Meredith Kessler
Visit ProfileMeredith Kessler
In a poll in 2018 to celebrate 40 years of IRONMAN, the winner for ‘greatest American female triathlete’ was Meredith Kessler.
That should come as no great surprise as PTO Board member Meredith’s career is virtually unparalleled in the sport, with more than 30 titles at full and half distance. She also just happens to be one of the most popular athletes around.
Kessler bought a first triathlon bike with her graduation money in 2000 and entered a first full-distance race just two weeks later. The early part of her career meanwhile, which featured nearly 30 full-distance races, was combined with an investment banking job which took up 60 hours per week.
It was not until 2009, by which time the influential Matt Dixon was coaching her, that Meredith felt she was ready to move into the pro ranks. From that moment on the records started to stack up.
She was seventh in her first pro race at IRONMAN Arizona that November and the first win came in 2010 in Canada. All this while still working in banking and training only around 15 hours per week.
It was time to take the next step and go full-time into triathlon, with the next couple of seasons seeing her and Dixon fine-tune training her racing and preparation before she hit new heights from 2012 onwards.
She was super-strong in every aspect, to the fore in the swim, one of the very best cyclists and hard to beat in the run.
Her achievements are astonishing and include five consecutive titles at IRONMAN New Zealand (2012-2016), which saw her dubbed the 'Queen of Taupo', and three Arizona titles (2014-2016), back where it all started.
She gave birth to her son Mak in 2017 before returning to the sport in 2018, balancing family life with her training for "the best of both worlds".
She was sixth in her comeback race at IRONMAN Texas before adding two more 70.3 victories to her record at Raleigh and Mont-Tremblant. There were no fewer than six podiums in 2019, before 2020 started with a second place back at the happy hunting ground of Taupo.
As well as giving so much to the sport through her performances and persona, Meredith has also enjoyed reaching out to others by developing the ‘Life Of A Triathlete’ manuals with her husband. The objective is to help individuals reach their athletic goals faster than they would on their own.
Bonus +5%
* New PTO World Ranking System implemented.
Results
2024
Date | # | Tier | Race | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall | SOF The Strength Of Field (SOF) score is calculated based on the average PTO World Ranking points of the top five ranked athletes who start the race. | Pts | ||
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25 Aug | 12 | Silver | Ironman Canada | --:-- | 5:08:04 | 3:24:26 | 8:34:25 41.32 | 64.11 | 41.32 | ||
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23 Jun | 12 | Gold | Ironman 70.3 Mont Tremblant | 17:20 | 2:27:06 | 1:30:18 | 4:19:36 63.85 | 86.4 | 63.85 | ||
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02 Mar | 6 | Silver | Ironman New Zealand | 55:54 | 4:58:01 | 3:23:10 | 9:22:44 59.55 | 81.88 | 59.55 | ||
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2023
Date | # | Tier | Race | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall | SOF The Strength Of Field (SOF) score is calculated based on the average PTO World Ranking points of the top five ranked athletes who start the race. | Pts | ||
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16 Sep | 5 | Silver | Ironman Maryland | 12:46 | 4:40:39 | 3:18:08 | 8:16:56 59.07 | 61.12 | 59.07 | ||
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20 Aug | 2 | Silver | Ironman Mont Tremblant | 52:50 | 5:02:18 | 3:20:05 | 9:20:51 71.69 | 64.81 | 71.69 | ||
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21 May | 8 | Silver | Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga | 26:59 | 2:24:38 | 1:27:24 | 4:22:38 61.6 | 83.37 | 61.60 | ||
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06 May | 8 | Gold | Ironman 70.3 St. George | 27:42 | 2:24:46 | 1:27:38 | 4:24:09 70.75 | 78.33 | 70.75 | ||
