Viktor Zyemtsev (UKR) and Danielle Mack (USA) fought off a competitive professional field and tough conditions as each claimed victories at the 2015 Subaru Ironman Canada triathlon with times of 8:49:46 and 9:46:19, respectively.
Men's Race
Barrett Brandon (USA) was first out of the swim at Alta Lake with a time of 48:22, placing him six seconds ahead of Luke Bell (AUS) and 19 seconds ahead of Kyle Buckingham (ZAF). Paul Ambrose (AUS), Jeff Symonds (CAN), Justin Daerr (USA), Viktor Zyemtsev (UKR) and Chris McDonald (USA) would be next into transition and off on the bike course as they headed out into the steady pour of rain.
Buckingham would prove he could tolerate the wet and cool conditions better than most as he stormed to the lead in the opening miles of the bike. Bell, Ambrose, Symonds, McDonald, Swen Sundberg (DEU), Zyemtsev and Derek Garcia (USA) were in the mix early, however, Symonds, Ambrose and Bell would succumb to the weather and eventually abandoned the race. Heading into the second transition, Buckingham managed to build up advantages of over five minutes on McDonald, Garcia, Zyemtsev and Daerr.
Once out on the run, Zyemtsev went on a steady march towards Buckingham up front while Daerr and Garcia were hovering in third and fourth as McDonald faded out of contention for the lead. Zyemtsev bridged the gap to Buckingham at mile 17 and the pair ran together for some time. There were a few occasions when the two tested each other, but neither could make a move that would stick. Finally, with a couple miles to go, Zyemtsev surged to the lead to capture his 12th Ironman career win. Buckingham crossed the line second, while Daerr finished off the podium in third.
 Viktor Zyemtsev takes the win at Ironman Canada(Photo: FinisherPix; click to enlarge) |
Top five professional men's results:
| Swim | Bike | Run | Finish | |||||
| 1. Viktor Zyemtsev (UKR) | 53:03 | 4:58:32 | 2:54:28 | 8:49:46 | ||||
| 2. Kyle Buckingham (ZAF) | 48:40 | 4:56:18 | 3:01:24 | 8:50:30 | ||||
| 3. Justin Daerr (USA) | 53:02 | 4:58:35 | 2:59:13 | 8:54:45 | ||||
| 4. Derek Garcia (USA) | 53:30 | 4:57:54 | 3:08:05 | 9:02:55 | ||||
| 5. Chris McDonald (AUS) | 53:04 | 4:57:37 | 3:14:20 | 9:08:45 |
Women's Race
Karen Thibodeau (CAN) and Laural Wassner (USA) were first to emerge from the lake within three seconds of each other. Melanie McQuaid (CAN), Liz Lyles (USA), and Caitlin Snow (USA) were almost four minutes off the pace as they headed out on the rain-soaked roads.
Wassner would lead the women early, but would be overtaken by McQuaid 25 miles into the bike. Behind McQuaid, Thibodeau and Lyles would drop out of the race while Danielle Mack (USA) and Jessica Flemming (AUS) seemed to thrive in the harsh weather. Coming into transition two, McQuaid carried over five minutes of lead time on Mack and Flemming with the remainder of the field well off the pace.
Early on the run, McQuaid and Mack were running solid in the now overcast and cool weather. Flemming started to fade as the rest of the women's field was getting shuffled behind the lead pair. Once on the second half of the run, McQuaid started to slow with Mack taking advantage and beginning to chew into her lead. Just before mile 24, Mack caught McQuaid and never looked back. Mack went on to claim the second Ironman title of her career, while McQuaid held on to second in her debut Ironman performance. Jen Annett (CAN) stormed through the field in the second half of the run to finish off the podium.
 Danielle Mack wins Ironman Canada(Photo: FinisherPix; click to enlarge) |
Top five professional women's results:
| Swim | Bike | Run | Finish | |||||
| 1. Danielle Mack (USA) | 1:01:49 | 5:23:53 | 3:16:09 | 9:46:19 | ||||
| 2. Melanie McQuaid (CAN) | 57:47 | 5:22:43 | 3:23:44 | 9:48:23 | ||||
| 3. Jen Annett (CAN) | 1:02:01 | 5:32:14 | 3:16:03 | 9:55:06 | ||||
| 4. Mackenzie Madison (USA) | 58:17 | 5:33:05 | 3:23:54 | 9:59:34 | ||||
| 5. Jessica Fleming (AUS) | 1:01:09 | 5:25:02 | 3:30:11 | 10:00:18 |
