Unusual weather conditions and ocean currents added intrigue to a close, and in the end quite fast, Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon.
The swim times were so slow it seemed possible the turnaround boat might've been mis-anchored. One kayaker overseeing the swim dispelled that thought, commenting that, "it seemed I was paddling in place at times, and at other times the current carried us."
Mimicking the havoc the winds play on the bike course, the ocean currents slowed the swim leg down by several minutes, though the best swimmers were affected less than were the less adept. While Michellie Jones clocked a mid-54, perhaps one or two minutes off her expected swim, perennial 1-hour-flat swimmer Natascha Badmann took 1:06 to exit, and prior winner Lori Bowden was out in 1:07.
Indeed, no male pro was out faster than 53 minutes, and Normann Stadler was out in 54:05. His relatively good swim, versus Badmann's poor performance in the water, set the tone for both their races.
Stadler the winner here two years ago, quickly moved to the front on the bike and never loosened the tourniquette on the rest of the field, establishing a new bike course record of 4:18:33, taking three minutes off the record set only a year ago by Torbjorn Sindballe. Stormin' Normann entered the run with a 7-minute lead over Chris Lieto, the only one able or willing to chase the flying German.
A pack comprised of Cameron Brown, Chris McCormack, Martin Vanhoenacker, Luke Bell, Eneko Llanos and last year's winner Faris Al Sultan was next in, 11 minutes behind Stadler. Al Sultan was the strongest of that bunch on the bike, leading more than any other in the group.
But it was McCormack that proved most ready to take advantage of the unseasonably cool weather, and commenced a chase of the former Kona champ. [McCormack, at left, gives chase early in the run.]
Macca could not take much of a bike out of the Normanator in the early miles, closing the gap by less than a minute over the first 10k. But Normann turned in a 6:48 at mile-8, and by mile-9 the lead had shrunk to 7:40.
The gap was 5 minutes entering the Natural Energy Lab at 15 miles, but Stadler wouldn't budge. The interval was 4:20 as they hit mile-19, and it just looked like there was not enough real estate for the talented Aussie, barring a Stadler meltdown.
Further behind, Al Sultan had found those long, loping legs of his, and set out to discover his day's destiny. The smart money would've been on super runner Cameron Brown, whose his heart rate averaged a spare 141 beats per minute throughout the bike ride. But Brown faded to 8th overall.
Up front, Stadler continued to roll along, and would post a respectable 2:55 marathon. [At right Stadler floats along in the marathon's first mile.] But McCormack kept coming. He closed to 2 minutes at mile-23. And the gap kept closing. In the end, Stadler had done enough, holding on for an 8:11:56, just over a minute ahead of McCormack who, though not the winner, has clearly solved this course. Macca's 2:46 marathon was the second fastest of the day. Al Sultan would finish third, followed by Beke and Vanhoenacker.
Michellie Jones, last year's runner up and previously an Olympic silver medalist in triathlon, appeared all but done in the latter stages of the bike ride, as a sizeable lead of 8 minutes over her nearest rivals shrink back down in the final miles. Lisbeth Kristensen, the Danish long distance veteran, had what might be the ride of her life to close a 5-minute gap out of the water, entering T-2 only a minute behind Jones.
But the steady Aussie was never in real trouble. "I was just riding my pace," she said after the race. As soon as her feet hit the pavement her lead again started to accordian, and midway through the run it was back up to 8 minutes.
Kristensen had already given the better part of her race to the Island, and her 3:34 marathon would only net her a final finish place of 11th.
Behind, it was time for the runners. In particular, Lisa Bentley. She, Desiree Ficker, and Gina Kehr found each other out on the course, and ping-ponged for the better part of the first 20 miles. Bentley had the fastest run of the day, 3:08:53, but it wasn't enough to overtake Ficker, who took second place on the day. Bentley was third, and Kehr was fourth.
Long after the pro athletes were in, the weather took a freakish turn and a squall pounded downtown Kailua, dropping torrents over a 60-minute period. Those finishing in 12 and 13 hours found themselves running through a river on Alii Drive, and the rain did not altogether let up for the remainder of the race. [At left, a cyclist rides against back from the finish line as a runner in the background negotiates "Alii River," a few hundred yards from the finish.]
Each year it is typical for observers to find consensus on what leg of the event proved tactically most impactful. In recent decades it's been the run, with Mark Allen, Luc Van Lierde, Peter Reid and Greg Welch running away from those who try to steel the race on the bike. The last two years, the cyclists (Stadler and Al Sultan), have ridden their way to commanding leads, holding off the better runners. This year, both the male and female winners set a tone for their races during the swim leg. Without Stadler's uncharacteristic front-pack performance, and the 12 minutes Jones put on Badmann in the water, who knows how their races might've turned out? Though the swim consists of less than 10% of an Ironman's total performance, this year it was pivotal.
(RESULTS)
