Chelsea Sodaro and Steven McKenna win IRONMAN New Zealand 2024

Chelsea Sodaro y Steven Mckenna have achieved victory in their respective categories in the 2024 edition of the HOMBRE DE HIERRO New Zealand.

This race marked the start of the long-distance season and both have secured their slots at the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice.

From the beginning, the women's competition promised to be a spectacle.

Chelsea Sodaro, the big favorite, did not disappoint. Despite the absence of New Zealander Rebecca Clarke due to COVID, Sodaro faced close competition.

In the cycling segment, Sodaro set a strong pace, only closely followed by McCauley.

Despite a critical moment at kilometer 100 where McCauley took the lead due to a Sodaro problem, Chelsea managed to close the gap to enter T2 with all possibilities open thanks to their exceptional performance in the running race.

Finally, Sodaro dominated the marathon segment with a time of 2:49:59, securing his victory with 8:40:07 and the long-awaited ticket to the Ironman World Championship.

The second position went to the Dutch Els Visser, who overtook Jocelyn McCauley in the last 8 kilometers of the race, securing second place on the podium.

Jocelyn McCauley, for its part, occupied third position after leading for much of the cycling segment and remaining in competition until the final moments of the race.

Top 10 female

In the men's competition, the absence of Braden Currie opened options for the rest of the triathletes.

In the run McKenna closed the lead on Phillips, taking the lead in the half marathon.

The Dutchman Niek Heldoorn, showing impressive recovery capacity, overtook McKenna at kilometer 30, although the latter regained the position leading until the end, crossing the finish line with a time of 7:39:08, followed by Niek Heldoorn and 8:03:46 y Ben hamilton completing the podium with 8:08:13.

Men's 10 Top