Kona winners and losers.. our take on an epic
We are always in awe of the these merchants of speed as they rip up the lava fields year in year out. But, like every year there are some that get it right and some that might have wished they stayed in bed. We know it's tough to call anyone a loser who races an Ironman but we do so in the spirit of professional performance.
Winners
- Chrissie Wellington - Obvious choice we know but what we are quickly discovering about Chrissie is that she is just too good. After suffering an early flat Wellington proceeded to calmly pedal her way through the women's field to take the lead going into T2. Those women she passed on the way included some of the best bikers in the field including Belinda Granger. The word from Kona is that most people there are still shaking their heads at what she did. The 2.57 marathon was the exclamation point on a day few will forget.
- Craig Alexander - To all those people who either want to, or have raced an Ironman take note. This is how you go about a good day. The old Ironman saying of he who fatigues last wins rang true today. The man they call Crowie was simply smarter than his rivals. That and supremely fit! Crowie always had someone to ride with, and on the run he used Cam Brown, a super runner, as a pacer until he was in stride. He quietly reeled in the rest until he was the last man standing on top of the pile. His finishline reunion with his wife and daughter was great to watch too!
- Andy Potts - The first timer had a great day. Pushing hard in the swim and then a penalty on the bike saw Potts in the bin. He hung tough and ended up a very solid 7th. What he learns about this race this year will only help him next year. Just like it helped Alexander.
- Sam Hume - We'll claim him as ours! Our age group champ had a day out this week. 27th overall, 2nd in his age group and an overall time of 8.57. Not a bad days work. To read about his build up click here.
- Normann Stadler - He drew the sword today and swung it.. hard. Normann will never die wondering and proved it today with a gutsy performance. he cracked on the run but really made the race exciting as he tried.
- Eneko Llanos - He showed this season he can match it with the world's best and today he confirmed it. A 2.51 marathon finished off his day and conserved his second place. his reputation as a hot weather athlete was also kept in check too.
- Richard Thompson - The 23 year old from Brisbane won the 18-24 age group with a great time of 9.10. Richard had a great day out in a super competitve age group. He had a full five minutes on his nearest rival. Plaenty of time to enjoy Alii Drive and a little victory salute.. go you good thing!
Losers
- Chris McCormack - One minute you are the World Champion and then next minute you are at the side of the road with your dreams shattered and a bike that doesn't work. All triathletes are at the mercy of the mechanical gods and they weren't smiling today. A faulty gear cable was to blame. To see him on the broadcast a little later was very refreshing as he was open and upbeat about a day that would send most of us into a mamoth hissy fit!
- Cam Brown - Has Cam let a good opportunity slip through his fingers. He has finished top three so many times in Kona (four) that he knows what to do but unfortunately for Brown he couldn't close the deal. Talk round the office here was that he might just have missed his chance as he looked so good with Alexander early on in the marathon.
- Belinda Granger - The question going into this race was whether she had raced to much this season. Let's face it Belinda Granger's year has been spectacular with three Ironman wins and a 70.3 win. She is a world class athlete but it didn't go so well for her today. She was strong on the bike as we would expect but really faded in the marathon. Before the race Belinda talked about the run being all in her head.. did this ring true today?
- Torbjorn Sindballe/Chris Lieto - Where to now for the uber bikers? It's back to the drawing board. Both these guys rode the house down and then went backwards. So the question remains, why ride so hard? Is it because they know they don't have the ammunition for a fast run? Maybe. Read more about this in the blog.
Results for the Hawaiian Ironman
Men
- Craig Alexander 8:17 51:43/4:37:19/2:45:01
- Eneko Llanos 8.20 51:39/4:33:27/2:51:49
- Rutger Beke 8.21 54:44/4:34:45/2:47:49
Women
- Chrissie Wellington 9.06 56:20/5:08:16/2:57:44
- Yvonne Van Vlerken 9.21 1:06:49/5:05:34/3:04:27
- Sandra Wallenhorst 9.22 1:03:21/5:14:57/2:58:36
