Javier Gomez And Daniela Ryf Capture The 2014 Subaru IRONMAN® 70.3® World Championship In Mont-Tremblant, Quebec

MONT-TREMBLANT, Quebec, Sept. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Shining through the beautiful surroundings of Mont-Tremblant, Quebec were Javier Gomez (ESP) and Daniela Ryf (SUI), as they captured the crown at the 2014 Subaru IRONMAN^® 70.3^® World Championship triathlon. Gomez posted a winning time of 03:41:30 outdoing a men's field that saw the top 10 all finish within 10 minutes of each other. Ryf continued her dominant season with a winning time of 4:09:19. The race celebrated the first time the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship has been held outside of the United States.

Men's Race
Just a week after his fourth ITU World Championship in Edmonton, it didn't take long for Javier Gomez (ESP) and fellow race favorite Jan Frodeno (DEU) to get into a rhythm as they quickly moved to the front of the swim. The two kept the pace moving fast as they wanted to keep last year's IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Sebastien Kienle (DEU) at bay. The defending champ found himself just over three minutes down after the swim and, instead of gaining time through the early portion of the bike as he has in years past, Kienle found himself losing time to the huge group at the front of the men's race that included Gomez, Frodeno, Ben Collins (USA), Joe Gambles (USA), Nils Frommhold (DEU), Terenzo Bozzone (NZL), Josh Amberger (AUS), Tim Don (GBR) and Matt Chrabot (USA).

Collins was first off the bike, but it was Frodeno who surged out onto the run course with the early lead. Trailing by 30 seconds starting the run, Gomez quickly moved into second and within five km was only three seconds behind Frodeno. Feeling that he could run faster, Gomez surged past the German and opened up a 25-second lead. Frodeno looked like he might be gaining ground on the Spaniard with six km to go, but Gomez hung tough to get to the line 42 seconds ahead of Frodeno earning his first IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship title. Don put together a solid race and rounded out the podium, while Lionel Sanders, who was the last pro man out of the water, put together the fastest pro bike split and third fastest run (1:11:22, behind Gomez's 1:09:27 and Frodeno's 1:10:37) to move to fourth, with Germany's Nils Frommhold finishing fifth.

Top 10 professional men's results:

Women's Race
In the midst of an incredible season, Daniela Ryf (SUI) once again proved she is a force in the sport of triathlon. Ryf exited the water just six seconds behind 2010 IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Jodie Swallow (GBR), before the pair were joined at the front of the bike by Annabel Luxford (AUS) and Mary Beth Ellis (USA). Ryf and Swallow drove the pace through the first half before Ryf made her move and, by the 66 km, she had separated herself from Swallow, Ellis, Luxford and the rest of the field.

Once on the run, Swallow, who came off the bike in second, made things exciting as she managed to gain back a bit of time. But, in the end, Ryf was simply too strong as she finished in 4:09:19, 2:24 ahead of Swallow. The win added to her impressive 2014 campaign including, a win at the 5150 European Championship, a win in her first IRONMAN race at IRONMAN Zurich, a win at the IRONMAN 70.3 European Championship in Wiesbaden and a win at KMD IRONMAN Copenhagen.

Canada's own Heather Wurtele ran her way to the podium after passing Meredith Kessler who finished fourth (USA) and Ellis who rounded out the top five.

Top 10 professional women's results:

More than 2,200 athletes representing 87 countries and 49 states started the 2014 Subaru IRONMAN^® 70.3^® World Championship, which consisted of a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run in the beautiful surroundings provided by Mont-Tremblant. Competitors ranged in age from 18 to 83. The championship event is the culmination of over 60 global events in the IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Series. The swim was held in Tremblant Lake and the bike traveled through a challenging course that included Mont-Tremblant's forests and Laurentian Mountains. The 13.1-mile run course concluded in the resort's pedestrian village. Each year, over 120,000 athletes vie for slots to the IRONMAN^® 70.3^® World Championship. The race offered a professional prize purse of $250,000. Each age group winner automatically qualified for the 2015 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship event held in Zell am See-Kaprun, SalzburgerLand, Austria to be held on August 30, 2015.

The 2014 Subaru IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship Mont-Tremblant broadcast will air on NBC Sports Network on Tuesday, Sept. 30 from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET (check local listings and www.ironman.com for details).

For results from the 2014 Subaru IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, visit www.ironman.com/worldchampionship70.3.

About IRONMAN
The iconic IRONMAN^® Series of events is the largest participation sports platform in the world. Since the inception of the IRONMAN^® brand in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE^® by crossing finish lines at the world's most challenging endurance races. Recognized for excellence through distinguished events, world-class athletes and quality products, IRONMAN has grown from a single race to a global sensation with more than 190 events across five unique brands: IRONMAN^®, IRONMAN 70.3^®, 5150™ Triathlon Series, Iron Girl^® and IRONKIDS^®. For more information, visit www.ironman.com.

*Attached images courtesy of Nils Nilsen/IRONMAN

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