Tauranga’s Hannah Berry has impressed at the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship, finishing 11th in her debut on the biggest stage in the sport.

Berry crossed the line in 8:53:45, 29 minutes behind new IRONMAN World Champion Lucy Charles-Barclay of Great Britain, with fellow Kiwi Rebecca Clarke 20th in 9:04:00.

“Really happy with 11th place on debut,” says Berry.

“If you’d asked me six months ago if 11th place at the IRONMAN World Championship was possible, I would’ve said it would’ve been a very tough ask, but I have had a good few months of training and everything has gone really well and I’m just over the moon with 11th place and excited to see what’s next.

“The field here was really strong this year, people were saying it was probably the strongest female field they’ve had here in Kona so to come away with 11th on debut feels pretty amazing,” she said. “I had a really strong day across all three and just had my best IRONMAN so can’t complain.”

The 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship was a historic one, with it being a female only event in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i for the first time ever, with the men racing in Nice, France last month.

Berry came out of water following the 3.8km swim in 10th position, leading out the chasing pack as they hit the 180km bike course.

The 33-year-old quickly got into her rhythm trading positions with those around her as they made their way through the Hawaiian island’s famous lava fields.

Berry came off the bike in 12th position, 18 minutes off Charles-Barclay in the lead, quickly moving into 11th with a fast transition, a position she would hold throughout the 42.2km run.

“My race went pretty well, felt really consistent across all three. I was with the front pack at the start of the swim and then the effort was just a little bit too hard, so I dropped off. Came out of the water 10th on my own but that was good. And then out onto the bike was pretty consistent across the whole bike, paced myself at the start and then came off the bike in 11th, and then out onto the run, I swapped places with a few different people but managed to keep my position over the marathon, and ran my fastest marathon to finish in 11th place.

“It was my first time racing here in Kona, it was pretty tough conditions out there, really hot and just overall a really fast pace and furious race. It was a big field, I’ve never raced in a field this big before and some of the girls I’ve only seen race on TV so it was pretty cool to be out there with such a strong field in amongst the all the best in the world.”

Rebecca Clarke impressed throughout the swim, exiting the water in fourth position, in a tight group chasing down Charles-Barclay.

The 34-year-old sat in the top five for the opening 80kms of the bike, only losing touch with the front riders in the second half of the ride.

Rebecca Clarke (NZL) riding through the iconic lava fields of Kona at the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship. Photo: Korupt Vision.

Clarke finished the ride in 14th position, less than a minute behind Berry, with the marathon proving to be a tough one as she crossed the finish line in 20th position.

Despite finish three places lower than her 2022 debut, Clarke’s finishing time was 20 minutes faster, highlighting the strength and depth of the women’s professional field this year.

“It was super hard in these conditions, I don’t know if I was a little bit less heat adapted this year, I just found it super hot today but comparing my finish to last year, 17th to 20th, is only a few places off, I think my time would have been almost 20 minutes faster, so it just shows the level this year it was incredible,” says Clarke.

“That’s the fastest bike split I’ve done, and I ran a good eight minutes faster than last year so it’s a little bit disappointing that the place was lower, but my overall performance was better, it was just a stronger field this year and the women’s level has just been raised up so much. I’m a little bit disappointed but it’s been a big year, and I can’t complain with 20th in the world.”

2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship

Professional Women’s Race – Final Results

1. Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) 8:24:31
2. Anna Haug (GER) 8:27:33
3. Laura Philipp (GER) 8:32:55
4. Taylor Knibb (USA) 8:35:56
5. Daniela Ryf (SUI) 8:40:34
6. Chelsea Sodaro (USA) 8:42:25
7. Skye Moench (USA) 8:43:34
8. Sarah True (USA) 8:47:06
9. Lisa Norden (SWE) 8:49:36
10. Jocelyn McCauley (USA) 8:50:39

--

11. Hannah Berry (NZL) 8:53:45

20. Rebecca Clarke (NZL) 9:04:00

For more information about the 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship women’s race in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i, please visit https://www.ironman.com/im-world-championship-2023.