Made of iron.
After a nasty February bicycle crash left Emily Bonawitt inactive for nearly three months, she wasn’t sure if she would be able to defend her Ironman 70.3 Michigan crown Sunday in Frankfort.
Fast-forward several months later and Bonawitt not only defended her crown, but set a personal record while doing it, winning the 2026 Frankfort Ironman with a time of 4:25:09. She bested her 25-29 age bracket and beat the next female by nearly 10 minutes.
“I went a couple minutes faster this year on not necessarily a faster day. The wind was definitely a factor today,” she said. “There was a pivot at the end of July where I felt the fitness in my running was coming back stronger than ever.
Bonawitt had personal records across the board in the swim, bike, and most likely in the half marathon she said at the end of the race.
“There wasn’t necessarily a carrot out in front of me ... I just kept trying to run at a steady pace, pick off the guys I could,” Bonawitt said. “Doing a two-lap course the whole way is amazing. Running through the park area was like a tunnel of noise. You can’t even hear yourself breathe ... This is such a well-supported course and such a beautiful area.”
Emily’s husband and training partner, Tyler, finished the race within minutes of one another.
She left no doubt compared to her 2025 win where race officials questioned her result after she crossed the finish line first by almost eight minutes in front of the second-place finisher.
This time around she crossed by at least 10 minutes but no fuss was made for the 28-year-old from Sylvania, Ohio.
“Thanks to my dad (Ed Altwies) who is my coach and training partner,” Bonawitt said. “He sets me up for success and pushes me to be my best every day. I can’t thank him enough and then my whole family, my mom (Jackie Altwies), my in-laws and all of my training partners and local bike shop.”
Anna Suranyi won the 18-24 division and finished second overall, while Karen Monuszko won the 30-34 division, Claire Vecchio the 40-44 age group and Emily Rollins the 45-49 division.
Bonawitt is now a back-to-back Ironman champion after finishing runners up in 2023 and 2024 among amateurs, and finished 2025 with a time of 4:29:55.
Tanko wins second Ironman in a week
In the men’s division of the Frankfort Ironman, Tyler Tanko won the race with a time of 3:52:36, which made it his second Ironman in a week after the Madison competition a week prior.
“This was my last race of the season and I couldn’t have asked for a better end of the season ... I didn’t know if my body was going to show up after trying to race another back-to-back, but luckily the legs were firing and I was happy to end on a really good note,” Tanko said. “I came out of the water feeling like I had a pretty good lead, but these guys caught me on the bike. These guys are really strong bikers and they pushed me; I knew it was going to take a good run to make it happen and everything came together.”
Just last Sunday, Tanko dominated the Madison, Wisconsin Ironman with a time of 4:07:42. The Sherwood, Wisconsin native took the lead coming out of the water and never looked back.
Tanko was motivated thanks to his second child, who’s expected in December.
The father acknowledged this would be one of his last races before stepping back into daddy mode. Tanko thanks his wife, Jenny, for all of the support.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better day,” he said.
Tanko hadn’t raced in Frankfort since 2023 — when he placed 25th — and he was more than happy to be back.
The Frankfort Ironman drew nearly 2,000 participants to face the 70.3-miles course with a 1.2-mile, 56-mile bike and 13.1 mile run
Justin Wegner finished second and first in the 35-39 division with a time of 3:56. Tanko won the 30-34 division, while Caleb Bwy won the 18-24 division, Robert Ordish in the 40-44 age group and Andy Wiberg 45-49.
Frankfort Ironman race director Joel Service said the event went as planned.
“(Bonawitt and Tanko) are crazy fast and amazing athletes to watch and for all (participants) to be in that physical shape and ability to showcase it here in Frankfort is exciting to watch,” Service said.
Frankfort has hosted the triathlon for five years, and this race was the last of a two-year deal.
As negotiations are set to begin, Service would love to see the event continue in Frankfort, but the organization could look at Crystal Lake or the Platte River in future years. No decision has been made by Ironman and no decision has been made by the City of Frankfort’s side, along with other municipalities. Earlier this year, Frankfort tabled contract negotiations.
