An Aussie lad and a gal from the Czech Republic prevailed in Port Macquairie, an Aussie lass and a South African gentleman triumphed in Tongyeong, and an Italian signore and an Austrian signora topped all contenders in Paguera-Mallorca. But no matter how thrilling these victories, no one was happier than a Tasmanian triathlon pro and his lovely Italian fiancée who were betrothed in a seaside ceremony in Maui. Unless it was the 2014 World Triathlon Series women's runner-up and her groom, a world class track star, who exchanged vows amidst gloriously red and gold Fall leaves by a New Hampshire barn.
Josh Amberger and Radka Vodickova win Ironman 70.3 Port Macquairie
Josh Amberger defended his title with a race-best swim, a dominant bike leg that gave him a 7 minutes lead and a defensive run to hold off fellow Australian and two-time Olympian Brad Kahlefeldt by 33 seconds to win Ironman 70.3 Port Macquairie.
Radka Vodickova of the Czech Republic had a much easier time, leading the swim, increasing her margin on the bike and padding her lead on the run for a 7-plus minutes margin over the runner-up, Australian Madeleine Oldfield.
Men
Amberger knew he needed to bank a big lead to hold off Kahlefeldt’s major run power, so he posted a race-best 20:49 swim that gave him a 43 seconds lead on Kahlefeldt, then charged over the hilly 56-mile bike leg with a dominant 2:12:43 split that gave him a 7 minutes 15 seconds cushion on the Olympian starting the run.
“I knew 7 minutes off the bike would be tough to run down,” said Kahlefeldt, “but I knew I could get close.”
Halfway through the run, Kahlefeldt had sliced Amberger’s lead to 3 minutes - a rate that would give him the victory. However, Amberger had saved enough energy to a negative split his half marathon – and his 1:19:50 run was just enough to fend off Kahlefeldt’s 1:12:59 split to finish in 3:55:27 with a 34 seconds margin of victory. Countryman Alex Reithmeier finished in 3:59:52 making the podium a 1-2-3 Aussie affair.
“This course suits me to the ground,” said Amberger. “I love this race and love the support. I’d like to come back every year and race.”
“I gave it everything I had but in the end it wasn't enough,” said Kahlefeldt. “I love this [non-drafting] style of racing. It’s a change from the ITU and I’m starting to get better and better. Maybe next year I will do a full Ironman.”
Women
Coming off a second place finish at Sunshine Coast 70.3, Vodickova led the whole way. Her race-best 23:49 swim gave her a 19 seconds lead on defending champ Lisa Marangon and 1:17 on Oldfield. After a women’s 2nd-best 2:38:05 bike split, her lead increased to 1:17 over Marangon and plus 3 minutes on Oldfield and fastest-biker Jessica Fleming. Vodickova wrapped up the win with a women’s-fastest 1:26:25 run that brought her to the line in 4:30:40 with a 7:30 margin of victory on Oldfield and 8:41 on third place finisher Marangon.
Vodickova, a 2012 Olympian who devoted several years to Olympic distance, draft-legal racing, has taken well to the 70.3 distance. “I love the non-drafting format of racing,” she said. “It’s great for me and really suits my strengths. I was surprised because I expected to be a bit behind after the bike, but I loved the bike course. I loved the hills.”
Ironman 70.3 Port Macquairie
Port Macquairie, Australia
October 19, 2014
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Men
1. Josh Amberger (AUS) 3:55:26
2. Brad Kahlefeldt (AUS) 3:56:00
3. Alex Reithmeier (AUS) 3:59:51
4. Sam Appleton (AUS) 4:00:32
5. Casey Munro (AUS) 4:01:07
Women
1. Radka Vodickova (CZE) 4:30:39
2. Madeleine Oldfield (AUS) 4:38:09
3. Lisa Marangon (AUS) 4:39:20
4. Anna Russell (AUS) 4:39:25
5. Jessica Fleming (AUS) 4:40:04
Emma Jackson and Henri Schoeman win Tongyeong ITU World Cup
In the final ITU World Cup of the year in Tongyeong, South Korea, Emma Jackson of Australia repeated her 2013 title and Henri Schoeman of South Africa won his first World Cup victory.
