Ironman USA: Fuhr and Bolton are winners
July 29, 2002, Lake Placid, New York (www.slowtwitch.com):
Canadian Heather Fuhr notched her third win Sunday at Ironman USA Lake Placid, and she’s now won three of the four races staged in Lake Placid.
American Ryan Bolton, who made his Ironman debut in Lake Placid last year with a finish behind fellow Iron-rookie Steve Larsen of the U.S., scored his first Ironman win in only his third try. Bolton also broke his own run course record from last year, posting a 2:49:14 marathon on the way to his win.
Fuhr overtook strong age-gr oup competitor Jackie Hatherly, a fellow Canadian, on the run to secure her win. Hatherly had taken the lead on the swim and held it through the testing, two-loop bike course through the Adirondacks.
Bolton was seventh out of the swim but caught the leaders on the bike and added to his lead on the run. He posted not only the day’s fastest run, but also the day’s fastest bike ride.
DNFs included Jamie Cleveland of Canada due to reported stomach troubles on the run, American Ken Glah, the victim of a bike crash, and American James Bonney.
The day’s weather went from sunshine to rain on the bike and back to sunshine and hot, humid weather, then back to thunderstorms for the last finishers in the evening.
Competitors were vying for 100 Kona slots and a $50,000 prize purse for pros. The total field was some 1,800 athletes strong.
Other notes reported by Ironmanlive.com:
o Actor Matt Damon was reportedly sighted at the race while watching his brother compete. The results do list Kent Damon Jr. as a finisher in 11:27:27. Michael King, husband of longtime pro and former Kona champ Karen Smyers, finished in 10:40. Sandra Bowden, mother of Lori, was posted a finish time of 15:18:27. Randy Caddell, the day’s only wheelchair athlete, finished in 12:14:14. The ageless Joe Bonness of the U.S. not only won his age group (45-49), he was 12th overall in a finishing time of 9:36:45. His closest age-group competitor was more 40 minutes back in 10:17:04. Amputee Paul Martin of the U.S. finished in 11:25:39.
o The CEO Challenge went to masters competitor Greg Warner of Walker/Warner Architects Inc., in San Francisco in 10:51:13. His margin over fellow master and CEO John Schlagenhauf was a narrow one: Schlagenhauf finished less than a minute back, in 10:52:11. Challenge competitor Mike Zafirovski, named the new president and COO of electronics giant Motorola on Thursday, finished his first Ironman in 13:59. As reports on Ironmanlive.com pointed out, he’ll be back in the office today.
Full results are at Ironmanlive.com.
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Larsen bags his first Ironman
July 30, 2001, Lake Placid, New York (www.slowtwitch.com):
In the pre-race news conference at Ironman USA, pro cyclist Steve Larsen said he was mentally prepared for a long day of suffering. Cycling teaches a person all about suffering, and Larsen has 20 years of it banked away.
On Sunday he put it to good use, winning his first-ever Ironman by riding away from everyone as he scorched the bike course in 4:33 (a new course record), and then managed to keep all the challengers at bay throughout the marathon. In the process, he set a new overall course record by four minutes: 8:33:11.
Second place went to another Iron-rookie, Olympian Ryan Bolton, who had this to say of his day: "Steve Larsen was just an animal on the bike. I really thought at some point he'd blow up on the run, but he just didn't. But I felt pretty good the whole way. It ended up going well."
Bolton, with a win at the half-Ironman in St. Croix, lost time to Larsen on the bike but was closing fast, running a 2:49 marathon compared to Larsen’s 2:56. But Larsen had such a margin coming off the bike—his ride was more than 20 minutes faster than the rest of the field’s—that the deficit was a hard one to cover. In the end, Bolton finished in 8:41:53, and his marathon set a new course record.
Behind Bolton was defending champ Cameron Widoff, in 8:55. Austria’s Norbert Domnik finished in fourth with an 8:56, and Japan’s Hideya Miyazuka came home fifth in 9:05.
