Comerford repeats, Bracht breaks through, in Florida
November 10, 2003, Panama City, Florida
Scotland's Bella Comerford and Germany's Timo Bracht claimed the women's and men's titles respectively at the fifth annual Ironman Florida triathlon, held on Saturday in Panama City Beach and surrounding Bay County.
Close to 2,000 athletes (1,995) started the event, including 11 athletes who have won Ironman titles in their career.
Comerford claimed her second consecutive Ironman Florida title finishing with an overall time of 9 hours, 26 minutes and 17 seconds, less than 30 seconds off the course record set by Germany's Katja Schumacher back in 2001.
The 26-year-old Scot overcame a slow swim time with a strong bike and held off Germany's Nicole Leder for the second Ironman title of her career. Leder, finished with fellow German Ute Mueckel finishing third in 9:42:24.
Bracht won his second Ironman title of 2003 at the Panama City Beach event, having won Ironman France back in July.
Bracht used a consistent day to post an overall time of 8:30:29, finishing less than five minutes in front of Andrey Yasterbov (Ukraine). Yasterbov posted the fastest run of any competitor in the field (2:50:31) to finish with an overall time of 8:35:18.
Raynard Tissink of South Africa finished third overall in 8:38:05, with Norbert Langbrandter (Austria) fourth in 8:39:34 and Christophe Bastie (France) fifth in 8:42:14.
Race officials also announced on Friday that Panama City Beach would also host the event in 2004—already filled within 24 hours of the staging of this year's race—with Ironman Florida set to take place on Saturday, November 8, 2004.
(RESULTS)
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Comerford, Shortis are IM Florida winners
November 10, 2002, Panama City, Florida
Australia's Jason Shortis and Scotland's Bella Comerford used scorching footspeed to carry themselves to wins at Ironman Florida in Panama City Beach on Saturday.
Shortis, whose strong run brought him to a third-place finish at Ironman Australia in the spring, took over the race lead at mile 5 of the marathon from Germany's Andreas Niedrig and continued on alone, logging a new run course record of 2:49:14 to finish in 8:27:44. It is the first Ironman win in Shortis' career.
Niedrig was second in 8:32:06, with Belgium's Rutger Beke third in 8:35:06, Australia's Chris Legh fourth in 8:41:32 and South Africa's Raynard Tissink fift in 8:49:15. Niedrig was in Kona to race last month but was unable to start due to illness.
Comerford, better known for her exploits on the International Triathlon Union's Olympic-distance race circuit and in this year's Commonwealth Games, also set a record on the run, breaking 2001 champion Katja Schumacher's record by seven minutes with her 3:09:54 marathon. Comerford finished in 9:36:33, four minutes clear of second-place Ute Mueckel of Germany, who finished in 9:40:51. In third was Argentina's Barbara Buenahora in 9:41:41, with Canada's Sheri Fraser fourth in 9:47:09 and American Lara Shaw fifth in 9:47:09.
The battle on the marathon had shaped up between Buenahora and Mueckel, but Comerford came by in the later miles, passed them and just kept on rolling.
While Comerford is a relative newcomer to the Ironman circuit, some hint of her long-course potential could be found in this year's Powerman Zofingen results, where she was third--behind Swiss powerhouses Karin Thurig and Ariane Schumacher.
American Paula Newby-Fraser, a late entry into the race, led the women into transition off the bike, but race results list her as a DNF on the marathon.
The husband and wife team of Canada's Jamie Cleveland (the 2000 IM Florida champ) and American Andrea Fisher had a difficult day and finished together in 11 hours and change.
New York City firefighter Larry Parker, racing with number 343 (representing the number of firefighters who died in the World Trade Center attacks last year), finished in 9:43 doing a handstand and a cartwheel across the finish line. Parker had qualified for Kona last year at Ironman Lake Placid but chose to stay behind and help with rescue and recovery efforts at the towers in October 2001.
More than 1,900 athletes started the race, now in its fourth year in Florida. Pros divided up a prize purse of $50,000, and there were 100 coveted Kona slots on offer.
