Ironman UK Results 2013: Men's and Women's Top Finishers

On Sunday, a relatively new face and one of the most decorated triathletes in the world reigned supreme. 

Great Britain's Ritchie Nicholls and Irish star Eimear Mullan captured the titles at the 2013 edition of the Ironman UK 70.3, and it wasn't even close. 

That's because the 25-year-old Nicholls swam, biked and ran away from the rest of the field all day, and finished the course more than five minutes before his next closest competitor at Wimbleball Lake. 

On the women's side, Mullan finished just over a minute ahead of British runner-up Holly Lawrence, who held a three-minute lead on the 31-year-old Ireland native following the 1.2 mile swim. 

Heading into the race, Fraser Cartmell, a three-time former champion of the Ironman UK had to be considered the favorite, but Nicholls' final leg was far too much for any of his fellow Brits to overcome.

Following the swim, as the official Ironman UK Twitter account reported, it was already a three-man race. 

Regardless of which of the three contenders came out on top, it was clear the grueling test of endurance would be won by a Brit, as the top seven finishers all hailed from the home country. 

Name	Country	Swim	Bike	Run	Finish	Div. Rank	Overall Rank
Nicholls, Ritchie	GBR	00:24:01	02:32:49	01:14:39	04:15:04	1	1
Don, Tim	GBR	00:23:56	02:32:45	01:19:42	04:20:07	2	2
Cartmell, Fraser	GBR	00:23:57	02:32:47	01:20:04	04:20:30	3	3
Clarke, Will	GBR	00:23:59	02:41:01	01:16:31	04:25:51	4	4
Widmann, Uwe	GER	00:25:35	02:42:12	01:22:51	04:35:28	5	5
Skipper, Joe	GBR	00:27:06	02:42:43	01:23:34	04:37:35	6	6
Baxter, Sam	GBR	00:28:55	02:41:33	01:23:00	04:38:30	1	7
Baldwin, Nick	SEY	00:27:04	02:43:29	01:25:54	04:41:28	7	8
Fanous, Lawrence	JOR	00:24:00	02:51:29	01:22:35	04:42:13	8	9
Wilby, Peter	GBR	00:27:40	02:44:05	01:26:06	04:43:39	2	10

By the time the race's second leg was over, it was clear it would be one of Nicholls, Tim Don or Cartmell who would emerge victorious, as the leaders had separated themselves from the field by more than eight minutes during the 56.4-mile bike ride. 

In the end, Nicholls squeaked out the victory with a furious finish to the 13.1-mile run, clocking in at 1:14:39. The win represents a landmark title for a triathlete who recently moved up in terms of distance over a field that featured a number of the sport's most accomplished athletes. 

Despite a late push by Don, Nicholls eventually managed to put enough distance between himself and the 2006 World Triathlon Champion by finishing the run five minutes before his fellow Brit. 

Though the women's side of the race was more balanced in terms of the nationalities of the top athletes, four of the first seven women to cross the finish line were British, with German Kristin Moeller finishing more than four minutes behind Lawrence and Mullan to round out the top three.

Name	Country	Swim	Bike	Run	Finish	Div. Rank	Overall Rank
Mullan, Eimear	IRL	00:29:00	02:55:08	01:28:19	04:56:59	1	18
Lawrence, Holly	GBR	00:25:55	02:56:33	01:30:54	04:58:01	2	20
Moeller, Kristin	GER	00:30:35	03:00:50	01:25:46	05:02:33	3	23
Forshaw, Amy	GBR	00:29:33	03:07:28	01:29:32	05:12:38	4	40
Scherrer, Barbara	SUI	00:29:49	02:59:35	01:37:44	05:13:53	1	44
Bridge, Carol	GBR	00:27:10	03:03:52	01:38:40	05:14:55	5	45
Rowatt, Alison	GBR	00:33:10	03:02:41	01:37:55	05:20:13	1	56
Grant, Julia	NZL	00:29:25	03:06:02	01:39:36	05:21:08	6	58
Gill, Vicky	GBR	00:33:25	03:02:39	01:39:34	05:22:19	2	61
Duffy, Jennifer	IRL	00:31:29	03:11:03	01:38:06	05:27:13	1	73

For both Mullan and Nicholls, the final leg of the race was the key to victory, as both champions made up for the time lost in the water by burning the competition on the ground.