Ronnie Schildknecht of the Uplace-BMC Pro Triathlon Team created history today, taking his 8th Ironman Switzerland title of his career. In a very hot edition, Ronnie dominated the bike and run leg, clocking in with a final time of 08:21:19. Jan Van Berkel (Switzerland; 08:28:57) and Alessandro Degasperi (Italy; 08:31:36) completed the podium. Today’s record breaking 8th Ironman Switzerland title brings IRON-RONNIE’s total to 10 Ironman wins in his career. The Uplace-BMC Pro Triathlon Team’s 2015 victory tally now stands at 11 wins and 23 podium places.
Ronnie started his record breaking day in Zurich with a solid swim. Ronnie finished the non wetsuit swim in 10th position (swim time: 55:14), 6 minutes behind swim leader Manual Küeng. Posting the fastest bike split (bike split: 4:32:11) Ronnie Schildknecht moved up to 3rd place, entering transition 4 minutes from the lead. Ronnie made his move in the marathon (run split: 2:50:02). He took the lead over from Van Berkel, just over the half way point and continued to build his lead from there for a comfortable winner’s welcome down the finish shute.
Ronnie was obviously thrilled with his 8th Ironman title. “I am so stoked and over the moon! This 8thtitle is the sweetest by far! I felt totally in the zone all day. This one is very special to me. I had a solid year last year and a good start to the season in 2015, but to come and win here for the 8th time is really special. What was most special was the way I felt all day. I felt so good and strong on the bike. I was holding back and kept patient. I knew I would have good legs on the run. This is what I had in mind all along and it worked perfectly. This was really at my best level. In Ironman Texas earlier this year, I was ok, also last year I was ok most of the season. But today I felt really in my best shape again. Especially on the bike. I am really excited to build on this shape towards the World Championships Ironman in Hawaii. I want to thank my team Uplace-BMC for all their support. It is a great feeling knowing you are contributing to the team’s success and you can give back to the team.”
Beth Gerdes (USA; 09:21:05) took the women’s title. USA’s Mary Beth Ellis (09:26:37) and Mareen Hufe (GER; 09:35:26) finished second and third respectively.