Athletes from Australia, Canada set new course records at Santa Cruz's Ironman 70.3

Quick Take

Australia's Sam Appleton and Canada's Tamara Jewett won the Santa Cruz Ironman 70.3 on Sunday, setting new course records among the nearly 2,300 participants in the annual race.

The Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz triathlon drew nearly 2,300 participants from across the country and the world to compete in the challenging coastal course Sunday.

Australian Sam Appleton, who now lives in Boulder, Colorado, won the professional men’s division with a time of 3 hours and 41 minutes, setting a new course record. Trevor Foley, also of Boulder, Colorado, secured second place with a time of 3:42:52, while Ben Kanute of Loveland, Colorado, finished third at 3:43:06.

In the professional women’s race, Canadian Tamara Jewett claimed victory and set a new course record with a time of 4:10:54. Jackie Hering of Cottage Grove, Wisconsin, took second place at 4:12:43, followed by Grace Alexander of Greenville, South Carolina, in third with 4:16:33.

The race consisted of a 1.2-mile ocean swim around the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, starting at Main Beach, followed by a 56-mile bike ride along Highway 1 past Pigeon Point Lighthouse. It ended with a 13.2-mile run along West Cliff Drive, around Natural Bridges State Beach to Wilder Ranch State Park and back, finishing with a 100-yard dash across the sand at Cowell Beach.

Top finishers competed for a $40,000 prize purse.

Photographer Cat Cutillo captured feats of athleticism, emotional finish-line moments and the enthusiastic crowds lining the course.