Tempe provided yet another picturesque desert backdrop for athletes from around the world at the 2019 Dignity Health Medical Group IRONMAN® Arizona triathlon. Sarah Crowley (Brisbane, Australia) battled a competitive field to claim victory in the women’s only professional race with a winning time of 8:49:37. Heather Jackson (Bend, Ore.) finished second with a time of 8:55:49 and Meredith Kessler (Westerville, Ohio) finished third with a total time of 9:05:35.
Top five professional women’s results:
SWIM//BIKE//RUN//FINISH
1. Sarah Crowley AUS 00:55:09//4:45:01//3:03:36//08:49:37
2. Heather Jackson USA 01:01:06//4:44:42//3:04:08//08:55:49
3. Meredith Kessler USA 00:53:44//4:54:39//3:10:20//09:05:35
4. Melanie McQuaid CAN 00:59:29//4:53:26//3:19:26//09:20:00
5. Lauren Brandon USA 00:49:58//4:51:38//3:39:10//09:27:27
The 2019 Dignity Health Medical Group IRONMAN Arizona triathlon saw more than 2,600 athletes representing 46 countries, regions and territories and all 50 states start the race. Competitors ranged in age from 18–82 years old. One of more than 40 events in the global IRONMAN Series, the IRONMAN Arizona triathlon led athletes along a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run throughout Tempe and its surrounding areas. Athletes begin their day with a single-loop swim in Tempe Town Lake. Once out of the water, participants embarked upon a three-loop bike course through the Sonoran Desert. The two-loop run course traveled around Tempe Town Lake and through Papago Park before an electric finish back at Tempe Beach Park. The event offered a total professional prize purse of $50,000 and 40 coveted age-group qualifying slots to the 2020 IRONMAN World Championship, in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i.
The event enjoyed live global coverage of the women’s professional race on available exclusively on IRONMAN Now on Facebook Watch. A replay of the broadcast can be view on the IRONMAN Now page on Facebook Watch found at www.facebook.com/ironmannow.