The women’s race figured to be a showdown between American Joanna Zeiger and Canadian Heather Fuhr, and it did not disappoint. Zeiger, fresh off a third place at ITU Worlds just a week earlier, came off the bike well clear of Fuhr. But Fuhr, in a style she has perfected in recent years, blasted the marathon, running a 3:01 compared to Zeiger’s 3:10. It was good enough to allow Fuhr to pass Zeiger in the final kilometers and run home with the win, her first this year, in 9:31:10—a new course record by 14 minutes.
Zeiger, proving she’s a threat at virtually any distance, was just two minutes back, in 9:33:11. In third was Laura Drake, in 9:51:55, with Andrea Fisher in fourth in 10:01:58 and Lauren Maule in fifth in 10:09:07.
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No clear favorite for Lake Placid
July 27, 2001, Lake Placid, New York (www.slowtwitch.com):
Intriguing is probably the best word to describe the field set to toe the line at Sunday's Ironman USA in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Defending champion Cameron Widoff, a veteran of Ironman racing, will be back. The competition he'll face is what fuels the intrigue: Pro cyclist Steve Larsen, 2000 NORBA mountain bike champ, is making his first foray into Ironman racing after a spring and early summer of eye-catching success at the half-Ironman distance (fourth at Wildflower, overall winner at Vineman). And Olympian Ryan Bolton is putting his first oar into the Ironman waters after also enjoying success at the half-Ironman distance—his victory came at St. Croix.
Also in the mix are Alec Rukosuev, a threat at almost any distance, swim strongman John Van Wisse of Australia, run speedster Peter Kotland, Michael Lovato (fresh from his win at Buffalo Springs), Keauhou-Kona champ Chad Hawker and Texan James Bonney. Last year's second-place finisher, Jamey Yon of North Carolina, is also returning.
The women's race also features an interesting matchup between multi-time Iron champ Heather Fuhr, looking for a return of form over the distance after a couple of tough races in the last year, and Olympian Joanna Zeiger. Fuhr has put in two great short-course performances recently that must've helped her confidence: a second place at the Dannon Duathlon championships in Carlsbad and a second place in the Olympic-distance San Diego International tri to none other than Olympic silver medalist Michellie Jones.
Zeiger, winner of two half-Ironmans already this year—at St. Croix and at Buffalo Springs—is coming off of a fast Olympic-distance race at Worlds last weekend, where she placed third. Returning is last year's second-place finisher, Juliana Nievergelt of Massachusetts, who ran side-by-side with eventual winner Melissa Spooner before nutritional problems forced her to slow. Also back are two top-10 performers from last year, Mary Uhl and Maryellen Powers.
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Widoff, Spooner claim Ironman USA wins
July 30, Lake Placid, New York, USA (www.slowtwitch.com):
Ten years after his first Ironman, Cameron Widoff finally won one. And fittingly, the American won Ironman USA on Sunday.
Widoff, 30, won in 8:46:05. He left second place for another American, the lesser-known but fast-rising Jamey Yon (8:56:34). New Zealand's Cam Brown finished third in 8:58:31.
The women's winner was Canadian and pre-race favorite Melissa Spooner. She won in 9:45:57 after drawing even with run leader Juliana Nievergelt at 15 miles.
Widoff was a good 11 minutes behind bike leader Tony DeBoom at the transition, but ran steadily to pass DeBoom at mile 11, as DeBoom cramped and walked once on the marathon. DeBoom has built his lead on the bike was a 4:44:22 split.
(RESULTS)
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Zoot's Laurent Trent sets sights on Ironman USA
June 8, Kailua Kona, Hawaii, USA (www.slowtwitch.com):
Pro triathlete Lauren Alexander Trent is the latest big name to join the list of women racing the Ironman USA on July 30 in Lake Placid, New York. That was announced today by Zoot Sports, her major sponsor.
Trent has managed 10 top-5 finishes at Ironman races through the years, including runner-up results at Ironman Europe, Ironman Canada and Ironman New Zealand.