Women
Jackson, a 2012 Olympian, held her own on the swim and bike before settling matters on the 10k run. After T2, Jackson and Ai Ueda of Japan and Maaike Caelers of the Netherlands ran away from the pack and ran together. On the final lap, Jackson and Ueda made a surge on the final hill that left Caelers in their wake. Jackson then dug hard in the finish chute to secure her second World Cup victory by a 2 seconds margin. Caelers held on for 3rd, 13 seconds behind Ueda – her second medal in a row after winning the Alanya World Cup last month.
Jackson was a close 23rd at T2, but quickly made her way to the front and hung tough with Ueda and Caelers until the finish. “I did try to attack a couple of times, but they stayed with me,” said Jackson. “Ai Ueda attacked up the last hill and I tried to stay as close as possible and sprint past her at the end. I’ve had a few sprint finishes for medals before. Surprisingly, I’m not too good at sprinting in training, but at the end of the race I’m alright.”
Men
Henri Schoeman of South Africa led almost all the way to secure his first ITU World Cup win while the USA’s Ben Kanute and Tommy Zaferes finished 2nd and 3rd – taking their first ITU World Cup podiums.
Schoeman burst into the lead with a race-fastest 16:19 swim, followed closely by Zaferes, Kanute, Hirokatsu Tayama of Japan and Anthony Pujades of France. The quintet pushed hard to achieve a 2 minutes 30 seconds lead entering T2. “It couldn’t have worked out any better,” said Kanute. “We worked like we were in a team time trial.”
On the first lap of the run, Schoeman, Kanute and Zaferes gapped Tayama and Pujades. On the second of four 2.5k laps, Kanute dropped back 10 seconds. “My stomach was starting to cramp a little,” said Kanute. “I was trying to stay within myself so I could close it.”
On the third lap of the run, Schoeman put a move on Zaferes, opening a 10 seconds gap, with Kanute a further 10 seconds arrears. Schoeman dug deeper on the final lap and crossed the line in 1:48:15 with a 19 seconds margin of victory. With Zaferes in sight, Kanute made a final surge that brought him six seconds past his countryman for the silver.
Zaferes was happy with his bronze finish. “At PATCO Champs [in May] I ended up having a heat stroke and two seizures and was in the hospital five days,” said Zaferes. “They were surprised I was even alive, so I’m happy to be alive, happy to be training again. Joel Filliol, my coach, has brought me back. I couldn't have done it without him.”
Zaferes has even more reason to celebrate his second chance at life. He is scheduled to marry fiancée Katie Hursey in January.
The U.S. also had reason to celebrate – six men finished in the top 13. And Chelsea Burns of the U.S. finished 5th woman. After Kanute and Zaferes, four-time Olympian Hunter Kemper finished 6th, Joe Maloy was 7th, former U.S. mile king Alan Webb, continuing to improve in his first full season as a pro triathlete, was 10th, and Greg Billington was 13th.
Tongyeong ITU World Cup
Tongyeong, South Korea
October 18, 2014
S 1.5k / B 40k / R 10k
Results
Men
1. Henri Schoeman (RSA) 1:48:15
2. Ben Kanute (USA) 1:48:34
3. Tommy Zaferes (USA) 1:48:40
4. David Hauss (FRA) 1:48:51
5. Vicente Hernandez (ESP) 1:48:55
6. Hunter Kemper (USA) 1:49:06
7. Joe Maloy (USA) 1:49:18
10. Alan Webb (USA) 1:49:45
13. Greg Billington (USA) 1:49:54
36. Matt Chrabot (USA) 1:51:37
38. William Huffman (USA) 1:51:39
64. Lukas Verzbicas (USA) 1:57:59
Women
1. Emma Jackson (AUS) 2:00:44
2. Ai Ueda (JPN) 2:00:46
3. Maaike Caelers (NED) 2:00:59
4. Alexandra Razarenova (RUS) 2:01:41
5. Chelsea Burns (USA) 2:01:58
8. Kirsten Kasper (USA) 2:02:11
34. Jessica Broderick (USA) 2:06:43
Giulio Molinari and Lisa Hütthaler win Challenge Paguera-Mallorca
Giulio Molinari of Italy and Lisa Hütthaler of Austria won the elite titles at Challenge Paguera-Mallorca, which also served as the ETU European Championship.
