TYR-Sponsored Becky Lavelle seized the professional women’s category at the Lake Stevens Ironman 70.3 Sunday, August 16 with a final time of 4:28.16 thanks to a dominating swim leg and a race-ending surge in the run. After coming off a third place finish at the Life Time Fitness triathlon in Minneapolis and a second at the Life Time Fitness triathlon in New York, it was a perfect day for Lavelle to race for a title. Launching off the public boat in downtown Lake Stevens, WA for the 1.2-mile swim portion of the race with the rest of her competition, Lavelle immediately set the tone for the rest of the morning’s race, emerging with the fastest female swim split (25:58). Entering T1, she had a 1:18 margin over Samantha Warriner of New Zealand, and a 2:04 lead ahead of two-time ITU world champion Michellie Jones. Mounting the bike for the 56-mile distance, it was Heather Wurtele of Canada who posed the biggest threat for Lavelle with her strong cycling talent. The double loop bike course along hilly terrain became the battlefield for Lavelle to hold onto her lead. Wurtele advanced and passed her, creating a 26 second deficit for Lavelle to make up entering T2. Trailing behind the two leaders was the Australian Jones by 3:05. Lavelle, undaunted by being passed on the bike, entered the 13.1 mile run with fast speed that proved to be the pinnacle to her victory. With the second fastest run of the women’s race (1:24:29), she passed Wurtele to cross the finish line first with the crowd in downtown Lake Stevens cheering her in. Wurtele took second, and Jones rounded out the podium in third. The next stop on Lavelle’s 2009 racing season will be back on the Life Time Fitness series, this time in Chicago on August 30th. Make sure to check TYR.com for results as she looks to continue her podium-topping performances.