Ironman's big weekend - Lanzarote results

Saturday, 24 May 2008 08:10

Ironman racing was in full swing this weekend with races in both Lanzarote and Brazil. Both races had good professionals fields who were no doubt keen to leave their mark on a global Ironman weekend. The number of races are somewhat a double edged sword; multiple races in a year means there's always a race to compete in and opens up the sport to more pros and age groupers. But does this dilute the quality of the fields? Time will tell on this one but this weekend saw some great performances.

At Ironman Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands off the African coast, a new king was crowned in Bert Jammaer. Jammaer has posted some good results previously, though hasn't really performed off the charts. Some top 10 finishes around the world, including a 4th in Lanzarote last year, meant Jammaer had a reasonable claim on being considered a favorite this time around. Jammaer set up his victory on the bike and never really looked troubled, taking some time through the finish chute to revel in his first Ironman victory. Juhanson came in third in what would have been a disappointing result for the big man from Estonia.

The women's side of the event saw Bella Comerford absolutely smoke the field to win by a very handy 10 minutes. Comerford has had an amazing year with three Ironman races completed already, winning in South Africa and notching up a fourth in New Zealand. Comerford took her victory over some very good athletes, including Tara Norton who biked well but just couldn't complete the job on the run. Apart from getting on top of the podium in Lanzarote, Comerford also made the firstoffthebike.com Monday Hit List which no doubt has her buzzed!

Lanzarote Results

Men