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04 Mar | 4 | Silver | Ironman New Zealand | 54:36 | 5:09:25 | 3:20:34 | 9:30:50 58.23 | 64.68 | 58.23 | ||
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2021
Date | # | Race | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall | AIT The Strength Of Field (SOF) score is calculated based on the average PTO World Ranking points of the top five ranked athletes who start the race. | Pts | |||
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04 Dec | 10 | Clash Daytona | 27:35 | 1:59:46 | 1:13:19 | 3:43:23 52.2401 | 03:28:27 | 52.24 | |||
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07 Aug | 16 | Ironman 70.3 Boulder | 27:44 | 2:23:16 | 1:35:20 | 4:29:59 23.3205 | 04:02:08 | 23.32 | |||
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23 May | 10 | Ironman Tulsa | 53:27 | 5:17:16 | 3:32:50 | 9:48:50 24.0107 | 08:48:35 | 24.01 | |||
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01 May | 12 | Ironman 70.3 St. George | 26:05 | 2:28:49 | 1:31:55 | 4:31:54 45.5421 | 04:11:22 | 45.54 | |||
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12 Mar | 10 | Challenge Miami | 23:15 | 1:37:44 | 1:06:46 | 3:09:58 67.8744 | 03:01:14 | 67.87 | |||
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2020
Date | # | Race | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall | AIT The Strength Of Field (SOF) score is calculated based on the average PTO World Ranking points of the top five ranked athletes who start the race. | Pts | |||
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07 Nov | 3 | Ironman Florida | 58:59 | 4:44:27 | 3:08:08 | 8:59:01 82.1576 | 08:44:58 | 82.16 | |||
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03 Oct | 2 | Huntington Triathlon | 21:14 | 1:02:36 | 36:22 | 2:02:25 53.9059 | 01:54:30 | 53.91 | |||
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07 Mar | 2 | Ironman New Zealand | 52:26 | 4:52:41 | 3:04:52 | 8:56:03 98.7956 | 08:55:05 | 98.80 | |||
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15 Feb | 3 | Challenge Wanaka Half | 25:41 | 2:39:37 | 1:26:05 | 4:36:12 60.8595 | 04:20:53 | 60.86 | |||
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2019
Date | # | Race | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall | AIT The Strength Of Field (SOF) score is calculated based on the average PTO World Ranking points of the top five ranked athletes who start the race. | Pts | |||
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14 Dec | 4 | Challenge Daytona | 23:10 | 1:29:01 | 49:44 | 2:44:45 74.5852 | 02:38:42 | 74.59 | |||
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24 Nov | 3 | Ironman Arizona | 53:44 | 4:54:38 | 3:10:19 | 9:05:35 80.7003 | 08:50:14 | 80.70 | |||
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12 Oct | 33 | Ironman Hawaii | 54:21 | 5:28:47 | 4:57:36 | 11:27:45 0 | 09:01:46 | - | |||
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25 Aug | 4 | Ironman 70.3 Traverse City | 26:32 | 2:28:44 | 1:26:07 | 4:25:05 61.8453 | 04:10:44 | 61.85 | |||
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18 Aug | 6 | Ironman Mont Tremblant | 50:17 | 5:21:26 | 3:26:43 | 9:43:42 44.0868 | 08:58:32 | 44.09 | |||
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03 Aug | 3 | Ironman 70.3 Boulder | 27:34 | 2:20:17 | 1:27:13 | 4:18:58 76.8707 | 04:10:17 | 76.87 | |||
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27 Jul | 8 | Ironman 70.3 Santa Rosa | 26:59 | 2:36:25 | 1:25:25 | 4:36:05 32.5977 | 04:10:44 | 32.60 | |||
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30 Jun | 2 | Ironman 70.3 Steelhead | 26:40 | 2:18:33 | 1:26:40 | 4:15:33 75.524 | 04:06:30 | 75.52 | |||
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23 Jun | 2 | Ironman 70.3 Mont Tremblant | 25:00 | 2:28:55 | 1:23:43 | 4:21:23 61.0357 | 04:06:57 | 61.04 | |||
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19 May | DNF | Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga | --:-- | --:-- | --:-- | --:-- | 04:09:25 | - | |||
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07 Apr | 5 | Ironman 70.3 Texas | 25:52 | 2:15:28 | 1:24:13 | 4:08:07 71.7593 | 03:58:02 | 71.76 | |||