(RESULTS)
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Spencer Smith positioned himself for victory
November 13, 2001, La Costa, California
The old Spencer Smith appears to have finally returned. Three times Smith charged to the front on the bike in short course world championships and dared opponents to stay with him just––as an exclamation point––to enter the run leg at a fearsome pace. That Spencer Smith finally showed up at at Ironman race, specifically last weekend in Florida. What a difference a few centimeters can make.
For this Ironman Smith reverted to the more aggressive bike positioning which he’d not ridden since his days of short course dominance ending in the mid 90s. It was easy to observe that his more relaxed saddle position for long-course racing––used in previous Ironman races––mirrored a more relaxed approach to the cycling leg. Smith’s tactic was to conserve and stay comfortable, and wait for the run. While admirable in theory, Smith neither achieved conservation nor comfort in his previous attempts at Ironman Hawaii. After his most recent Kona, in which severe leg cramps forced him to abandon early in the run, Smith decided to revert to the position, and the tactics, that had worked for him in the past.
“Perhaps I was a bit hasty,” said Smith about his decision to race long-course in a relaxed position more akin to that a road racer would use. “I thought I’d be sore after 112 miles in the steep angle position, that my back would be sore. But I had no problems at all.”
Several weeks prior to the race Smith set up his 700c-wheeled Sigma triathlon bike in virtually the same position as his old steeper short-course bikes, which were 650c.
“I like 700c better,” Smith said, “but I like the old steep position. I can really ride with power. I feel great at 77- or 78-degrees. I ride that position at a faster cadence, and my legs feel more supple once off the bike and into the run. I just paid attention to my cadence, which was quite a bit faster than in Hawaii, and on my heart rate, which was 150 to 155 almost the entire ride.”
That is an unusually high heart rate for Smith, who has traditionally had a max heart rate of 170. One would think that 155 would be higher than one’s anaerobic threshold (on the bike) and certainly too high for Ironman racing.
When asked about that, Smith answered, “It used to be that I couldn’t ride that sort of ride at higher than 125 or 130 [beats-per-minute]. but I’ve noticed changes over the years. Gradually my anaerobic threshold on the bike has risen. But also, I think my max heart rate has increased over the years. I know that is counter to the norm, nevertheless that seems to have been the case.”
Using one of his old short course tri bikes as a template––one that is on permanent display at Nytro Multisport––Smith set up his Sigma in precisely the same position with two exceptions: the saddle was one centimeter back, and the handlebars one centimeter higher. His saddle position for Florida was 5 centimeters forward versus what he rode a month earlier in Hawaii, and certain handlebar adjustments were made to accommodate the forward move in the saddle.
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IM Florida the place for fallen warriors
October 16, 2001, Vista, California
They came to Kona with hopes of glory. They go to Florida in hopes of resurrecting their seasons––campaigns that flamed out on the lava fields somewhere between Kona and Hawi. They have one more chance to end '01 on a high note, if only through taking the consolation prize––Ironman Florida.
On paper this race does not appear to have what it takes to attract a world class field. It's $25,000 prize purse is underwhelming for and Ironman-sized effort. The race does not take place in a large media center, the course is not particularly riveting, and it's date is too close to Hawaii. But it's that latter point that ironically has made it a favorite for Kona's fallen stars.
The man who would be king––of Kona––three time world triathlon champion Spencer Smith will go to Florida. Why? Because he's "...very disappointed and very, very pissed off."
Smith has a freak hamstring knot that kept him from continuing the run in Kona and ended his day.
"The whole season was built towards Hawaii, and now it's gone... I was due for a break, but I am so fired up now I have changed my schedule. My plan now... is go to Ironman Florida on November 10th."
One of the key motivators for Smith and others is to get Kona qualifying for next year out of the way. When athletes like Smith fail to automatically requalify in Kona based on the prior year's Kona finish, Florida is the first opportunity to tuck away the Kona slot. Besides, if you were fit for Kona and pulled out after what amounted to a long training day, you'll be primed for Florida.
Great Britain's Paul Amey, another Kona casualty, will toe the line as well (but not before doing XTERRA––where he just finished seventh––and the World Cup in Cancun six days before Florida).
The men will be joined by several in the women's race who were frustrated in Hawaii. A favorite for the top-three in Kona, Joanna Zeiger, never made it off the bike and should have fresh legs––unless she chooses to do Cancun as well. Germany's Katja Schumacher and New Zealand's Tara Lee Marshall also succumbed at Kona, never making it onto the run.
Florida is turning into a ritual for Marshall. Her season was on the rocks at this same time last year, but she ended it nicely at Florida, and returns as the reigning champ. But she's DNF'd in seven out of the eleven Ironmans in which she's raced over the past three years––and four out of her past five––so Florida's an opportunity to get back on track.
On the subject of last year's winners, Canada's Jamie Cleveland also called it a day during Kona's bike ride. Will he follow Marshall's lead, and return to the scene of a happier time? It appears not. The IM Florida organization has not heard from him.
It's not just Kona dropouts who'll be racing this race. Lori Bowden, second at Kona just over a week ago, has decided that her year is not done. She's got gas left in the tank––she thinks––and will burn it in Florida.
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Rukosuev shakes hands, trades in a shot at victory
November 6, Tampa, Florida (www.slowtwitch.com):
It is no revelation that the modern environment in professional sports contains a healthy suspicion about illicit drug use. Likewise, athletes -- generally in better-paying team sports -- often prove themselves questionable as role models, or even as law-abiding members of society. It is therefore rare to find a story of virtue and fair play.
Alec Rukosuev and Olivier Bernhard, both feared runners, exited their bikes together and commenced pursuit after eventual Ironman Florida champ Jamie Cleveland. After six miles of back-and-forth racing they settled into a pace, each using the other's energy.
Rukosuev recounts a philosophical conversation he was having with himself at mile-15. "Sport is sometimes unfair." said Rukosuev, "Especially an Ironman. You're not racing, but surviving. It occured to me right then that it would be, in a way, a shame to spend so much time working alongside a fellow competitor, with so much shared energy, only to have one prevail in a finishing sprint. That's what I was thinking."
It was almost precisely at that moment that Bernhardt -- a two-time winner of Ironman Switzerland -- looked over and asked, "Do you want to tie?"
"On other occasions I'd perhaps have said no." recalled Rukosuev, "But in that frame of mind I accepted. We shook hands, right there on the road. We agreed that whatever happened, win or lose, we'd do it together."
They were two-minutes behind Cleveland at that point. The pace picked up. At mile-19 they were one-minute behind, or a little less. The Swiss racer asked Rukosuev how he was feeling. "Great, let's go get him." Shortly afterward Bernhard cramped. He stopped dead in the road.
"I waited for him," said Rukosuev. "We had a deal. We shook. I waited while he stretched. Then we continued on, now two-minutes down. I still thought we could catch Jamie. Then Bernhard stopped again. I waited again. The lead was now four-minutes as we stood on the road. Finally I told him we can't wait any longer. I asked him if I could go on."
Rukosuev continued on to a second-place finish. Bernhard never made it past mile-22. There is no sense of what might have been in Rukosuev's voice, and he is gracious in his praise of Cleveland. Bernhard apologized to Rukosuev after the race, but the Russian immigrant -- awaiting his American citizenship -- seems to shake it off. "He would have waited for me." -- DE
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First IM title for Cleveland, second for Marshall
November 5, Panama City, Florida (www.slowtwitch.com):
Canada's Jamie Cleveland wasn't supposed to win Saturday's Ironman Florida, and neither was New Zealand's Tara-Lee Marshall. There were bigger, more-decorated names in the field -- like Switzerland's Olivier Bernhard and Canada's Melissa Spooner.
But when the favorites faded, two new Ironman stars emerged, now that the 2000 Ironman cycle ended with the October 14 Ironman, and everyone is looking toward the 2001 Kona race -- which this was a qualifier for.
