In a triathletic nod to the grand poet Dylan Thomas, Greg Bennett absolutely will not “go gently into that good night” which some might call getting older and others might term an honorable retirement.
Against a top flight Life Time Fitness Series field at the classic Chicago Triathlon, the 42-year-old Aussie-American looked very much like the 2006-2007-2008 model Greg Bennett who dominated this series as he aced out 38-year-old Hunter Kemper to take the big check once again.
Along the way, Bennett combined a 5th-fastest 20:46 swim in Monroe Harbor, a race-fastest 52:51 bike split that was 8 seconds faster than usual bike dominator and fellow Boulder resident Cameron Dye and finished with a 4th best 33:26 10k run to cross the line in 1:49:02 with a 9 seconds margin of victory over 4-time Olympian Kemper and 1:13 over 31-year-old 3rd-place finisher Ben Collins. Jason West, who at age 21 is exactly half Bennett’s age, finished fast with a 31:49 run to take 4th, 2:09 behind his grizzled elder.
Kemper, who looks like he should go for a 5th Olympic berth, beat Bennett out of the water by 9 seconds but gave back 2:03 on the bike. Kemper then unleashed the day’s fastest run split of 31:45, which still left him 9 second short of absolute triumph.
In the women's race, there was no such drama as Alicia Kaye defended her Chicago title with 3rd-fastest 21:26 swim, a race-best 59:17 bike split (the only woman to break an hour), and a 3rd-best 38:41 run to finish in 2:01:50 with a 2:40 margin of victory over runner-up Radka Vodickova of the Czech Republic and 3:44 over 3rd place finisher Abby Geurink.
For the past few years, the Canadian-born Clermont, Florida resident and wife of Olympic triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker has dominated the non-drafting U.S. circuit with brio. Last year, she won the Life Time Series with victories at St. Anthony’s, Cap Tex, Minneapolis, Chicago, Dallas and Oceanside. This year, she eased back into her winning ways with a 4th at St. Anthony’s, a 3rd at South Beach, 2nd at Cap Tex followed by a return to the natural order with wins at Philadelphia 5i50, Minneapolis, New York City and now Chicago.
TransAmerica Chicago Triathlon
Chicago, Illinois
August 24, 2014
S 1.5k / B 40k / R 10k
Results
Pro Men
1. Greg Bennett (AUS) 1:49:02
2. Hunter Kemper (USA) 1:49:11
3. Ben Collins (USA) 1:50:15
4. Jason West (USA) 1:51:11
5. Timothy O’Donnell (USA) 1:51:21
6. Cameron Dye (USA) 1:52:09
Pro Women
1. Alicia Kaye (USA) 2:01:50
2. Radka Vodickova (CZE) 2:04:30
3. Abby Geurink (USA) 2:05:34
4. Sara McLarty (USA) 2:06:48
5. Jillian Petersen (USA) 2:07:44
6. Lauren Brandon (USA) 2:08:31
