Southeastern Tennessee and northern Georgia provided a stunning backdrop for the return of the 2021 Little Debbie IRONMAN Chattanooga triathlon presented by McKee A Family Bakery.
Joe Skipper (GBR) took the men’s top honors with a finishing time of 7:46:19 while Skye Moench (USA) topped the women’s race with a time of 8:34:07.
Finishing on the men’s professional podium was Lionel Sanders (CAN), who came in second with a finish time of 7:54:46, and Ben Hoffman (USA) who posted a 7:57:50 finishing time that was good for third place. On the female side, Gurutze Frades Larralde (ESP) took second at 9:00:38, while Melanie McQuaid (CAN) finished in third with a time of 9:04:21.
Top five professional men’s results: SWIM-BIKE-RUN-FINISH
1. Joe Skipper GBR00:43:3704:14:4802:44:0607:46:19
2. Lionel SandersCAN00:43:3704:21:0602:45:5907:54:46
3. Ben HoffmanUSA00:42:1404:24:5602:46:1007:57:50
4. Cody BealsCAN00:42:1604:23:5402:49:5908:00:06
5. Adam Feigh USA 00:43:3904:32:1802:58:2908:18:42
Top five professional women’s results: SWIM-BIKE-RUN-FINISH
1. Skye Moench USA00:44:3304:44:0303:01:1108:34:07
2.Gurutze Frades LarraldeESP00:50:5305:02:2403:01:4909:00:38
3. Melanie McQuaidCAN00:45:2504:57:5003:16:1809:04:21
4. Kelly FillnowUSA00:50:0805:01:2403:11:3309:10:59
5. Jen AnnettCAN 00:50:0405:11:4003:17:0209:23:31
The event saw more than 2,000 athletes start the race.
Competitors ranged in age from 19-75 years old.
The event led athletes along a 2.4-mile swim, 116-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run throughout southeastern Tennessee and its surrounding areas for an extended-length course total of 144.6 miles.
The two-loop run course took athletes through scenic downtown Chattanooga before finishing at Ross’s Landing along the Tennessee River.
The event offered a professional prize purse of $100,000 and age-group qualifying slots to the 2022 IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i.
Official results can be found at www.ironman.com/im-chattanooga-results.