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02 Mar | 3 | Ironman New Zealand | 49:22 | 5:09:49 | 3:07:48 | 9:12:03 84.7446 | 08:59:42 | 84.74 | |||
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16 Feb | 2 | Challenge Wanaka Half | --:-- | --:-- | --:-- | 4:32:19 72.424 | 04:21:30 | 72.42 | |||
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2018
Date | # | Race | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall | AIT The Strength Of Field (SOF) score is calculated based on the average PTO World Ranking points of the top five ranked athletes who start the race. | Pts | |||
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09 Dec | 3 | Challenge Daytona | 22:03 | 1:32:01 | 53:38 | 2:50:35 1.89046 | 02:28:42 | 1.89 | |||
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18 Nov | 6 | Ironman Arizona | 53:02 | 4:52:35 | 3:18:26 | 9:09:47 73.939 | 08:49:06 | 73.94 | |||
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13 Oct | DNF | Ironman Hawaii | --:-- | --:-- | --:-- | --:-- | 08:47:39 | - | |||
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19 Aug | 3 | Ironman Mont Tremblant | 53:54 | 5:03:03 | 3:20:57 | 9:23:09 79.5842 | 09:06:25 | 79.58 | |||
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24 Jun | 1 | Ironman 70.3 Mont Tremblant | 24:57 | 2:20:50 | 1:24:39 | 4:14:35 84.0004 | 04:08:37 | 84.00 | |||
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03 Jun | 1 | Ironman 70.3 Raleigh | 27:38 | 2:23:32 | 1:26:18 | 4:20:53 78.0022 | 04:12:33 | 78.00 | |||
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20 May | 2 | Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga | 20:54 | 2:20:49 | 1:25:33 | 4:12:20 78.7819 | 04:04:33 | 78.78 | |||
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05 May | 5 | Ironman 70.3 St. George | 24:46 | 2:23:37 | 1:29:37 | 4:21:32 72.3457 | 04:11:07 | 72.35 | |||
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28 Apr | 6 | Ironman Texas | 53:47 | 4:34:32 | 3:13:27 | 8:47:44 81.0984 | 08:33:11 | 81.10 | |||
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2017
Date | # | Race | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall | AIT The Strength Of Field (SOF) score is calculated based on the average PTO World Ranking points of the top five ranked athletes who start the race. | Pts | |||
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01 Apr | DNF | Ironman 70.3 Oceanside | --:-- | --:-- | --:-- | --:-- | 04:15:11 | - | |||
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04 Mar | 3 | Ironman New Zealand | 53:23 | 5:10:54 | 3:18:11 | 9:27:19 76.7102 | 09:08:10 | 76.71 | |||
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2016
Date | # | Race | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall | AIT The Strength Of Field (SOF) score is calculated based on the average PTO World Ranking points of the top five ranked athletes who start the race. | Pts | |||
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10 Dec | 1 | Ironman 70.3 Taupo | 25:36 | 2:23:39 | 1:27:54 | 4:22:36 68.3088 | 04:10:41 | 68.31 | |||
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20 Nov | 1 | Ironman Arizona | 49:31 | 4:44:24 | 3:09:40 | 8:48:23 90.3793 | 08:40:52 | 90.38 | |||
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08 Oct | 35 | Ironman Hawaii | 52:46 | 5:07:45 | 4:19:32 | 10:25:17 9.8941 | 09:10:50 | 9.89 | |||
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26 Jun | 4 | Ironman 70.3 Mont Tremblant | 24:09 | 2:25:58 | 1:33:54 | 4:28:15 58.5561 | 04:12:33 | 58.56 | |||
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05 Jun | 2 | Ironman 70.3 Raleigh | 26:57 | 2:22:53 | 1:29:04 | 4:22:46 72.1139 | 04:12:13 | 72.11 | |||
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07 May | 3 | Ironman 70.3 St. George | 26:27 | 2:24:50 | 1:27:16 | 4:22:02 85.928 | 04:16:37 | 85.93 | |||
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05 Mar | 1 | Ironman New Zealand | 47:49 | 4:56:40 | 3:06:03 | 8:56:08 102.128 | 08:57:51 | 102.13 | |||
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2015
