14 Women Contenders In Ironman World Championships
The contenders for the lady’s competition at the 2022 Ironman World Championships is one of the most exciting spectacles – with a vast assembly of athletes competing in St. George on Friday, this event is a must-see for any devotee of triathlon.
There has been a wealth of amazing competition in 2022, with a huge amount of competitors participating in each event.
Examine the individuals who could possibly win the event at 70.3 in St. George, then proceed to recognize the ones with a strong probability of achieving a podium placing.
Women Contenders in Ironman World Championships
1. Daniela Ryf
Certainly h, her record here gives her reason to smile. She earned the title of World Champion in Kona four years in a row [2015, 2016, 2017, 2018] before successfully restoring her title after an awesome accomplishment in St. George this year.
She has earned five world championships for this event, which positions her as the second-most decorated athlete in the field; the leading figure is Paula Newby-Fraser with eight, followed by Natascha Badmann with six. Yet that also doesn’t completely speak to her talent. No one has been able to equal her achievement of winning 10 World titles in both the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 events. This female competitor has conquered the challenges she was presented with on race day; in 2018 a jellyfish caused her to lose 9:18 minutes during the swim portion of the event, yet she still found a way to claim another victory.
She wasted precious minutes dealing with deflated tires while riding the bike, managed to make it back to transition again, and then ruthlessly blew past her opponents during the run to take first place once more. In casino terms, she’s the house. And the house almost always wins.
2. Anne Haug
Here’s when the house was lost. Haug won the championship in 2019 with an impressive time of 8:40:10, including an incredible 2:51:07 marathon, the quickest by any female competitor. It should not have been unexpected — in the preceding year, she won third place at 70.3 and IRONMAN World competitions.
Haug’s been performing excellently over the past year, with a victory at Challenge Roth 2021 and third place at the St. George World Championship event with her own statement that she “bonked five times during the cycling”. If you’re looking for a sure bet to bring income, it’s almost certain that Haug will be placed on the podium.
3. Lucy Charles-Barclay
Charles-Barclay, an excellent swimmer and powerful cyclist, has come in second place for three consecutive years at Kona [2017, 2018, 2019], her sole problem being her failure to complete the marathon in less than 3 hours.
She has had great success in world championships by winning the 70.3 titles and the World Triathlon Long Distance Championship in 2021. Although Charles-Barclay has been through some serious wounds, he has a long period of healing ahead of him because of a hip stress fracture at the beginning of 2022. After winning the World Triathlon Long Distance event with a stunning return, she exclaimed, “I am astonished!” I desired to return and compete and did not possess an exact idea of my whereabouts. Things had been progressing positively during practice, but it’s impossible to tell how one is performing until one put their skills to the test in an actual race. I realized I would have to do my best to compete successfully [at the World Triathlon Long Distance Worlds] since Emma Pallant-Brown was behind me. Throughout my professional career, I have triumphed in three races and one of my first successes provided me with the self-esteem to move forward. To have such a victory again was enrapturing. The sky’s the limit. I didn’t expect that today. But it’s given me so much confidence.”
4. Sarah Crowley
In 2017, she wasn’t able to succeed at first but she completed in 3rd place with a time of 9:01:38; her bike split was 4:57:51 and her run time of 3:05:36.
In the same year, Crowley came out victorious in the International Triathlon Union Long Distance World Championships as well as Ironman Frankfurt. In 2018, she was triumphant at Ironman Hamburg and placed sixth in the Ironman World Championships.
In 2019, she achieved her greatest performance in this competition, finishing in third with a time of 8 hours and 48 minutes, 13 seconds with a cycling portion of 4 hours and 50 minutes, 13 seconds and a running period of 2 hours and 59 minutes, 20 seconds. Another top 5 seems inevitable.
5. Skye Moench
Her major success in her sports career happened when she triumphed at Ironman Germany in 2019 and further solidified her skills with a win at Ironman 70.3 Boulder. She recited a series of triumphant performances that entailed a victory at Ironman 70.3 Texas, a third-place finish at Ironman Tulsa, and another victory at Ironman Chattanooga.
Her bicycle has usually given her an advantage, with her times in the Ironman biking events the last few years being 4:39:49, 4:44:02, 4:53:03 and 4:41:30.
