Defending champ Potts wins in Cd'A for third time

COEUR d'ALENE - Banks aren't normally open on Sundays.

But for 38-year-old Colorado Springs, Colo., native Andy Potts, his deposits paid off on the streets of Coeur d'Alene.

Potts, who won Ironman Coeur d'Alene in 2010 and 2014, captured the 13th annual event for a third time, distancing the rest of men's professional field by nearly 20 minutes. Potts won with a time of 8 hours, 20 minutes and 44 seconds - five minutes faster than his winning time of 8:25.44 in 2014.

"As a professional athlete, I train every day, and it's pretty extensive," Potts said. "I'll train anywhere from 35 to 40 hours a week, and it's substantial. As an athlete, I talk about making deposits each day for training, and race day is the withdrawal. And today, it was a super big withdrawal, but I've had enough deposits in preparation and workouts to pull this off."

Heather Jackson of Bend, Ore., was supposed to run in last year's Ironman Coeur d'Alene before an injury two weeks before the race sidelined those plans.

This year, she put a hurtin' on the rest of the women's field, winning the women's title in 9:23.27.

"It just felt meant to be this year," Jackson said. "This was my first time here and the day just came together nicely."

For Jackson, her dream of reaching Ironman Kona is now within reach.

"This is really special for me," Jackson said. "For me, my goal is Kona and that's the only reason I race technically. Beyond that, here was my ultimate spot to be. To get my first full win is incredible. It's the closest race to Bend, so it really felt like a home race. It was an amazing home stay."

Potts - who earned $20,000 for the win - wasn't taking anything for granted this time around, even with a large lead throughout the run.

"Coming off last year's win, you never really know what to expect coming off any race," Potts said. "Coeur d'Alene is in the Pacific Northwest, and you'd expect cooler temperatures, and then we had the heat wave coming in. As a pro, I need to be prepared for these things. Hawaii's not cold, so I need to perform well in the heat and cold. It's my job to prepare for the conditions and control my prep."

Since Ironman began in 2003, there has only been two years through 2014 when temperatures climbed to above 80 degrees. Sunday's high of 105 degrees was the highest temperature recorded here since records started being kept in 1895.

"I was really glad I didn't have to sprint to the end and could just enjoy the crowd and the moment," Potts said. "You never know when you're going to be back here at the finish line and in this moment. My family was out there waiting for me and they're just a bright spot for me. I got to see them 8 to 10 times today and it was totally awesome."

Potts finished the 2.4-mile swim in 50:30, the 112-mile bike leg in 4:33:13 and the 26.2-mile run in 2:53:25. Potts was third after the swim, and took the lead for good roughly 70 miles into the bike leg.

New Zealand's Callum Millward was second in the men's pro race in 8:41.12, followed by Stephen Kilshaw of Victoria, British Columbia, in 8:43.04. Barrett Brandon of Fort Worth, Texas, was first out of the water, and finished fifth overall.

"This was only my second Ironman event after doing one in Melbourne in March," Millward said. "My goal is to qualify for Hawaii and it seemed like a good race to do."

The hills on the bike route on U.S. 95 caught Millward off guard a little.

"In Melbourne, it's flat and fast, but here, there's hills and it's a lot hotter as well," Millward said. "I need to get better at running distance, and the only way to get better is run a marathon."

For Killshaw, a laborer, the course was exactly what he expected in his first Ironman Coeur d'Alene.

"It presented all the right challenges," Killshaw said. "To be honest, it's just a nice, honest course. Every race is a challenge. The last 6 miles of the bike is always tough, even though it's downhill."

Killshaw admitted he started to feel sick from the weather near the end of the bike course, when temperatures had ballooned from 75 at the start of the section to 95 when he made the transition to the run.

"It's really weird," Killshaw said. "I felt really crummy the final 6 miles of the bike. There were some hot spots on the run, but I had to count my steps and take my mind off it."

Amanda Stevens of Boulder, Colo., finished second in the women's pro race in 9:40.16.

"It was an amazing day," Stevens said. "The city of Coeur d'Alene, and all of the volunteers - bar none - they're the best. I couldn't have crossed the finish line without them. I was just going through each station and getting what I need - water, food - and whatever I needed."

To Stevens, who lives in Arizona, added the weather wasn't so bad - at first.

"It was hot, no doubt," Stevens said. "But the first part of the bike, it wasn't so bad. I was a little chilly at the start and I was telling myself to remember this later. After we did the bike exchange, I started to feel the heat."

Ironman Coeur d'Alene offered $100,000 in professional prize money and 50 age-group qualifying slots for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii on Oct. 10. Prize money was split evenly between men and women - winners received $20,000, second brought home $10,000 and third $6,500.

TOP 10 FINISHERS

1, Andy Potts, Colorado Springs, Colo., 8:20.35. 2, Callum Millward, Havelock North, New Zealand, 8:41.12. 3, Stephen Kilshaw, Victoria, British Columbia, 8:43.04. 4, Trevor Wurtele, Kelowna, British Columbia, 8:46.38. 5, Barrett Brandon, Fort Worth, Texas, 8:47.29. 6, Trevor Delsaut, Cozumel, France, 8:47.29. 7, Pedro Gomes, Scottsdale, Ariz., 8:53.15. 8, Matt Russell, Colorado Springs, Colo., 8:57.34. 9, Derek Garcia, Coeur d'Alene, 8:58.55. 10, Jonathan Shearon, Tucson, Ariz., 9:02.01.

1, Heather Jackson, Bend, Ore., 9:23.27. 2, Amanda Stevens, Boulder, Colo., 9:40.16. 3, Kim Schwabenbauer, Knox, Pa., 9:50.19. 4, Amber Ferreira, Concord, N.H., 9:58.53. 5, Katy Blakemore, Denver, Colo., 9:59.18. 6, Leslie Dimichele-Miller, Reston, Va., 10:02.29. 7, Tamara Kozulina, Lvov, Ukraine, 10:09.29. 8, Sarah Graves, Ballantine, Mont., 10:18.18. 9, Alyssa Godesky, Baltimore, Md., 10:18.38. 10, Anne Basso, Nice, France, 10:21.24.