17 bike split to bring her into T2 in second, with Keat (5:09:14) in third.

Marangon, suffering from the blow to the head, was forced to retire early on in the race, leaving the crowd watching a two-way battle between Lester and Keat.

But despite her relative inexperience at controlling a race from the head of the field, Lester wasn’t going to let this one slip. A 3:29:36 marathon was enough to give her the title in 9:23:46. Keat was second (9:33:10) with Amelia Pearson third (9:46:09).

Finally, while the triathlon world watched the front of the field, Australia’s eyes were fixed mid-pack. Because the leader of the Australian opposition, Tony Abbott, put in a fine display to cross the line in 13:57:01.

Urban Hotel Group Ironman Australia Results
3.9km swim, 180km bike, 42.2km run

Top 5 men
1. Patrick Vernay (NCL) 8:23:54
2. Scott Neyedly (GBR) 8:27:58
3. Trent Chapman (AUS) 8:32:52
4. Trent Ogden (AUS) 8:35:54
5. Matt White (AUS) 8:36:39

Top 5 women
1. Carrie Lester (AUS) 9:23:50
2. Rebekah Keat (AUS) 9:33:10
3. Amelie Pearson (AUS) 9:46:09
4. Diana Riesler (GER) 9:57:04
5. Kirsten Molloy (AUS) 9:59:10

Filed under : Features • News • Race Results
Read more about :Amelie-Pearson, Carrie-Lester, Ironman-Australia, Patrick-Vernay, Rebekah-Keat, Scott-Neyedli, Tony-Abbott, Trent-Chapman