Jubilant Joyce secures Kona start with IRONMAN Mont-Tremblant victory

Last gasp qualification Kona from Rachel Joyce in Canada

SEVEN British Pro women will now start in Kona this year

“Sometimes you have to let you heart rule your head”, said Rachel Joyce before her race at IRONMAN Mont-Tremblant on Sunday.

After winning at IRONMAN Boulder and a disappointing fourth at IRONMAN Canada, Great Britain’s Rachel Joyce was just short of the qualification requirement to secure a start at the IRONMAN World Championships in October. After the birth of Archie, she had only really considered trying to qualify for Kona in June, which, “makes things challenging”. Trying to race three full-distance IRONMAN races in such a short time frame is not easy, but it was required in this case, summed up by this pre-race post:

Turns out the wait and see game is not for me. I want to be back racing in Kona this year and if I can do something to increase that probability I want to do that thing! So I’ll be back on an Ironman start line on 20 August in Mont Tremblant, racing to try and secure my place in Kona 2017.

Well, fortune sometimes favours the brave – and in winning her fifth career IRONMAN, Rachel has now secured her spot on the Big Island and another chance to add to her incredibly impressive and consistent record in Kona. Check that out below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYE_LXAFjqA/

IRONMAN Mont-Tremblant – Sunday 20th August 2017
3.8km / 180km / 42.2km

1st – Rachel Joyce (GBR) – 9:19:08
2nd – Kim Schwabenbauer (USA) – 9:21:22
3rd – Jennie Hansen (USA) – 9:25:58

Rachel Joyce – Kona Results Record

• 2009 – 6th
• 2010 – 5th
• 2011 – 4th
• 2012 – 11th
• 2013 – 2nd
• 2014 – 3rd
• 2015 – 2nd
• 2016 – DNS (Maternity)

IRONMAN World Championship 2017: British Female Starters

• Susie Cheetham
• Rachel Joyce
• Laura Siddall
• Lucy Charles
• Corinne Abraham
• Nikki Bartlett
• Leanda Cave