Matt Hanson (USA) And Emma Pallant-Browne (GBR) Take Wins at the 2024 Qatar Airways IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga Triathlon

May 19, 2024

- Hanson earned his first IRONMAN Pro Series win while also taking the lead in the overall Series standings; Pallant-Browne staves off the competition to win impressive back-to-back IRONMAN Pro Series races following her victory last weekend at IRONMAN 70.3 Mallorca - Both Hanson and Pallant-Browne secure 2,500 points and $7,500 with today’s victory

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (May 19, 2024) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – Top professional triathletes from around the world converged in southeastern Tennessee today for the fifth race in the IROMAN Pro Series™ at the 2024 Qatar Airways  IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Chattanooga triathlon. Matt Hanson (USA) took the win in the men’s race, overcoming a four-minute deficit on the run to earn his first IRONMAN Pro Series victory, securing maximum points, and taking the overall lead in series. In the women’s professional race Emma Pallant-Browne (GBR) earned back-to-back wins with a win today following her victory last weekend at the Zafiro IRONMAN 70.3 Alcúdia-Mallorca, also earning her maximum points and moving up to second place in the overall IRONMAN Pro Series standings.

“It’s always tough to race in the heat like this, because the back half (of the race) tends to slow down a lot,” said Matt Hanson. “I cut the lead just about in half right at the beginning of the second lap. I knew that I had a chance if I was able to even split, and I think I negative split (on the run portion). I pushed pretty hard and made a move right before the hill onto the bridge and that is where I could see first and second and gave it a little boost to catch them.”

“I was a tough race, and really tactical, which is quite unusual in women’s racing. It was quite fun! The field is so deep and tough, at the moment,” said Pallant-Browne. Speaking of her second consecutive IRONMAN Pro Series victory, she said “Obviously that was always the goal, but I knew it would be really tough. I definitely had to dig deep to finish it off today.

Top Five Male Professional Results

Top Five Female Professional Results

The 2024 Qatar Airways IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga triathlon saw 87 of the world’s top professional triathletes compete for a piece of the $50,000 total event pro prize purse, and IRONMAN Pro Series points, as well as two slots per gender to the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupō, New Zealand on December 14 and 15.

News and Notes

• Course best fell yet again today as the top five professional men all broke the existing course best of 3:45:59, set by Ben Kanute (USA) in 2022. Matt Hanson (USA) clocked the fastest time of the day with 03:41:21, with Jackson Laundry (CAN) and Trevor Foley (USA) both following less than a minute behind Hanson.
• Emma Pallant-Browne (GBR) captured the win in the women’s race with a time of 04:06:27, holding off the chasing Jackie Hering (USA) in the final miles who finished only 38 seconds behind her. Pallant-Browne’s victory moves her 6 spots up into second position in the IRONMAN Pro Series standings.
• Matt Hanson (USA) overcame a four-minute deficit to chase down the field and record the fastest run split of the day at 1:09:48. Pallant-Browne (GBR) clocked the fastest run in the women’s race with a time of 1:18:43.
• Trevor Foley (USA) recorded the fastest bike time in the men’s pro field with a time of 1:58:00 setting a new bike course best surpassing Jackson Laundry’s bike split of 2:00:29 set in 2022. Lisa Becharas (USA) narrowly edged out Jackie Hering (USA) at the dismount line to record the fastest bike for the women with a time of 2:17:04.
• Nicholas Quenet (ZAF) and Jodie Stimpson (GBR) recorded the fastest swim times of 22:43 and 24:56 respectively.
• The fastest transition of the day was from Nicholas Quenet (ZAF) in one minute and 08 seconds at T2.
• Of the top 10 in the men’s and women’s professional field the United States had the most athletes with 13. Great Britain and Canada had 2 each, while France, Mexico and Japan had 1.
• A total of 87 professional triathletes started the race with 44 male pros and 31 female pros finishing fast enough behind the race winner to earn points towards IRONMAN Pro Series standings.

Full results for the 2024 Qatar Airways IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga triathlon can be found at ironman.com/im703-chattanooga-results. For additional event information, please visit ironman.com/im703-chattanooga.

IRONMAN Pro Series Standings

The IRONMAN Pro Series™ is a year-long performance-based triathlon race series that will see professional triathletes earn points at 20 select races in 19 locations globally. Open to approximately 1,000 eligible professional triathletes worldwide, the IRONMAN Pro Series ushers in a new era of IRONMAN racing where Every Second Matters™ with every second behind the race winner equating to a point earned or lost. How it works can be found here.

Victories for Matt Hanson (USA) and Emma Pallant-Browne (GBR) ensured both athletes walked away with the maximum IRONMAN Pro Series points available for an IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon of 2,500.

