IRONMAN Chattanooga results: Sam Long stars, Joe Skipper returns and Sarah True reigns supreme

Sam Long and Sarah True claimed victory at a weather-affected IRONMAN Chattanooga 2024 on Sunday.

The race went ahead despite the devastation in a number of southern US states caused by Hurricane Helene – but the storm did result in the cancellation of the planned swim in the Tennessee River.

That left the field to compete via a time trial bike leg followed by the traditional marathon to finish, and it was Long and True who held all the aces to claim the Pro wins.

Pro Men – ‘Big Unit’ claims big win

Canadian star Jackson Laundry posted the fastest bike split of the day (3:50:01) as he claimed a small 19-second advantage over the aforementioned Long at the end of the time trial. Austria’s Michael Weiss was 1:40 back in third place with Canada’s Cody Beals at 2:28 away in fourth. Britain’s Joe Skipper – returning after a break following a disappointing performance at IRONMAN Lake Placid – was seventh with a 5:50 deficit to the leaders.

Onto the run and the fleet-footed Laundry opened a lead of 1:34 over Long as they reached the quarter point of the marathon at just over 10k while Beals moved into the final podium spot. Skipper meanwhile was not making inroads into the front three.

The next 10k though would see the race for victory hot up considerably as Long gradually ate into Laundry’s lead before taking the advantage.

The further they went, the further Long gradually increased his lead as Laundry faded. Now it was Beals who was the main challenger with Germany’s Andi Dreitz moving into third. With under four miles to go though, Sam’s lead over Cody was just over a minute and surely he was virtually home and hosed.

Beals gave ‘The Big Unit’ all he could handle in the closing stages though – chopping that margin down to just 20 seconds with a terrific 2:38:29 run as Long took the tape to claim another full-distance win. Dreitz was 2:35 away in third with Laundry a now distant fourth. Skipper meanwhile ended his return 11:42 back in seventh place.

Pro Women – success for Sarah

It was Great Britain 1 and 2 after the bike time trial with Stephanie Clutterbuck completing a 4:14:00 leg to claim a lead of just over three minutes from compatriot Rebecca Anderbury. Angela Naeth was the first home hope in third place at 5:37 away with eventual race winner True fourth with a deficit of 6:39 to make up.

Onto the run and the True started to eat away at Clutterbuck’s lead as she moved into second, but the British ace was giving a really good account of herself. It was not until around 10 miles from home that True finally had the advantage.

Sarah gradually drew clear after making the catch and had an advantage of 3:31 over Steph at the line thanks to a 2:54:20 marathon. Another US star Annamarie Strehlow claimed the final podium spot, a further 3:20 back.