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Lenny Ramsey (NLD) and Łukasz Wójt (DEU) Earn Victories in The HOKA ONE ONE IRONMAN VR19 Pro Challenge

August 17, 2020

Over 6,500 athletes from 105 nations registered to compete in a three division format for IRONMAN VR19

TAMPA, Fla. (Aug. 15, 2020) – Lenny Ramsey of the Netherlands and Łukasz Wójt representing Germany took titles in the professional women’s and men’s races, respectively during the 19th edition of the HOKA ONE ONE IRONMAN® VR™ Pro Challenge. This weekend of racing saw all eight athletes make their IRONMAN VR Pro Challenge debut going head-to-head-to-head-to-head in a 500m swim at locations in their home communities, before taking on a 40km ride on a portion of the IRONMAN 70.3 Taupō bike course, utilizing Official Virtual Cycling partner ROUVY’s augmented reality. The athletes finished off the virtual race with a 3km run recorded at multiple training locations showcasing the three disciplines of the virtual triathlon on the HOKA ONE ONE IRONMAN VR19 Pro Challenge broadcast.

On Friday, the professional men kicked off the competition with Olympic swimmer and 2019 IRONMAN 70.3 Luxembourg champion, Łukasz Wójt (DEU), talking the win and clocking an overall time of 1:05:48. Rookie professional triathlete and full-time engineer, Clay Emge (USA) finished in second place with a combined time of 1:09:40. Derk de Korver (NLD), making his professional debut in the IRONMAN VR Pro Challenge finishing just behind Emge in third place completing the race with an overall time of 1:11:11. Multi-time top-10 IRONMAN 70.3 finisher Martin Ulloa (CHL) rounded out the group in fourth with an overall finishing time of 1:12:35.

The full broadcast of the men’s HOKA ONE ONE IRONMAN VR19 Pro Challenge can be viewed, HERE.

Professional men’s results:

    SWIM TIME BIKE TIME RUN TIME OVERALL TIME
1. Łukasz Wójt DEU 00:05:16 00:51:46 00:08:46 1:05:48
2. Clay Emge USA 00:06:23 00:54:03 00:09:14 1:09:40
3. Derk de Korver NLD 00:06:36 00:55:02 00:09:33 1:11:11
4. Martin Ulloa CHL 00:05:57 00:58:01 00:08:37 1:12:35

 

On Saturday, it was the professional women’s turn that resulted in a tight battle for the top spot. At the end, it was Lenny Ramsey (NLD), a neuroscientist and multi-time IRONMAN podium finisher clocking an overall time of 1:16:29. Coming in just behind Ramsey was Laura Zimmermann (DEU) with a combined time of 1:16:48. Rounding out the podium was Kinsey Laine (USA) with a swim, bike, run time of 1:19:19. The  2017 IRONMAN Maastricht champion, Saleta Castro (ESP) rounded out the group completing the virtual triathlon with an overall time of 1:24:51. The full broadcast of the women’s HOKA ONE ONE IRONMAN

VR19 Pro Challenge can be viewed HERE.

Professional women’s results:

    SWIM TIME BIKE TIME RUN TIME OVERALL TIME
1. Lenny Ramsey NLD 00:07:54 00:57:38 00:10:57 1:16:29
2. Laura Zimmermann DEU 00:07:06 00:59:20 00:10:22 1:16:48
3. Kinsey Laine USA 00:06:45 01:01:20 00:11:14 1:19:19
4. Saleta Castro ESP 00:06:39 01:07:02 00:11:10 1:24:51

 

In total, over 6,500 athletes from more than 105 nations and 47 states set out to participate in IRONMAN VR19. The 5150 Olympic distance simulation requires athletes to complete a 3km Run, 40km Ride, and 10km Run between Friday, Aug. 14 at 6 a.m. ET (10 p.m. GMT) and race close, Sunday, Aug. 16 at 7:59 p.m. ET (11:59 p.m. GMT). Competitors who race in the IRONMAN VR19 Classic division can do the three race segments anywhere, indoors or outdoors, in any order and are not required to do the segments consecutively.

The nearly 1,000 athletes who registered for the HOKA ONE ONE IRONMAN Virtual Racing Championship Series are bound by a different set of rules over a four-week long regulated age-group competition designed to reward top-performing athletes in a structured and competitive virtual environment. An athlete’s overall standing is based upon their top three performances in aggregate over a four-week period. Athletes competing will have the opportunity to earn race slots to the IRONMAN® 70.3® World Championship with a total of 75 qualifying slots allocated across age groups for top performers.

IRONMAN VR19 leaderboard updates can be found by visiting the IRONMANVR Facebook Page.

Bringing the IRONMAN community together virtually, the IRONMAN® Virtual Club™ continues to grow and now has more than 115,000 members on the platform with thousands completing IRONMAN Virtual Club Challenges since its recent launch.

Full details and specifics regarding the IRONMAN Virtual Club are available on www.ironmanvirtualclub.com. For questions about the IRONMAN Virtual Racing Series, athletes can email ironmanvr@ironman.com. For more information on the IRONMAN brand and global event series, visit www.ironman.com. Media related inquiries may be directed to press@ironman.com.

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About The IRONMAN Group

The IRONMAN Group operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN® 70.3® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN® Virtual Racing™ (VR™) Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series®, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running™ Series, IRONKIDS®, ITU World Triathlon Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and The Sun-Herald City2Surf® presented by Westpac, Ultra-Trail® World Tour events including Tarawera Ultra and Ultra-Trail Australia™, mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic®, road cycling events, and other multisport races. The IRONMAN Group is the largest operator of mass participation sports in the world and provides more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. Since the inception of the iconic IRONMAN® brand and its first event in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE® by crossing finish lines around the world. Beginning as a single race, The IRONMAN Group has grown to become a global sensation with hundreds of events across 55+ countries. The IRONMAN Group is owned by Advance (www.advance.com), a private, family-owned business. For more information, visit www.ironman.com.