Jodie Stimpson and Jan Frodeno take the titles at the inaugural Challenge Miami
Commonwealth Champion and Great Britain triathlete Jodie Stimpson took the win in the women’s pro-race in the inaugural Challenge Miami. Jodie claimed victory in a time of 3.01.04 hrs ahead of hot favourite GB’s Lucy Charles-Barclay (+1:21) who had had to sit out a two-minute time penalty for incorrectly overtaking another athlete. American Jackie Hering took third place (3:05.05).
Having suffered many disappointments over the years through injuries, being unable to defend her Commonwealth title and missing out on Olympic selection in 2016, Jodie’s continuing love for triathlon once again sees her reap the rewards for her endeavours. This was an emotional victory for Jodie as she crossed the winning line in tears thinking of her father who died last year. Jodie emotionally exclaimed “This is for dad. It was definitively more special to win today. He is keeping me going and he’ll continue to keep me going.”
The men’s pro race did not get much bigger in long distance triathlon with the return of Jan Frodeno and the German did not disappoint taking the win (2:37:57hr) ahead of Canadian Lionel Sanders (+2:30) who secured second place with American Ben Kabute (+3:37) taking third after a tactical run with a last-minute pass on fellow American Chris Lieferman who took 4th place.
Frodeno was among was among the first athletes out of the water, but on the bike leg he had to contend with a powerful Andrew Starykowicz and Magnus Ditlev but both fell back on the run. This was not the case for Jan Frodeno, who picked up the lead during his run and continually saw it growing right up to the winning line. Meanwhile, Canadian Lionel Sanders, started to work his way up in the field, picking off one athlete after another to eventually cross the finishing line take second place. American Ben Kanute like Sanders, also worked his way up the field of athletes during the final run, settling an exciting battle for the bronze in his favour.
Full results can be found below:
Results:
