German takes victory in St. George Ironman ..

Frodeno wins combo event of swimming, biking and running.

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St. George • Jan Frodeno of Saarbruecken, Germany, was the top finisher in Saturday's Ironman 70.3 race, finishing in 3 hours, 45 minutes, 21 seconds.

The event is one of the first of the season's Ironman 70.3 Series. The 70.3-mile total distance technically represents a half-Ironman competition — featuring a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run.

Frodeno finished 22 seconds ahead of Brent McMahon, of Victoria, British Columbia. Tim Don, of Oxford, Great Britain, rounded out the men's podium in 3:45:50.

The women's champion was Meredith Kessler of San Francisco, who came across the finish line 34th among all competitors in 4:11:53. Jodie Swallow of Brentwood, Great Britain, and Heather Wurtele of Kelowna, British Columbia, were second and third, respectively.

The event kicked off at about 7 a.m. at Sand Hollow Reservoir. According to stgeorgeutah.com, a state park ranger said the temperature was 57 degrees at the start, and estimated the water temperature at 60 degrees.

There were no major incidents reported. Apparently, the only hiccup with the event came when volunteers had to remove some free-range cattle from the bike course, which was accomplished before the riders got to that point.

Former Utah State University and NFL wide receiver Kevin Curtis, who spent eight years in the league playing for the St. Louis Rams, Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins, competed in the event, finishing in a time of 6:31:03.

German takes victory in St. George Ironman event