Cleveland wasn't in Kona because his two attempts last year to qualify for it -- at both Ironman New Zealand (two flat tires) and Ironman Canada (a bad day) ended in DNFs. So winning in Florida, in 8:37:58, was a sweet feeling.
"It's just an awesome feeling," he said. "It just goes to show how important patience is in Ironman."
Cleveland won by nine minutes over Orlando's own Alec Rukosuev (8:46:14) and the little-known Kirill Litovtchenko (8:52:05) of Estonia. Meanwhile, DNFs were recorded for a handful of heavyweights: Denmark's Torbjorn Sindalle, who had taken a five-minute lead in the run, only to collapse in the heat at 12 miles; Bernhard, who also withdrew on the run; and Czech Republic's Petr Vabrousek.
Marshall, who first came to Ironman prominence in July by winning Ironman Switzerland, posted a winning time here of 9:33:49. Runner-up Andrea Fisher finishedin 9:38:24, and third-place Jan Wanklyn recorded a 9:41:40.
And, like the men, two women who were looking to rebound from poor Hawaii performances, finished further back than anyone could have guessed: Juliana Nievergelt, perhaps the most veteran Ironwoman in the field, finished seventh in 10:01:11. And Canada's Spooner, who had DNFed in Hawaii, was perhaps determined to finish this one. That she did -- in 12:04:35, including a 5:50 marathon.
Early in the race, Andrea Fisher looked like she would have to lose the race for anyone else to win. A ex-NCAA All American swimmer for University of Texas, Fisher transformed her lead out of the water (54:14) into an eight-minute lead off the bike. But Marshall chipped away, in the end posting both the fastest female bike split (5:03:30) and run split (3:20:32).
(RESULTS)
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Norton Davey, 82 -- a finisher, if only "unofficial"
November 5, Panama City, Florida (www.slowtwitch.com):
The World Triathlon Corporation has its rules for its Ironman races, and applies them with vigor: Norton Davey missed the bike cutoff in Saturday's Ironman Florida by five minutes, so officially, he was out of the race.
But with all the incredible vigor that Davey could muster in return, he didn't resign himself to just not getting an official finisher's T-shirt: He plodded on in the marathon, into the night. His actual finish time wasn't reported or recorded by race officials. But more than halfway through his run, he told Sportsvision journalist Kevin MacKinnon that he was going to finish -- even if it took him more than 18 hours.
Davey was attempting to become the first man older than 80 to complete an Ironman event. In last year's Ironman Florida race, he was on pace to finish -- before having to withdraw with just nine miles left in the marathon.
The oldest person to finish an Ironman officially is Bill Bell, 77, of Indian Wells, California. He completed the Ironman California back in May to gain that distinction. Davey last finished an Ironman in 1993 at the age of 75 -- and hasn't stopped trying to complete the distance since. That was his 10th finish in Hawaii Ironman.
But 2000 hasn't been the best of years for Davey. He had planned to do Ironman California in May, but broke his arm on a training ride three weeks before the event. In Kona, where some of the most difficult winds and weather prevailed on October 14, he was forced to drop out on the bike.
In Panama City, Davey needed 1:58:50 for his swim, and 8:25:00 for his bike. That brought him back to the transition area, unfortunately, five minutes past the bike cutoff.
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Ironman Florida field still stronger than '99's
October 30, Panama City, Florida (www.slowtwitch.com):
Despite the late withdrawals of Germany's Katja Mayer, last year's women's winner, and Chuckie Veylupek, the fields for Sunday's Isuzu Ironman Florida are looking better than last year's -- thanks partly to $25,000 in prize money.
Last year's race, which had no prize money, had a pair of German winners in Mayer and Lothar Leder, who was making up for a disqualification in the Hawaii Ironman three weeks before. This year's race also has a few names looking to make up for poor performances in Kona on October 14.
Those include two DNFs there, Switzerland's Olivier Bernhard and Canada's Melissa Spooner. They also include Czech Republic's Petr Vabrousek, whose 35th in Kona was troubling to him after wins in both Ironman Asia and the Almere Ironman-distance race in the Netherlands.
