Hot Times at Ironman 70.3 Puerto Rico: Tine Deckers, Tim O’Donnell On Top

San Juan, PR – Ironman 70.3 Puerto Rico hasn’t gone so well the past few years, between fire ants and cyclists being caught in gunfire between rival gang members.

That didn’t stop a stellar field from showing up in 2016.

Maybe it’s the scenic course: the swim is one loop in the lagoon, then sends athletes out to the ocean before they hit T1. The bike course runs along the coast, and though it’s flat as a pancake, there can be significant crosswinds (also, look out for giant iguanas). The run is where the biggest challenge comes: a false flat turns quickly into a climb; add in lots of sun exposure, and things can get pretty brutal.

Sarah Haskins, last year’s champion, returns to defend her title, and was predicted to be hard to beat – as possibly the strongest swimmer in the women’s field, it was speculated that she might lead from start to finish. Challenging Haskins were Linsey Corbin (finally back racing, and in good form), Tine Deckers, and Laurel Wassner (recently 6^th at Buenos Aires). On the men’s side, Starky was making an appearance, and has won this race before – he’s also recently thrown some (verbal) barbs at Tim O’Donnell, leaving us wondering whether TO would be trying to take Starky down a few pegs. Add in Frederik Van Lierde, Leon Griffin, and Cam Dye, and you’re looking at a crowded bike course.

Swim

Warm water meant squeezing into swimskins Sunday morning. As predicted, Sarah Haskins came out of the water first with a 1:56 lead over Laurel Wassner, and the rest of the field over 3 minutes back, while in the men’s race, Cam Dye led the men into T1, followed 1 to 11 seconds later by Tim O’Donnell, Frederik Van Lierde, Leon Griffin, Jacob Rhyner, and Starky.

Bike

Haskins’ lead on the bike soon faced a challenge from Tine Deckers, who was within 31 seconds at 19 miles, although she maintained her 2 minute lead over Wassner. Linsey Corbin, 5^th out of the water, was also making her way closer to the lead, just 30 seconds back from Wassner. Also just past 19 miles, Starykowicz did what he does best – moved to the front of the bike, leading Dye, O’Donnell, Griffin, and Romain Guillaume, while Van Lierde sat by himself +1:11.

At the halfway point, Deckers narrowly overtook Haskins, while Wassner had slipped another minute off pace, allowing Corbin to close in. The men’s front pack had narrowed to Starky, O’Donnell +0:10, Dye +0:12, and Guillaume +0:15, with Griffin and Van Lierde falling a little farther back. Starykowicz managed to open up a gap in the final miles, coming into T2 with a 2.5 minute lead over Dye, Guillaume, and O’Donnell, all tightly bunched in 2^nd-4^th. Deckers had managed to hold off Haskins on the second half of the bike as well, coming into T2 with a full 3:40 lead over Haskins and 5:09 on Corbin, now in 3^rd. Wassner hit T2 in 4^th, down 8:05.

Linsey Corbin crushing the run. Photo credit @linseycorbin.

Run

We all know that Starky talks a big game, and can back it up on the bike – but once on the run course, it didn’t take very long for Tim O’Donnell to give as good as he got. Just past 5k, TO was in the lead, and Guillaume had also gotten by Starky. Past 10k, O’Donnell had 2 minutes on Dye (now in 2^nd), with Guillaume +2:16, and Griffin +2:49. O’Donnell stayed in control all the way to the finish line, winning in 3:50:51. A strong run propelled Griffin from 4^th to 2^nd in 3:54:21, and Cam Dye 3^rd in 3:55:10. Starky? He fell to 11^th, clocking a 1:33 run following his best-of-the-day 2:00:59 bike split. The infamous Thomas Gerlach finished 7^th (in the pro race, because he’s a pro, you know.)

Recall that Tine Deckers came off the bike with 3-5 minutes on 2^nd and 3^rd place: as the gap between Tine, Haskins, and Corbin narrowed, it was tough to tell whether Deckers was fading or Haskins and Corbin were just killing it out there. At 9.4 miles, Deckers had to be getting a little scared, as only 1:29 now separated her from Haskins. She was able to rebound just before the end – crossing the finish line first in 4:20:22, handing Haskins her first (in 5 attempts) defeat at the 70.3 distance. Haskins crossed the line 2^nd in 4:22:14, and Corbin 3^rd in 4:23:32.

1. Tim O’Donnell, 3:50:51 (24:15/2:04:24/1:17:47)
2. Leon Griffin, 3:54:22 (24:38/2:07:16/1:18:11)
3. Cam Dye, 3:55:10 (24:17/2:04:18/1:21:59)
4. Romain Guillaume, 3:56:28 (24:26/2:03:50/1:23:00)
5. Frank Silvestrin Souza, 3:57:36 (24:46/2:09:08/1:18:56)

1. Tine Deckers, 4:20:22 (28:19/2:15:59/1:30:31)
2. Sarah Haskins, 4:22:14 (25:17/2:22:32/1:28:59)
3. Linsey Corbin, 4:23:32 (28:17/2:20:57/1:28:29)
4. Jodie Robertson, 4:24:38 (31:58/2:20:17/1:26:09)
5. Rachel Jastrebsky, 4:36:05 (28:28/2:27:57/1:34:00)

photo credit: Old Town San Juan via photopin (license)