It was a record-breaking day awaiting spectators at Ironman Florida. Both the winners, the Spaniard Victor Del Corral, who won the men's race, and the Dutchman Yvonne Van Vlerken, who dominated the women's competition, contributed to this, as did the American Andrew Starykowicz.
The race started with a bang: Czech Filip Ospaly was the first to come out of the water on his long-distance debut. However, he wasn't able to stay in this position for long, because after just a few kilometers on the bike, Starykowicz sat down. He even managed to improve his own course record from the previous year by almost two minutes. He only needed 180:4:02 hours for the 17 kilometers. However, this time was not enough to be happy about the victory in the end. This was secured by Del Corral, who lost more than twenty minutes in the final marathon Starykowicz and set a new course record with a total time of 7:53:12 hours.
The same goes for Van Vlerken. She also set a new course record and ended her comeback year with a win. When it came to swimming, she had held back in an elegant manner. Here the American Haley Chura was the fastest. However, she lost her lead on the bike to the Austrian Lisa Hütthaler, who had to let Van Vlerken pass towards the end of the bike course. The Dutchwoman was the first to take to the marathon course and thereafter left no doubt that she wanted to win.
The best German starter in the men's category was Dorian Wagner in eighth place. Mareen Hufe came fifth in the women's category.
//Result men
1. Victor Del Corral (Spain) 7:53:12
2. Andrew Starykowicz (USA) 7:55:22
3. Filip Ospaly (Czech Republic) 7:58:44
4. Daniel Fontana (Italy) 8:05:48
5. Pedro Gomes (Portugal) 8:08:34
//Result women
1. Yvonne van Vlerken (Netherlands) 8:43:07
2 Ashley Clifford (USA) 8: 49: 03
3. Erika Csomor (Hungary) 8:56:41
4. Simone Brändli (Switzerland) 9:00:40
5. Mareen Hufe (Germany) 9:03:15