The darkhorse in the men's field appears to be Denmark's Torbjorn Sindball. He was a DNF in Ironman USA in July, but made his name in the long-distance rankings when he was runner-up in the 1999 ITU World Long-Distance Championships at Sater, Sweden.
Other familiar names in the men's field include Canada's Jamie Cleveland, trying to finish an Ironman after his debut in Ironman Canada ended with a DNF, and Germany's Wolfgang Dittrich.
The women's race features Spooner and Australia's Jan Wanklyn, who was fifth in Ironman Europe and second in Ironman California, earlier this year. Two Americans who also raced Ironman Canada, Andrea Fisher (fourth) and Lauren Trent (sixth), should do well. Another name to watch is Florida's Gina Derks Gardner -- making her Ironman debut after four seasons of focusing on ITU World Cup racing.
Here are the Ironman Florida pros:
- Men from Brazil: Ricardo Santos
- Men from Canada: Jamie Cleveland, Kevin Cutjar, Carl Dessereault, Luc
Morin, Shawn Reeder
- Men from Czech Republic: Petr Varbousek
- Men from Denmark: Torbjorn Sindballe
- Men from Germany: Wolfgang Dittrich, Thomas Weber
- Men from Switzerland: Olivier Bernhard
- Men from Puerto Rico: Carlos Lomba
- Men from USA: Kirk Franke (Oakland, California), Alex Rhudy (Auburn, Alabama), Henry Sacre (San Diego, California), Tim Watson (Grand Isle, Vermont)
- Women from Australia: Jan Wanklyn (West Chester, Pennsylvania).
- Women from Canada: Gillian Bakker, Darlene Hall, Joanne Kay, Melissa Spooner
- Women from Germany: Gabriele Keck
- Women from USA: Leslie Bentson (Boulder, Colorado), Gina Derks Gardner (Davie, Florida), Andrea Fischer (Austin, Texas), Lauren Alexander Trent (San Jose, California)
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Ironman Florida fills
April 11, Panama City Beach, Florida, USA (www.slowtwitch.com):
The Isuzu Ironman Florida race filled its field on Monday with a record 2,004 entries.
Organizers of the second-year race, set for November 4, estimate that between 1,600 and 1,700 will actually make it to the starting line. The tendency in Ironman events is that about 10 to 15 percent of the field drops out even before race day arrives.
Although the race is formally closed, there still are some additional ways to make the starting line. The Olympic-distance St. Anthony’s Triathlon in St. Petersburg, Florida, on April 29 is offering 10 slots. The half-Ironman Gulf Coast Triathlon on May 13, also in Panama City, is offering 30 slots. The Buffalo Springs Lake Triathlon, also a half-Ironman, on June 25 in Lubbock, Texas, also offers 10 slots.
For the first Ironman Florida race last November, there were 1,900 registered. Of those, 1,545 started, and 1,474 finished.
The three other Ironmans that are Hawaii qualifiers -- Ironman California on May 20; Ironman USA on July 30; and Ironman Canada on April 29 -- each have between 1900 and 2000 entries as well.
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Watch your TVs: Isuzu Ironman Florida race to air on ESPN on April 23
December 20, Panama City Beach, Florida, USA (www.slowtwitch.com):
For all those Americans scanning their television schedules for the soonest airing of the Isuzu Ironman Florida broadcast, relax: You can watch the one-hour show on Sunday, April 23, on ESPN from 2-3pm Eastern time.
The show, taped from the first-ever Ironman Florida on November 6, features a pair of German winners in Lothar Leder and Katja Mayer.
If you miss the race on April 23, a rebroadcast will take place on Saturday, May 13, from 4-5 am.
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• Comerford, Shortis are IM Florida winners
• Spencer Smith positioned himself for victory
• IM Florida the place for fallen warriors
• Rukosuev shakes hands, trades in a shot at victory
• First IM title for Cleveland, second for Marshal
• Norton Davey, 82 -- a finisher, if only "unofficial"
• Ironman Florida field still stronger than '99's
• Ironman Florida fills
• Watch your TVs: Isuzu Ironman Florida race to air on ESPN on April 23