Moench showed that she is at the peak of her performance with a victory at the 2022 Ironman North America Regional Championships in Des Moines and a 4th place finish at the Ironman World Championship in St. George.
6. Heather Jackson
The ex-college hockey player has achieved a remarkable feat with six full-distance Ironman wins, capturing first place in Lake Placid, Arizona, Coeur d’Alene, Vitoria Gasteiz, Ironman Florida, and Chattanooga, as well as twelve Ironman 70.3 victories.
Jackson has made significant strides in her Kona races, with 3rd, 4th, and 5th place finishes in 2016, 2017 and 2015 and 2019 respectively. Additionally, she earned a runner-up finish at the 2013 Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
Some of my most impressive performances were finishing 4th at Ironman Tulsa in 2021, claiming 2nd place at Ironman Lake Placid in 2022 at 9:10:23, and placing 11th at the Ironman World Championship in St. George in 9:16:53.
Her challenge, as usual, will be to sacrifice her swim time; however, she may have a better opportunity to excel on the bike as there is less competition from males.
7. Lisa Norden
Norden will always be remembered for her electrifying clash at the 2012 London Olympics where she just barely lagged behind Nicola Spirig in a dead heat for the gold medal. In 2017, she changed to competing in the long course and has achieved top 3 placements.
In 2018 she won Ironman 70.3 Sweden. In 2019, she came second at Challenge Prague, third place at Challenge Daytona and Sweden 70.3, and won at the 2020 Gydnia 70.3. In 2021. In 2021, she had successes at Ironman Lake Placid and Challenge Salou.
Placid Norden produced a time of 9:11:26, the third-fastest swim split among women in 51:39, the fastest bike speed with a time of 4:55:26 and a marathon time of 3:16:14 which was the fourth-fastest in women’s category, giving her a lead of 7 minutes 25 seconds over Heather Jackson from the United States.
8. Sarah True
True will be remembered for her agonizing fourth-place finish at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Once she began her long-running journey in 2018, it seems like she may have found the right track.
In 2018, she managed an impressive fourth-place finish at the Ironman World Championships in Kona with a total time of 8:43:32, including a 4:49:19 bike split and a 2:57:58 marathon time (the third fastest among female competitors). In 2018, she placed 2nd at the Ironman Frankfurt race, with one of the fastest times among women at 9:05:19 and an impressive record split of 2:54:45.
She recently won the Ironman Lake Placid in 2022 with a time of 9:00:22, despite the heat, and survived unscathed.
9. Chelsea Sodaro
She was an incredible college track athlete in the past and her personal best time for the 1500-meter race was 4:07:77. Since she has started doing triathlons, she has been doing quite well.
In 2018 she was triumphant at Indian Wells 70.3, and the following year saw her coming in fourth at the Ironman 70.3 Worlds, then taking the win at Augusta 70.3, and the Ironman 70.3 South America Championship in Argentina.
She had a successful season in 2022 finishing with a third-place finish in the Ironman 70.3 Mallorca, as well as a first-place victory in Eagleman 70.3, and a runner-up in the Ironman Hamburg only 18 minutes behind the champion Laura Philipp. She finished in 3rd place at the PTO Canadian Open, earning a monetary reward of $50,000.
10. Taylor Knibb
Every time Knibb is at the beginning of a half-distance event, her performance is outstanding: She was victorious in her Collins Cup match in the year 2021 and obtained a bronze medal in the 70.3 World Championships. At the beginning of 2022, she earned first place in the 70.3 California race and took second place in the most recent Professional Triathletes Organisation US Open, located in Dallas.
In the second race, her talents were particularly highlighted: Lucy Charles-Barclay was close behind her in the swimming segment, and then she excelled in the cycling portion with a time of 1:56, the best of any female professional.
After incurring an injury midway through the season, Taylor’s performance in Dallas was not enough to eclipse the success of Ashleigh Gentle, who was not competing in St. George. An indication of her development was and still is her third-place finish in WTCS Cagliari in October.
Taylor trailed Charles-Barclay by 90 seconds in St. George last year. She has ambitions to be at the front of the race this year, either pushing to be the first out of the water during the swim (like in Dallas) or attempting to make up any lost ground during the bicycle portion of the race.
