Dirtyfast Don sets fastest M-Dot time, Cheetham joins the Sub-9 Club in first IRONMAN victory
The IRONMAN South American Championship, Brasil provided a fine ending on Sunday to what had been an incredible weekend of success – yet again – for British athletes around the globe.
One man who left it all out on the course was Tim Don. Right at the head of affairs with a 44:16 swim, Don immediately went to to the front on the bike – and just went further and further and further away from a deep, championship quality field. A 4:06:56 bike split provided a massive lead of well over 20 minutes by T2… which he extended further with a 2:44:46 marathon. That stopped the clock at an incredible 7:40:23, second in iron-distance terms to the 7:35:39 of Jan Frodeno at Challenge Roth last year. A complete domination with second placed Kyle Buckingham (RSA) arriving over 25 minutes later.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL MEN’S SUB-8 ARCHIVE
This sums up my day @IRONMANtri #IMbrazil came here to fight for the win and got a pretty fast time to boot 😜. Still in shock 🏁🇬🇧🇧🇷👊 7:40:23 pic.twitter.com/HAMeWJY6cQ
— Tim Don (@trithedon) May 29, 2017
It was also a great day for Susie Cheetham. While she had four previous IRONMAN podiums, she hadn’t yet crossed the line for the top spot on the podium. Starting with probably the best swim of her career to date, the racing was very close all day – at the finish line the top five would be separated by less than ten minutes.
When you want something so badly.
South American Champ & Record @IRONMANtri #IMBrazil. Super stoked, super happy
Congrats all finishers 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/1or3sYviAG
— Susie Cheetham (@susiecheetham) May 29, 2017
It was a battle on the run, but the Brit would prove the strongest. A 3:02:41 would be enough to take the win, collect the $30,000 first prize – and record her first Sub-9 hour iron-distance finish. Happy days all round.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL WOMEN’S SUB-9 ARCHIVE
IRONMAN South American Championship, Brasil – Sunday 28th May 2017
3.8km / 180km / 42.2km – PRO
MEN
1st – Tim Don (GBR) – 7:40:23 – $30,000
2nd – Kyle Buckigham (RSA) – 8:05:43 – $15,000
3rd – Igor Amorelli (ARG) – 8:06:58 – $8,000
4th – Reinaldo Colucci (BRA) – 8:10:04 – $6,500
5th – Thiago Vinhal (BRA) – 8:11:46 – $5,000
16th – Harry Wiltshire (GBR) – 9:05:05
WOMEN
1st – Susie Cheetham (GBR) – 8:52:00 – $30,000
2nd – Sonja Tajsich (GER) – 8:57:36 – $15,000
3rd – Haley Chura (USA) – 8:58:45 – $8,000
4th – Gurutze Frades (ESP) – 9:01:00 – $6,500
5th – Linsey Corbin (USA) – 9:01:13 – $5,000