Ironman Europe
Sunday, June 8, 2001
Roth, Germany

A stacked field lined up for Ironman Europe, but not everyone made it to the finish line. Peter Reid, Normann Stadler, and Ute Muckel were among the favorites who dropped out. The outcome might not have been any different though as Lothar Leder claimed his second straight Ironman Europe victory. The conditions started out good, but rain fell during the bike.

Leder and Andreas Niedrig, two of the faster swimmers, established an early lead on the bike as they rode together. The pair led by eleven minutes over Ralf Eggert, and by fourteen minutes over the next group of three, which included Thomas Hellriegel, going into T2.

Leder was first out of T2 and Niedrig could not hang on. Leder ran a 2:49:51 marathon, second fastest on the day, to finish in 8:10:39 and beat Niedrig by 8 minutes. This was Leder's third Ironman of the year (and at least his fourth career Ironman win), following a second place at Ironman Malaysia and a first at Ironman South Africa. Niedrig avoided the Fernanda Keller syndrome with his second place finish, which followed a string of three third place finishes. Cameron Brown, the only non-German to finish in the top nine, ran his way into third place with a 2:48:38 marathon. Hellriegel finished fifth.

The women's race wasn't to be decided until the run. Ute Muckel was the first contender out of the water in 48 minutes, followed closely by Gina Kehr and Nina Kraft. Karen Smyers, racing at age 39, was 4 minutes back along with Lisa Bentley and Robyn Roocke. Roocke rode through the field until she caught leader Nina Kraft, and then Roocke left Kraft behind in the tougher climbing sections. Kraft, Kehr and Smyers all came into T2 just three minutes back of Roocke, with a surprise Canadian in fifth - Gillan Bakker - seven minutes back. Lisa Bentley was in sixth, 12 minutes down on Roocke. Muckel finished the bike in tenth, 19 minutes down, and then dropped out at 11k of the run.

Roocke's three minute lead at T2 over Kraft quickly disappeared as Kraft took over the race, followed closely by Kehr. Although Kraft struggled at the end, she ran a strong 3:09:14 marathon to win by three minutes over Kehr. Nicole Leder overcame a slow swim (55 minutes) with a fast 3:01:46 marathon to move into third. Lisa Bentley also moved up on the run to finish in fourth, while Smyers fell to fifth with a 3:25 marathon. Robyn Roocke paid for her effort on the bike with a 3:43 marathon as she finished in seventh.

This was Kraft's third straight iron distance victory. In March she won Ironman South Africa, and last August she won the Fredericia Triathlon. Kehr, who has mixed short distance and long distance racing, moved closer to earning her first Ironman victory. Earlier this year Kehr finished seventh at the Pan Am Championships and in May she was third at Wildflower.