Alum Earns Berth in Ironman World Championships
Matt Hanson '07, a three-time North American 70.3 Ironman champion, takes home second place at the Ironman Florida, earning his berth into the Ironman World Championships taking place in the fall of 2021 in Hawaii.
By Lance Bergeson '91
Story courtesy of the Des Moines Register
It's early November and there were still some important races happening during this odd pandemic last week. So, it's time to highlight the best performances by Iowa endurance athletes in this latest version of the WEEKEND UPDATE ...
Let's start with Ironman Florida on Saturday, where former Storm Lake resident Matt Hanson was seeking a victory or at least a berth at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii next fall. Hanson roared back from a deficit of 10 minutes and 28 seconds to Chris Leifermanwith an impressive 2:41:57 marathon split that was made more difficult by temperatures near 90 and high humidity. The Castle Rock, Colo., resident trimmed 8:32 off his deficit to Leiferman, who held off Hanson to win by 2:18 in 7:52:44. Hanson was clocked in 7:55:02, fending off Sam Long by 31 seconds.
"I was definitely hurting the last 6-plus miles. With four miles to go, both of my hamstrings decided to seize up pretty hard at the same time. Then it was a fight to hold onto second."
Matt Hanson '07
"Can't complain with the Kona ticket being punched in the fall," Hanson said in a video link. "That was the main goal coming here."
Hanson trailed Leiferman by just 37 seconds coming out of the 2.4-mile swim. Hanson was in fifth after the first of two loops, but he dropped back on the second leg. Leiferman then opened up a huge gap with a 4:01:50 split on the 112-mile bike leg - just 36 seconds off the course record. Hanson, a three-time North American 70.3 Ironman champion, finished his bike leg in 4:11:24 to land in fifth going into the run. At the time, Hanson was five minutes behind the final spot to Hawaii.
Hanson said with less water stops because of COVID-19 precautions, attrition was a concern. He said he ran the final half marathon with a key nutrition bottle.
"That saved the race for me for sure. I was definitely hurting the last 6-plus miles. With four miles to go, both of my hamstrings decided to seize up pretty hard at the same time. Then it was a fight to hold onto second unfortunately. Happy with the day for sure."