Ben Kanute is on an incredible run of form to close the year
Ben Kanute emerged from the water in first place and never once relinquished his lead at Ironman 70.3 Oceanside. With a 2:24 win over Miki Taagholt, he also defended his win at the event in 2019.
“After a short delay, we got going, and I found myself right behind the lead swimmer. I took charge about halfway through to up the pace and exited the water first,” Kanute said. “It feels good to be able to win in Oceanside again and show some good fitness at the end of the year.”
Ben Kanute legging out his 2019 win in Oceanside.
Kanute is coming off a second place finish at Triathlon Los Angeles last weekend, and a strong overall season that includes a win at Escape from Alcatraz (the fourth of his career) and sixth at Ironman 70.3 World Championships in St. George.
In Oceanside, Kanute was impressive in every phase. He drove the pace early within a lead group of six on the 56-mile bike segment, winnowing the group to five before sharing the workload. Kanute exited the second transition with a 14-second lead over his closest competitor, Sam Appleton, and 31 seconds over Taagholt.
Kanute celebrating his fourth (!) career win at Escape from Alcatraz.
From there, Kanute continued to put distance into his competition, turning in the second-fastest half marathon time of the day at 11:11:39. Appleton would take the final podium spot at 3:03 back of Kanute. “A very solid day overall,” Kanute said.
Kanute is closing a full year of racing strong coming off of a pandemic-abbreviated 2020 season. His run of form signals big things for 2022 and beyond.
