Ironman 70.3 made its debut in Lawrence, Kansas, June 14 and Kiwi Terenzo Bozzone and Canadian Samantha McGlone were there to take the inaugural wins. In typical fashion, Bozzone took over the race on the run, closing with a 1:15:49 marathon to best Aussie Craig Alexander. McGlone also took advantage of her blistering run speed to overtake New Zealand’s Joanna Lawn during the half marathon.

Bozzone and Alexander both finished the 1.2-mile swim in 27:21, just behind Aussie Paul Matthews and American Simon Lessing (who would both later drop out of the race). The contest turned into a four-man race on the 56-mile bike leg between Bozzone, Alexander and Aussies Paul Ambrose and Leon Griffin (2006 duathlon world champ). Ambrose was the first to return to T2 (after a 2:11:12 bike split), just seconds ahead of Griffin and Bozzone.

Ambrose broke down on the early miles of the half marathon, opening the door for Bozzone to run away with the win. Even Alexander and Griffin, two of the best runners in the sport, were no match for the fleet-footed Kiwi, who pulled away from the field with each passing mile. Bozzone broke the tape in 3:56:06, topping Alexander by almost four minutes. Griffin hung on for third, finishing just 38 seconds back of Alexander.

Aussie super-swimmer Pip Taylor dusted the women’s field on the swim, but would later drop out of the race on the bike due to lingering back problems. That left two women up front – McGlone and Lawn – and the Kiwi took charge of the race during the rolling 56-mile ride. Lawn, the Queen of Ironman New Zealand, posted a 2:21:44 split, which gave her a four-and-a-half-minute advantage over McGlone to start the run. It turned out Lawn needed a little bigger lead, as McGlone closed with a 1:20:26 half marathon – five minutes faster than Lawn – to win by 29 seconds. American Linsey Corbin rounded out the podium, finishing almost 17 minutes behind Lawn.

Ironman Kansas 70.3
Lawrence, Kansas
June 14, 2008
1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run

Men's Results
1. Terenzo Bozzone (NZL) 3:56:06
2. Craig Alexander (AUS) 3:59:59
3. Leon Griffin (AUS) 4:00:37
4. Daniel Bretscher (USA) 4:03:28
5. Kirk Nelson (USA) 4:04:22

Women's Results
1. Samantha McGlone (CAN) 4:19:03
2. Joanna Lawn (NZL) 4:19:32
3. Linsey Corbin (USA) 4:36:11
4. Teri Albertazzi (USA) 4:40:10
5. Andrea Fisher (USA) 4:45:01