Courtney Ogden won his second Ironman title at age 38 and Kate Bevilaqua won her first at age 33 as the two Aussies prevailed at the 2010 edition of the SunSmart Ironman Western Australia at Busselton in some rain showers and modest winds that may have contributed to slower than usual times.
Ogden combined a 5th-fastest 49:05 swim, 3rd-fastest 4:28:52 bike and 3rd fastest 2:52:53 marathon for an 8:14:01 finish that gave him a 4-minutes 5-seconds margin of victory over runner-up and fellow Australian Matty White. White’s race-best 2:51:54 run held off and even out sped a late race surge by 2010 Ironman Hawaii’s fastest runner (2:41:05) Pete Jacobs, whose 2:52:43 at Busselton took him to third place after passing early race leader and eventual 4th place finisher Luke Bell (3:02:52 run) near the end. Multiple Ironman Western Australia men’s winner Patrick Vernay of New Caledonia took 5th, 1:49 back of Bell.
Ogden’s Ironman victory was his second -- and far more satisfying than his first, earned in the trouble-plagued 2005 Ironman Malaysia which had a tiny field.
Kate Bevilaqua earned her very first Ironman victory primarily on the bike, prevailing by 2 minutes 53 seconds over multiple Ironman-distance winner Rebekah Keat. Bevilaqua lost 8 minutes 10 seconds to Keat after her sub-par 1:01:43 swim, and then made up 8:08 on Keat with her second-best 4:53:53 bike. On the run, Bevilaqua sped away from Keat’s 3:23:22 run with a race-best 3:20:42 marathon.
Bevilaqua, whose previous best results were a 2nd place at Ironman New Zealand in 2008, a 4th at Ironman Australia in 2007, and a win at the Port of Tauranga half in 2008, stumbled the last few yards and crawled across the finish line in 9:19:44 utterly exhausted. The winning time was far off Gina Ferguson Crawford’s race record 8:59:24 set in 2008, but it is always tough to compare races.
"It has been a dream to win an Ironman ever since going Pro. Any Ironman would have been fantastic but to win in my home state in front of my home crowd is unbelievable! I had all my family and friends there and they were able to share this special moment with me!" said Bevilaqua to to slowtwitch.
"With just short of 2km's to go the quads began to cramp, I have never had that problem before! Then they began to buckle underneath me and after eating and drinking through the last aid station, I was having difficulty running again. I was thinking to myself 'please not now! I am so close! I don't care what it takes I just have to get to that finish line!' I would have loved to enjoy the finish chute more, and take it all in, but a win is a win and I will take it!"
Keat, who set a race record 8:54 winning the inaugural Iron-distance Challenge Copenhagen earlier this year and who also broke 9 hours while finishing 2nd to Chrissie Wellington at Challenge Roth, could not muster enough speed to take down Bevilaqua after a very full race schedule in 2010. Keat started well with a race-best 53:33 swim, but lost her lead with a third-best 5:02:01 bike and the 2:40 deficit incurred by her 3:23:22 run provided Bevilaqua’s margin of victory.
Amelia Pearson trailed Keat by 14:15 and took 3rd in 9:36:52. Kirsten Molloy was 4th in 9:47:47 and Jessica Fleming took 5th in 9:49:41.
Images courtesy of Shawn Smith of blinqphotography.com. More blinq images from Ironman Western Australia can be found here
SunSmart Ironman Western Australia
Busselton, Australia
December 5, 2010
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
Results
Men
1. Courtney Ogden (AUS) 8:14:01
2. Matty White (AUS) 8:18:06
3. Pete Jacobs (AUS) 8:21:16
4. Luke Bell (AUS) 8:21:33
5. Patrick Vernay (NCL) 8:23:22
6. Jonathan Hotchkiss (GBR) 8:31:02
7. Scott Neyedli (GBR) 8:34:45
8. Sam Hume (AUS) 8:39:21 * M35-39
9. Simon Billeau (FRA) 8:40:37
10. Paul Dodd (AUS) 8:45:57 * M35-39
Women
1. Kate Bevilaqua (AUS) 9:19:44
2. Rebekah Keat (AUS) 9:22:37
3. Amelia Pearson (AUS) 9:36:52
4. Kirsten Molloy (AUS) 9:47:47
5. Jessica Fleming (AUS) 9:49:41 * W35-39
6. Michelle Boyes (AUS) 9:51:05 * W40-44
7. Jasmine Dillon (AUS) 10:12:26 * W25-29
8. Sarah Walker (NZL 10:18:28 * W40-44
9. Dimity Gannon (AUS) 10:19:45 * W25-29
10. Michaella Trigg (NZL) 10:21:48 *W40-44