Molinari exited the water in a virtual tie with Francisco Fernandez-Cortes of Spain in a time of 24:03, with a pack of four right on their heels, including overall contender Bruno Pais of Portugal. Molinari the distanced himself from his pursuers with a race-best 2:11:49 bike split that put an uncatchable 8:54 on Pais.
While Pais did cut 3:34 from Molinari’s lead with 2nd-best 1:22:44 run split, he still fell 4:54 short of Molinari’s 4:07:38 winning time and had to settle for silver. Gustavo Rodrigues Iglesias took the bronze, 1:43 behind Pais.
In the women's race, Rahel Küng of Switzerland and Helle Frederiksen of Denmark led the swim in identical 25:19 splits, with Hütthaler trailing by 2:07.
After her race-best 2:26:30 bike split, Hütthaler trimmed Frederiksen’s lead to 12 seconds. Hütthaler then cinched the win with a women's-best 1:25:57 run that brought her to the line in 4:25:27 with a 1:54 margin of victory over Frederiksen, who ran 1:27:56. Maja Stage Nielsen of Denmark took 3rd, 16:53 behind Frederiksen.
Challenge Paguera-Mallorca - ETU European Championships
Paguera-Mallorca, Spain
October 19, 2014
S 1.9 k. / B 90k / R 21 k
Results
Men
1. Giulio Molinari (ITA) 4:07:38
2. Bruno Pais (POR) 4:12:32
3. Gustavo Rodrigues Iglesias (ESP) 4:14:15
4. Alejandro Santamaria Perez (ESP) 4:15:00
5. Kirill Kotsegarov (EST) 4:15:19
Women
1. Lisa Hütthaler (AUT) 4:25:27
2. Helle Frederiksen (DEN) 4:27:21
3. Maja Stage Nielsen (DEN) 4:44:17
4. Eva Nystrom (SWE) 4:46:31
5. Anja Beranek (GER) 4:47:59
Joe Gambles ties the knot with Sage Calamari in Maui
Joe Gambles, a 15-time professional triathlon winner from Tasmania, married long-time girlfriend Sage Calamari in a beautiful seaside ceremony in Maui a week after his debut at the Ironman World Championship in Kona. The couple plan to fully enjoy their honeymoon – Gambles has no plans to race at the XTERRA World Championship in Maui next weekend.
Sarah Groff and Ben True marry in New Hampshire
New Hampshire native Sarah Groff, who finished second in the prestigious ITU World Triathlon Series season points standings this year, and Ben True, who is one of the strongest 10,000 meter, 5,000 meter and cross country runners in the U.S., were married this weekend in New London, New Hampshire. The ceremony was held outside amidst glorious fall foliage at the New London Historical Society barn in a ceremony officiated by family friend Amory Rowe and was attended by family and friends who included Tim O’Donnell and Mirinda Carfrae, James Seear, Mary Miller and Michael O’Neill.
San Diego Triathlon Challenge for the Challenged Athletes Foundation thrives again
It began in La Jolla more than 20 years ago as a fundraiser to help distinguished paratriathlete Jim MacLaren regain his independence after a tragic second accident. In time, it has become one of the most famous motivational events in the triathlon world.
Since the beginning, the San Diego Triathlon Challenge has helped raise funds to provide specialized equipment which has allowed more than 8,200 challenged athletes around the world to make it to the starting line.
All told, close to $1.26 million was raised by this Sunday’s event to help get challenged athletes back in the game of life.
The San Diego Triathlon Challenge is a series of events – a long course event that includes a 1 mile swim, 44-mile ride and a 10-mile run; a wheelchair run; the Philadelphia Insurance kids’ run, and a 24 Hour Fitness Tour de Cove – a 100-bike, 4.5 hour cycling marathon set on winding roads along the Pacific Ocean coastline.
Celebrity athletes including 4-time Ironman World champion Chrissie Wellington, multiple Ironman winner Meredith Kessler, 2-time Ironman Hawaii champion Chris McCormack and many more took part this year on various swim, bike and run relays. All the action was announced by the Voice of Ironman, Mike Reilly.
For the record, Joshua Martin of Alta Loma, California won the Open Men long course in a time of 3:48:05 and Robyn Williams of San Diego won the Open Female long course crown in a time of 4:32:03.
