Edit: Svenja Thoes was later disqualified for outside assistance.
Edit 2: Svenja Thoes challenged the DSQ, was vindicated and got her victory back months after the race.
Svenja Thoes just got to climb onto the highest podium spot at Ironman Cork. The German athlete finished in 9:24:54 hours, and managed to stay ahead of Britain’s Simone Mitchell (+2:56) and Germany’s Laura Zimmerman (+3:51), who took second and third.
After the swim part, Britain’s Chantal Sainter and Swiss Nina Derron were in the lead. Behind them, a group of three exited the water, with a three-minute deficit. Thoes was 6:30 minutes behind the leading lady once she got to hop on her bike, and in 7th place.
In the first half of the bike part, Thoes already started to make up positions, but during the second half she also made up time. Eventually, Thoes racked her bike back in T2, only seventeen seconds behind the first woman: Zimmerman.
After a few minutes of running, Thoes was leading. Slowly, but steadily, she moved away from Zimmerman and Mitchell, who battled for silver. Mitchell seemed to be a threat to Thoes for a little while, but with about 15K to go, Thoes made it clear that she wasn’t giving up on her win. After a marathon of 3:12:33 hours, Thoes broke the tape and won Ironman Cork. Mitchell ended up passing Zimmerman and therefor crossed the line in second place, meaning Zimmerman took third.