Date | # | Race | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall | AIT The Strength Of Field (SOF) score is calculated based on the average PTO World Ranking points of the top five ranked athletes who start the race. | Pts | |||
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12 Dec | 1 | Ironman 70.3 Taupo | 25:57 | 2:23:31 | 1:22:51 | 4:17:31 77.013 | 04:08:56 | 77.01 | |||
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15 Nov | 1 | Ironman Arizona | 48:25 | 4:42:13 | 3:08:58 | 8:44:00 97.5098 | 08:42:03 | 97.51 | |||
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10 Oct | 26 | Ironman Hawaii | 56:13 | 5:37:39 | 5:44:57 | 12:26:22 0 | 09:16:02 | - | |||
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30 Aug | DNF | Ironman 70.3 World Championship | --:-- | --:-- | --:-- | --:-- | 04:17:55 | - | |||
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12 Jul | 1 | Ironman 70.3 Vineman | 24:06 | 2:44:50 | 1:24:28 | 4:11:58 88.1513 | 04:07:34 | 88.15 | |||
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21 Jun | 1 | Ironman 70.3 Mont Tremblant | 24:19 | 2:16:27 | 1:25:29 | 4:10:32 97.1047 | 04:09:27 | 97.10 | |||
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31 May | 1 | Ironman 70.3 Raleigh | 27:20 | 2:19:08 | 1:24:54 | 4:14:00 92.4348 | 04:11:09 | 92.43 | |||
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02 May | 2 | Ironman 70.3 St. George | 25:10 | 2:26:15 | 1:24:56 | 4:19:27 85.6508 | 04:13:59 | 85.65 | |||
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07 Mar | 1 | Ironman New Zealand | 49:36 | 5:04:29 | 3:07:18 | 9:05:45 90.4803 | 08:58:04 | 90.48 | |||
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27 Feb | 7 | Challenge Dubai | 25:08 | 2:27:19 | 1:26:39 | 4:22:41 70.5863 | 04:11:35 | 70.59 | |||
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18 Jan | 1 | Ironman 70.3 Auckland | 25:22 | 2:26:52 | 1:25:21 | 4:20:12 69.2198 | 04:08:43 | 69.22 | |||
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2014
Date | # | Race | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall | AIT The Strength Of Field (SOF) score is calculated based on the average PTO World Ranking points of the top five ranked athletes who start the race. | Pts | |||
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06 Dec | 10 | Challenge Bahrain | 23:04 | 2:21:14 | 1:24:45 | 4:12:56 65.0485 | 04:00:20 | 65.05 | |||
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16 Nov | 1 | Ironman Arizona | 50:22 | 4:48:06 | 3:07:56 | 8:50:41 104.76 | 08:54:30 | 104.76 | |||
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11 Oct | DNF | Ironman Hawaii | --:-- | --:-- | --:-- | --:-- | 09:10:30 | - | |||
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07 Sep | 4 | Ironman 70.3 World Championship | 24:36 | 2:22:32 | 1:24:12 | 4:16:03 82.5897 | 04:09:32 | 82.59 | |||
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13 Jul | 1 | Ironman 70.3 Vineman | 24:46 | 2:21:16 | 1:21:49 | 4:11:43 90.9626 | 04:08:21 | 90.96 | |||
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22 Jun | 1 | Ironman 70.3 Mont Tremblant | 25:15 | 2:19:21 | 1:24:39 | 4:13:23 97.3585 | 04:12:23 | 97.36 | |||
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03 May | 1 | Ironman 70.3 St. George | 24:14 | 2:23:06 | 1:20:50 | 4:11:53 94.8882 | 04:09:58 | 94.89 | |||
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29 Mar | 3 | Ironman 70.3 Oceanside | 24:12 | 2:28:00 | 1:23:43 | 4:19:52 84.1541 | 04:13:50 | 84.15 | |||
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01 Mar | 1 | Ironman New Zealand | 46:47 | 5:08:30 | 3:08:06 | 9:08:46 87.0163 | 08:58:17 | 87.02 | |||
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2013
Date | # | Race | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall | AIT The Strength Of Field (SOF) score is calculated based on the average PTO World Ranking points of the top five ranked athletes who start the race. | Pts | |||
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17 Nov | 2 | Ironman Arizona | 50:14 | 4:45:33 | 3:16:05 | 8:55:47 83.6834 | 08:42:59 | 83.68 | |||
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12 Oct | 7 | Ironman Hawaii | 54:06 | 4:55:13 | 3:16:35 | 9:10:19 94.9959 | 09:06:13 | 95.00 | |||
