Sofia Gomez Villafane and Ivar Slik Power Through Mud and Rain to Become the 200-mile Champions of the 2022 Garmin UNBOUND Gravel Presented by Craft Sportswear

June 5, 2022

Boaz and Overson win the 100-mile gravel races while Frazier and Harrison take the 350-mile XL titles

EMPORIA, Kan., (June 5, 2022)/ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – With 4,000 riders across all distances, Life Time’s (NYSE: LTH) Garmin UNBOUND Gravel presented by Craft Sportswear returned to Emporia, Kansas this weekend as riders took on the relentless Flint Hill gravel. Cyclists ranging in age from 10 to 89 representing all 50 states and 44 countries took on the Junior, 25-mile, 50-mile, 100-mile, 200-mile and 350-mile XL distances on a new, southbound course.

“This was a fantastic weekend of racing, riding and camaraderie” said Kimo Seymour, President of Media and Events at Life Time. “After a start with some amazing weather, the rain and mud provided epic conditions. Feedback from athletes has been overwhelmingly positive. From the intensely competitive pro race at the front, to the masses of amateurs, the Life Time team is so pleased to hear all the amazing memories that were created at this year’s Garmin UNBOUND Gravel.”

100-Mile Distance Women’s Division

1st: Marisa Boaz, 35, of Waukee, Iowa with a time of 5:23:16

2nd: Marjie Bemis, 21, Corona, Calif. with a time of 5:26:59

3rd: Jessica Cerra, 40, Encinitas, Calif. with a time of 5:26:59

4th: Karen Jarchow, 37, Eagle Colo. with a time of 5:39:21

5th: Grace Williams, 22, Bloomington, Ind. with a time of 5:44:16

100-Mile Distance Men’s Division 

1st: Ethan Overson, 21, of Longmont, Colo. with a time of 5:01:01

2nd: Canyon Emmott, 27, of Midway, Utah with a time of 5:05:48

3rd: Ben Delaney, 46, of Boulder, Colo. with a time of 5:09:37

4th: Donoven Fracis, 19, of Dallas, Texas with a time of 5:09:38

5th: Kenn Pike, 35, of Sioux Falls, SD with a time of 5:09:39

200-Mile Distance Women’s Division

1st: Sofia Gomez Villafane*, 28, of Heber City, Utah with a time of 10:27:41

2nd: Lauren De Crescenzo, 31, of Atlanta, Ga. with a time of 10:36:47

3rd: Emily Newsom*, 38, of Fort Worth, Tex. with a time of 10:49:44

4th: Whitney Allison, 34, of Fort Collins, Colo. with a time of 10:57:24

5th: Melisa Rollins*, 26, of Salt Lake City, Utah with a time of 11:01:46

200-Mile Distance Men’s Division 

1st: Ivar Slik, 29, of Dulvendrecht, Netherlands with a time of 9:22:04

2nd: Keegan Swenson*, 28, of Heber City, Utah with a time of 9:22:05

3rd: Ian Boswell, 31, of Barnet, VT with a time of 9:22:05

4th: Laurens ten Dam*, 41, of Oudorp, Netherlands with a time of 9:22:12

5th: Alexey Vermeulen*, 27, of Boulder, Colo. with a time of 9:22:27

350-Mile (XL) Distance Women’s Division

1st: Cynthia Frazier, 29, of Lexington, Va. with a time of 22:25:18

2nd: Scotti Lechuga, 39, of Springdale Ark. with a time of 23:24:40

3rd: Andrea Dvorac, 41, of Longmont, Colo. with a time of 25:36:37

4th: Betsy Welch, 41, of Boulder, Colo. with a time of 26:29:35

5th: Tina Hart, 35, of Boulder, Colo. with a time of 26:34:36

350-Mile (XL) Distance Men’s Division

1st: William Harrison, 34, of Charlotte, N.C. with a time of 20:17:29

2nd: Marius Karteusch, 33, of Plettenberg, Germany with a time of 20:22:28

3rd: Ernie Lechuga, 46, of Springdale Ark. with a time of 20:35:08

4th: Chris Mehlman, 22, of Manchester Mass. with a time of 20:36:08

5th: Mat Stephens, 39, of Dallas, Tex. with at time of 21:12:11

“I’m glad [the rain] made the race hard. I do better at races of attrition and so I was thinking that this is going to play to my advantage,” said Boaz, the 2022 Garmin UNBOUND Gravel 100-mile champion. “There were so many cool parts, so many cool people I met, but I think my favorite part was going under the bridge and coming up by Emporia State University. I looked back and realized nobody was there and that was a really happy moment.”

“When I came over [to the United States] UNBOUND was my big goal for this year. It’s a long race–200 miles–and so much can happen. You need a little bit of luck, but I was in top shape and did everything to be in the best condition,” said Slik, the 2022 Garmin UNBOUND Gravel 200-mile champion. “It’s super to finish it off in a sprint with five, just amazing, and I’m happy to win the biggest gravel event in the world.”

Garmin UNBOUND Gravel Presented by Craft was exclusively live streamed by FloSport on FloBikes for a second year. FloBikes will be broadcasting each event in the Grand Prix series in 2022. The 60 elite and professional athletes selected to compete in the 2022 Life Time Grand Prix series Presented by Mazda will face off across six of Life Time’s most iconic cycling events for a $250,000, equally split prize purse. Athletes will be ranked against the other competitors by points received based on their finishing position at each event.

The next event on the Life Time off-road event calendar–and third event in the Life Time Grand Prix series–is the 70-mile Crusher in the Tushar on July 9 in Beaver, Utah.

To see the full leaderboard with all athlete standings for the Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda, visit: lifetimegrandprix.com. Follow along throughout the 2022 season on Instagram: @lifetimegrandprix.

Full results for the Garmin UNBOUND Gravel Presented by Craft can be found here.

*Notes athlete is part of the Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda 

The Garmin UNBOUND Gravel presented by Craft and Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda are owned and produced by Life Time, the premier healthy lifestyle brand. UNBOUND GRAVEL is among more than 30 premier athletic events owned and produced by the company across the nation, which also operates more than 150 athletic resorts and spas in the U.S. and Canada. Life Time strives to produce exceptional event experiences for both participants and spectators as an extension of its Healthy Way of Life philosophy.

About Life Time^®

Life Time (NYSE: LTH) empowers people to live healthy, happy lives through its portfolio of nearly 160 athletic country clubs across the United States and Canada. The company’s healthy way of life communities and ecosystem address all aspects of healthy living, healthy aging and healthy entertainment for people 90 days to 90+ years old. Supported by a team of more than 30,000 dedicated professionals, Life Time is committed to providing the best programs and experiences through its clubs, iconic athletic events and comprehensive digital platform.

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