Ironman Lake Placid 2012 Results: Men's and Women's Top Finishers

The Ironman competition in Lake Placid is 140.6 miles long and tests your biking, running and swimming skills.

This isn't for the feint of heart. We are talking about eight-plus hours of grueling physical tests, and that's if you're good.

According to ironman.com, the competition in Lake Placid is North America's second-oldest competition of this type. It generates massive excitement as competitors attempt to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.

The Ironman website then goes on to describe the rigors of this specific contest. It begins with a 2.4-mile swim. That's followed by a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run.

If you even finish this race, you should be commended, let alone finish near the top of the standings.

Let's take a look at the top finishers on the men's and women's side of things.

*Results courtesy of ironman.com

Top Male Finishers

Name	Country	Swim	Bike	Run	Finish	Div. Rank	Overall Rank
Potts, Andy	USA	00:45:01	04:42:33	02:52:48	08:25:00	1	1
Jacobs, Peter	AUS	00:47:10	05:02:35	03:02:35	08:56:42	2	2
Guillaume, Romain	FRA	00:50:00	04:47:47	03:26:08	09:08:50	3	3
Russell, Matthew	USA	01:02:06	04:57:35	03:10:43	09:16:36	4	4
Morris, David	USA	00:58:50	04:53:59	03:19:54	09:18:14	1	5
Johnson, Vinny	USA	00:53:24	05:19:53	03:11:12	09:32:51	1	6
MacLean, Douglas	USA	01:00:05	05:18:48	03:08:41	09:33:18	5	7
Seng, Brad	USA	00:58:03	05:26:07	03:04:23	09:34:29	6	8
Tapply, Timothy	USA	00:58:46	05:27:34	03:04:23	09:36:06	7	9
Franks, Logan	USA	00:58:38	05:16:58	03:14:38	09:36:56	8	10

Top Female Finishers

Name	Country	Swim	Bike	Run	Finish	Div. Rank	Overall Rank
Donavan, Jessie	USA	01:09:00	05:19:40	03:13:32	09:47:32	1	12
Hansen, Jennie	USA	01:09:58	05:27:16	00:00:00	00:00:00	2	39
Thomas, Kathryn	USA	00:54:18	05:33:52	00:00:00	00:00:00	1	67
Fillnow, Kelly	USA	01:06:33	05:35:20	00:00:00	00:00:00	3	69
Schwabenbauer, Kim	USA	01:04:21	05:43:22	00:00:00	00:00:00	4	93
LaMacchia, Leslie	USA	01:06:27	05:47:21	00:00:00	00:00:00	5	134
Kachinsky, Christine	USA	01:16:16	05:38:06	00:00:00	00:00:00	1	155
Harrington, Willow	USA	01:09:15	05:48:20	00:00:00	00:00:00	1	177
Mountford, Pia	USA	01:18:13	05:43:03	00:00:00	00:00:00	2	178
Baker, Sarah	USA	00:58:50	06:00:54	00:00:00	00:00:00	1	180
Defilippi, Angie	USA	01:09:14	05:54:44	00:00:00	00:00:00	2	182

Most Impressive Performance: Jessie Donavan

This is obvious. Donavan was the only female competitor to finish the race. Not only that, but she finished 12th among all competitors (males included).

People should be impressed by this. Anytime you finish something that no one else in your division was capable of is incredible. Finishing first is noteworthy enough, but that's just gravy.

Donavan's ability to perform well in all three facets of competition should translate well to the World Championship.

Most Disappointing Performance: Romain Guillaume

Guillaume finished third overall, but he could have finished higher with a better performance on the running portion of the race.

He was in third entering the cycling portion of the competition, but outperformed second-place finisher Peter Jacobs on his bike. This put him in excellent position to finish behind Andy Potts on the leaderboard.

Instead of rising to the competition on the race's final leg, he collapsed. Not literally, of course, but he did run at least 20 seconds slower than either of the entrants who finished above him in the standings.

Guillaume was promising entering the 26.2-mile run, but he ran out of gas when it mattered most.