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24 Mar | 12 | Ironman Melbourne | 21:54 | 4:56:49 | 3:29:03 | 8:51:33 0 | - | - | |||
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02 Mar | 1 | Ironman New Zealand | 47:37 | 5:04:44 | 3:19:24 | 9:17:10 83.8435 | 09:03:59 | 83.84 | |||
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2012
Date | # | Race | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall | AIT The Strength Of Field (SOF) score is calculated based on the average PTO World Ranking points of the top five ranked athletes who start the race. | Pts | |||
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18 Nov | 2 | Ironman Arizona | 50:17 | 4:53:41 | 3:18:12 | 9:06:41 79.4037 | 08:50:18 | 79.40 | |||
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03 Nov | 4 | Ironman Florida | 52:44 | 4:47:00 | 3:22:52 | 9:08:28 70.2232 | 08:45:01 | 70.22 | |||
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13 Oct | DNF | Ironman Hawaii | --:-- | --:-- | --:-- | --:-- | 09:16:03 | - | |||
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09 Sep | 23 | Ironman 70.3 World Championship | 26:09 | 2:42:17 | 1:50:53 | 5:03:55 0 | - | - | |||
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24 Jun | 1 | Ironman Coeur d'Alene | 51:53 | 5:13:16 | 3:12:04 | 9:21:44 78.268 | 09:04:00 | 78.27 | |||
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29 Apr | 1 | Ironman St. George | 52:42 | 5:57:14 | 3:18:23 | 10:12:59 68.0505 | 09:44:57 | 68.05 | |||
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04 Mar | 1 | Ironman New Zealand | 26:39 | 2:29:57 | 1:21:38 | 4:22:46 0 | - | - | |||
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2011
Date | # | Race | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall | AIT The Strength Of Field (SOF) score is calculated based on the average PTO World Ranking points of the top five ranked athletes who start the race. | Pts | |||
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19 Nov | 3 | Ironman Arizona | 51:46 | 4:53:36 | 3:10:18 | 9:00:14 83.3244 | 08:47:03 | 83.32 | |||
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05 Nov | 3 | ITU Long Distance | --:-- | 3:35:15 | 2:03:54 | 5:40:45 0 | - | - | |||
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11 Sep | 2 | Ironman Wisconsin | 53:07 | 5:15:31 | 3:34:51 | 9:50:45 50.8013 | 09:10:09 | 50.80 | |||
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28 Aug | 3 | Ironman Canada | 53:31 | 5:06:46 | 3:33:39 | 9:37:22 52.1482 | 08:58:42 | 52.15 | |||
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2010
Date | # | Race | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall | AIT The Strength Of Field (SOF) score is calculated based on the average PTO World Ranking points of the top five ranked athletes who start the race. | Pts | |||
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21 Nov | 4 | Ironman Arizona | 51:21 | 5:07:46 | 3:11:33 | 9:15:01 67.6973 | 08:49:22 | 67.70 | |||
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09 Oct | 26 | Ironman Hawaii | 58:00 | 5:31:57 | 3:28:11 | 10:04:02 29.7036 | 09:06:25 | 29.70 | |||
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29 Aug | 1 | Ironman Canada | 49:59 | 5:09:33 | 3:10:14 | 9:13:46 73.31 | 08:52:27 | 73.31 | |||
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27 Jun | 2 | Ironman Coeur d'Alene | 54:07 | 5:11:16 | 3:14:23 | 9:23:52 65.558 | 08:56:10 | 65.56 | |||
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01 May | 2 | Ironman St. George | 51:54 | 5:37:48 | 3:12:40 | 9:46:58 60.01 | 09:13:45 | 60.01 | |||
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2009
Date | # | Race | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall | AIT The Strength Of Field (SOF) score is calculated based on the average PTO World Ranking points of the top five ranked athletes who start the race. | Pts | |||
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22 Nov | 7 | Ironman Arizona | 54:12 | 5:05:26 | 3:32:51 | 9:37:09 35.5186 | 08:46:15 | 35.52 | |||
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