Fast times are not to be expected at Ironman Thun – the course is too tough for that – but a beautiful battle all the more; yet one woman was actually too strong today to make it really exciting, because home favorite Julie Derron won with a huge lead.
The silver medalist of the last Olympic Games came into action on the classic distance today and ultimately crossed the finish line after 8:42:40. That happened after a day in which she had to go full in pursuit on the bike, because fellow Swiss Imogen Simmonds noted the fastest swim time with 52:51 and then had a lead of 3:51 minutes on Derron.
In the first kilometers on the bike, that lead even increased for a moment to almost five minutes, until Derron found her rhythm and made up more and more of her deficit. Once in T2, Simmonds was still in the lead, but her advantage was only forty seconds. The two Swiss ladies were in any case incomparable to the rest, because the next lady – Leana Bissig, also Swiss – followed at almost fifteen minutes.
During the run, the tension actually disappeared like snow in the sun; within three kilometers Derron took over the lead and her lead would only get bigger every kilometer. She won the race in 8:42:40, while Simmonds finished second in 8:56:27. The Swiss Loanne Duvoisin completed the Swiss party by finishing third in 9:03:32.