Today’s results saw a sizable shift in the IRONMAN Pro Series standings with Matt Hanson (USA) moving three spots up to overtake Patrick Lange (DEU) and snatch the overall lead in the series. A second-place finish helped Jackson Laundry propel nine spots into third spot in the standings, fifth place finisher Colin Szuch (USA) had the biggest leap 19 spots up to make it into 10^th position.

Danielle Lewis’ 4^th place finish in Chattanooga helped her retain a firm grip on the top spot in the overall standings. Emma Pallant-Browne’s (GBR) win moved her into second position, while results from Kylie Simpson (AUS) and Alice Alberts (USA) moved them into the top 5 in the standings, sitting third and fourth respectively. Jackie Hering’s (USA) second place result pushed her 12 spots into the eighth position in the standings, ahead of her appearance in the next IRONMAN Pro Series event at IRONMAN European Championship Hamburg.

IRONMAN Pro Series Standings – Top Five Female (After Five Events)

IRONMAN Pro Series Standings – Top Five Male (After Five Events)

Full IRONMAN Pro Series standings can be found at proseries.ironman.com.

IRONMAN Pro Series Event Prize Money

In addition to the IRONMAN Pro Series’ $1.7M year-end bonus prize pool, there is an event pro prize purse payout of $2,575,000, distributed across IRONMAN Pro Series events. To date the IRONMAN Pro Series has paid out a total of $400,000 USD. Over $2.1-million USD remains to be claimed at the remaining events.

Top Five Female Prize Money Earned (After Five events)

Top Five Male Prize Money Earned (After Five events)

Next Events Coming Up

In two weeks, the IRONMAN Pro Series returns to Europe with IRONMAN European Championship Hamburg (Female Professionals only). The second full distance IRONMAN triathlon of the series will offer professionals a maximum of 5,000 points towards IRONMAN Pro Series standings, a $87,500 event total pro prize purse and six qualifying slots to the 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, France.

Replay coverage of racing at the 2024 Qatar Airways IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga triathlon is available on Outside+ for those watching from the United States and Canada; and for the rest of the world on proseries.ironman.com or IRONMAN’s YouTube Page.

For more information on the IRONMAN Pro Series, visit proseries.ironman.com. Media inquiries may be directed to press@ironman.com.

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About the IRONMAN Pro Series

The IRONMAN Pro Series™ is a year-long performance-based world series that will see professional triathletes earn points at 20 select races in 19 locations globally to vie for the title of IRONMAN Pro Series Champion and a share of the lucrative USD $1.7 million year-end bonus prize pool. Athletes will also continue to battle for each individual event’s prize money equating to over USD $2.5 million and coveted world championship qualifying slots. The IRONMAN Pro Series will consist of six full-distance IRONMAN^® triathlons and 10 half-distance IRONMAN^® 70.3^® triathlons in addition to the split location women’s and men’s VinFast IRONMAN World Championship triathlons and two-day women’s and men’s VinFast IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triathlons. Open to approximately 1,000 eligible professional triathletes worldwide, the IRONMAN Pro Series will usher in a new era of IRONMAN racing where Every Second Matters™ with every second behind the race winner equating to a point earned or lost. Incorporating iconic distances, challenging courses, and stunning destinations, every IRONMAN Pro Series race will be broadcast live and free to a global audience. An additional 18 events throughout 2024 will also offer IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 professional racing and world championship qualifying opportunities, as well as over USD $1.6 million in prize money to create a total 2024 professional prize purse of nearly USD $6 million. For more information, visit proseries.ironman.com.

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, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll^® Running Series, IRONKIDS^®, World Triathlon Championship Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and City2Surf^®, UTMB^® World Series trail-running events including the Canyons Endurance Runs™ by UTMB^®, Tarawera Ultra by UTMB^® and Ultra-Trail Australia™ by UTMB^®, Epic Series™ mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic^®, road cycling events including Haute Route^®, 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. Catering to the full athlete experience, the company portfolio also includes FulGaz^® virtual cycling, the most realistic indoor riding experience connected fitness application aimed at preparing athletes for real-world events. 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, a private, family-owned business, and Orkila Capital, a growth equity firm focused on building great brands. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/about-ironman-group.

About Advance 

Advance is a private, family-held business that owns and invests in companies across media, entertainment, technology, communications, education and other promising growth sectors. Our mission is to build the value of our companies over the long-term by fostering growth and innovation. Advance’s portfolio includes Condé Nast, Advance Local, Stage Entertainment, The IRONMAN Group, American City Business Journals, Leaders Group, Turnitin, and Pop. Together these operating companies employ more than 17,000 people in 29 countries. Advance is also among the largest shareholders in Charter Communications, Warner Bros. Discovery and Reddit. For more information visit www.advance.com.