Records fall in Panama City Ironman

It was a record setting day almost from the start of the pro race at 6:50 this morning as Hawaii's John Flanagan blazed through the swim in 44:36, leading Texan James Bonney out of the water by about 3:30 and enjoying a lead of almost seven minutes on the race favorites, five-time Ironman Switzerland champ Schildknecht and four-time Ironman Brazil champion Eduardo Sturla. 

By 35 miles into the bike ride Flanagan had been caught by a group of three - Bonney, Schildknecht and Germany's ageless wonder, 44-year-old Frank Vytrisal. Those three powered through the ride - after the race Schildknecht said that he stopped looking at his computer through the last half of the ride because he figured he might as well "go for it."

Behind a group of three, Maxim Kriat, Sturla and Christophe Bastie chased the lead trio, but would end up entering T2 more than 10 minutes behind the leaders.

A 4:19 bike split might be considered "going for it," but it was Schildknecht's marathon that truly set the stage for his record setting day. The Swiss star flew through the opening stages of the run, averaging just over six minutes per mile as he ran away from the rest of his competition.

Vytrisal and Bonney would fade through the marathon, eventually finishing fifth and ninth overall. Maxim Kriat would run his way to second, while Justin Daerr moved into third. Mads Vittrup used the fastest run split of the day to claim fourth, just ahead of Vytrisal.

Top five professional men:

1. Ronnie Schildknecht CHE 7:59:42

2. Maxim Kriat UKR 8:10:43

3. Justin Daerr USA 8:18:02

4. Mads Vittrup DEN 8:21:31

5. Frank Vytrisal DEU 8:21:48

Joining the Sub-9 Club

Leading out of the water in the women's race was another Hawaiian, Bree Wee, who would end up leading for much of the day. Wee was passed in the opening miles of the ride by Belgian Sofie Goos, the 2009 Florida champion, but at the halfway point of the ride Goos started to succumb to the back issues that forced her out of the Ford Ironman World Championship three weeks ago. Goos hung on, though and came off the bike in third, but had lost seven minutes to Wee by the time they came off the bike.

Between the two was Jacobs, who blazed through the ride and started the run four minutes behind Wee. If Schildknecht started the run fast, Jacobs looked like she had just robbed a bank and was trying to outrun the police. She caught Wee by the four mile point of the marathon and continued to hold her blazing pace until the end of the run. Her 2:53:27 marathon isn't just one of the fastest marathons run by a woman in an Ironman, it's only five minutes slower than her marathon-only best time and got her to the line in an impressive 8:55:10, adding her name to an exclusive list of sub-nine hour women.

Behind Jacobs Mackenzie Madison enjoyed an impressive comeback to Ironman racing after a torn hamstring put her out of commission for much of this year and improved on her third-place finish at Ironman Canada last year. Despite the fact that doctors had told her she wouldn't ever run as well as she once had, she matched her 3:03 Ironman marathon best to take second. Goos managed to find her legs again to move into third, while Kim Loeffler and Stephanie Jones also managed to get past Wee (sixth) to claim fourth and fifth.

Top five professional women's results:

1. Jessica Jacobs USA 8:55:10

2. Mackenzie Madison USA 9:10:21

3. Sofie Goos BEL 9:22:21

4. Kim Loeffler USA 9:29:07

5. Stephanie Jones USA 9:33:45

Almost 2,500 athletes entered the water for today's race, which offered a total professional prize purse of $25,000 and 65 coveted age group slots to the 2012 Ironman World Championship, taking place on Oct. 13 in Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i.

Originally from: http://ironman.com/events/ironman/florida/schildknecht-and-jacobs-soar-at-ironman-florida#ixzz1d2e0poOf