It will be intriguing to watch how Taylor and Charles-Barclay interact as Taylor probably wants to put some space in between them before they reach the second transition. Can she keep her at bay while running?
11. Paula Findlay
Findlay was disappointed that she was barred from running St. George the year before as a result of a strained ligament in her ankle.
She is confident that this year will bring a competitive shot for her, including her runner-up placements at the 70.3 North American regional championships in Chattanooga and at the personal PTO Canadian Open in Edmonton.
It is predicted that Findlay is going to lag two minutes behind in the swim, and even so she will be one of the most powerful contenders when it comes to cycling. Even if it’s doubtful she’ll reach the top, she will attempt to set the groundwork for a third-place finish by keeping an eye on the other racers.
When she’s on form, she’s always running well. She isn’t likely to be the quickest runner, but it doesn’t seem likely that the other competitors in the race can gain a lead of more than one minute on her in the running part of the event.
Findlay is a serious contender for the podium in St. George and she has the potential to take the top spot if other racers aren’t performing their best.
12. Holly Lawrence
The 2016 70.3 World Champion has yet to take home a victory from a major event recently, yet she always seems to be competitive in the results. At the 70.3 World Championships last year, she finished in eighth place, while this year she earned thirds at 70.3 California and 70.3 Chattanooga and fourth and fifth place at the PTO Tour events.
Lawrence’s performance in swimming, cycling, and running is one of the greatest, just a tad slower than the greatest of them all. She is usually close to the frontrunners, but it’s tough for her to stay in the lead since she does not have a specific advantage.
She often goes unnoticed as a probable champion, but with one strong cycle and a fast run, she can easily win her next championship. Even if she isn’t able to pick up enough speed to compete for the championship on the 28th of October, she still deserves to be considered for a third-place finish.
13. Emma Pallant-Browne
It is unmistakable that Pallant-Browne is one of the most powerful sportspeople in the half-length contest. Last year at the 70.3 Worlds in St. George, she placed fifth, which was the last time she was not on the award podium.
Since that time, she has achieved five first-place finishes and three runner-up places. How does she do it? At the end of a strong swim and bike ride, she usually leverages her running ability to finish in an impressive spot.
Pallant-Browne has had a tough time during races taking place in hot and sticky weather (e.g. Clash Miami or the PTO Canadian Open in Edmonton), but this is most likely not a concern for him in the cool and dry environment of St. George for the upcoming weekend.
A wetsuit swim could potentially reduce the amount of time she is in the water, and a good swim would enable her to stay with a more powerful pack.
She has the capability of competing with the other podium contenders such as Lawrence, so if she’s within two minutes of Lawrence in transition 2, she may be able to achieve the same result as at the 70.3 World Championships held in Chattanooga in 2017, or even obtain the first-place finish.
14. Flora Duffy
The Olympic Gold Medalist hasn’t had the best luck with shorter races so far: She couldn’t participate in 70.3 Chattanooga due to the coronavirus and then was unable to start 70.3 Mont Tremblant when her bicycle failed to reach the competition area.
She was ecstatic in being given the special invitation from Ironman to participate in the St. George event, though it means her 2022 season will be loaded with WTCS competitions with Bermuda before St. George and the culminating event in Abu Dhabi scheduled for November 25th.
It is an indisputable fact that an Olympic gold medalist should never be disregarded, though until now, Duffy has been unsuccessful in extending her Olympic-length dominance to longer events.
Coming in seventh at the PTO US Open and being seven minutes behind Daniela Ryf in her Collins Cup match made it obvious that she needs to put in more effort if she desires to be the 2022 70.3 World Champion.
It seems unlikely Duffy will be able to keep up with Charles-Barclay and Knibb (she was significantly behind them in Dallas) but it will be interesting to see how her swimming and biking compare to Lawrence’s performance – the two of them were very close together for the first two events in Dallas.
Can she depart Lawrence and catch up on the leaders? Is Duffy, after previously running away, now able to reign over the longer distances as he did with the shorter ones? Winning a race in St. George would make a huge impression at the 70.3 World Championships.