In Lake Placid, her main competition will be Canada's Melissa Spooner and New Mexico's Mary Uhl, both of whom she beat in the Wildflower Half-Ironman last month. Said Zoot Sports' Vito Bialla: "We believe that this performance, as well as confirmation of Lauren's fitness level, places her as the favorite to win Ironman USA this year."
Racing as the former Lauren Alexander, Trent's last Ironman was in March 1997 in New Zealand. There, she got off the bike with a 13-minute lead over Australia's Jan Wanklyn, but struggled on the run and was passed into second place with just 3k to go.
She is returning to long-distance racing after two years out following the birth of her daughter.
"Ironman USA has a tough bike course, which is to my favor, and I am more fit for the marathon then I have ever been," Trent said. "I expect to run extremely well on the Lake Placid course.
"I raced conservatively in Wildflower, because I did not know what to expect after not racing for two years. But I had raced on the difficult course six times, and I was astonished at how great I felt. In fact, it was the best I ever felt at Wildflower."
Looking toward Lake Placid, she said: "I have a new approach mentally and physically. My daughter gives me a new perspective, and I am in more touch with how the stresses of training affect me. I now understand when I should be training hard, and when I should be resting to optimize my gains in performance.
"My training is going great, and I hope to show up at Lake Placid and deliver a PR-performance. The competition looks tough. Melissa and Mary are very good athletes, and it will be a great race, if we all have the races we are capable of. Lake Placid is a beautiful area for an Ironman race, and I am going to enjoy the experience."
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Olympian Zeiger withdraws from Ironman USA
June 2, Lake Placid, New York, USA (www.slowtwitch.com):
Quite understandably, given her new role as Olympian, Baltimore's Joanna Zeiger has withdrawn from the Isuzu Ironman USA on July 30.
By finishing second in the US Olympic Trials Triathlon last week, she gained the third Olympic spot for the race in Sydney on September 16.
She will race only short-distance events in the lead-up for the Olympics. Post-Sydney, she will return her attention and training to Ironman -- and expects to start in the Hawaii Ironman on October 14. Because she finished sixth last year in Kona, she has automatic qualification (with her top-15 finish) for the 2000 race.
Zeiger would have been a first-time racer -- and pre-race favorite -- in Lake Placid. With her withdrawal, the field-leading women are Canada's Melissa Spooner, New Mexico's Mary Uhl and Laurie Abrams, California's Michelle Deasy and Christine Heilmann, New Hampshire's Maryellen Powers, Vermont's Amy Hollingsworth, Wisconsin's Linda Gabor and Pennsylvania's Tjasa Crofoot.
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Spooner, Zeiger commit to Ironman USA
March 30, Lake Placid, New York, USA (www.slowtwitch.com):
Canada’s Melissa Spooner, winner of the 1999 Ironman New Zealand and the 1998 Ironman Lanzarote, and USA's Joanne Zeiger, the sixth-place finisher in each of the last two Hawaii Ironmans, are the latest pros to sign up for the Ironman USA on July 30.
The pro fields are still developing, with pros' tendencies these days to delay committing to a race until their training is fine-tuned. Spooner and Zeiger join New Mexico's Laurie Abrams as the only other pro female signed up so far. For men, the field to date includes three Americans -- Robert Hacker, Troy Jacobson and Rip Oldmeadow -- and Canada's little-known Shawn Reeder.
Spooner, 29, ranks as the immediate women's favorite. She was also fourth in the Ironman World Championships at Kona in 1998. Should she win in Lake Placid, she would make it two-for-two for Canadians as female winners: Heather Fuhr won last year's inagural race.
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• Ironman USA: Fuhr and Bolton are winners
• Larsen bags his first Ironman
• No clear favorite for Lake Placid
• Widoff, Spooner claim Ironman USA wins
• Zoot's Laurent Trent sets sights on Ironman USA
• Olympian Zeiger withdraws from Ironman USA
• Spooner, Zeiger commit to Ironman USA