2017 IRONMAN Arizona: triathlon battle and favorites victories with fast results | SWIM

Swim.by, SWIM Channel, Andrzej Waszkewicz

2017 IRONMAN Arizona: triathlon battle and favorites victories with fast results

Lionel Sanders (CAN) and Kaisa Sali (FIN) battled competitive fields and windy conditions on the bike to earn the victories at the 2017 Ironman Arizona triathlon. Sanders came into IRONMAN Arizona as the clear favorite. With two consecutive wins in Tempe (2015 & 2016) and coming up just minutes short of capturing the IRONMAN World Championship 2017 victory last month, expectations were high.

2017 IRONMAN Arizona, IRONMAN Arizona, IRONMAN Triathlon

Photo: © IRONMAN Arizona

Sanders didn’t fail to live up to the pre-race hype. He exited the water in sixth, just 2:28 off the leader’s pace, which is considered a win for Sanders, looking back at his previous deficits coming out of the water. Shown the best result on the bike race and running marathon on the day rewarded the Canadian triathlete the victory by a winning margin of over 13 minutes in finish lane.

2017 IRONMAN Arizona, IRONMAN Arizona, IRONMAN Triathlon

Photo: © IRONMAN Arizona

The women’s race was much closer throughout the bike and run as four women were within less than four minutes of each other coming off the bike. Jen Annett (CAN) led the charge into transition followed by Helle Frederiksen (DEN), Kasi Sali (FIN) and Michelle Vesterby (DEN).

Frederiksen (who was making her debut at the IRONMAN distance) and Sali ran stride for stride for the first half of the run that saw the pair storm their way into the lead at 9 miles. Sali would eventually shake off Frederiksen early in the second half of the run but Frederiksen managed to keep her deficit to three minutes for the remainder of the run. Sali would survive Frederiksen’s perseverance and went on to take her second IRONMAN win of her career.

2017 IRONMAN Arizona, IRONMAN Arizona, IRONMAN Triathlon

Photo: © IRONMAN Arizona