Rob Gray of Boulder, Colorado and Steffi Steinberg of Bad Honnef, Germany led Day 1 of the 2017 Ultraman World Championship held on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Gray, who finished second to Inaki De La Parra last year at Ultraman, combined a 3rd-fastest 2:48:05 split for the 10-kilometer swim and a by-far race-best 4:51:49 split for the 90-mile bike leg to complete Day One in 8:29:54 with a 16:51 lead on Jeremy Howard of Fredericksburg, Virginia and 38:33 on 3rd-place Arnaud Selukov of France.
Howard, who finished 3rd in the 2015 edition of this race, led the swim in 2:27:43 which gave him a 6:42 lead over Mauro Ciarrocchio of Italy and 20:22 over Gray. After a 3rd-best 5:18:04 bike ride, 26:15 slower than Gray, Howard finished the day 16:51 behind the leader.
Steffi Steinberg of Germany, who set a women's record of 24:55:13 winning Ultraman Florida in February, led the women's field with a 3:07:49 swim and 6:10:53 bike split for a Day 1 total of 9:12:37 which gave her a 1:10:30 margin over Jessica Deree of San Diego, California and 1:35:18 over 3rd-place competitor Fiona Siemelink of Houston, Texas.
Ultraman is a 3-day, 320-mile individual ultra endurance stage triathlon which takes place on the weekend after Thanksgiving. Day One includes a 10-kilometer swim from Kailua Pier to the beach at Keauhou followed by a 90-mile bike leg - with a total vertical climb of 7,600 feet - from Keauhou Bay to the southern tip of the island and up to Volcanoes National Park. Day 2 is a 171-mile cross country bike leg from Volcanoes National Park, south to Pahoa, north to Hilo, up to Waimea and over the Kohala Mountains and down to Hawi with 8,600 feet of climbing. Completing this triathletic circumnavigation of the Big Island, Day 3 requires double marathon from Hawi to the finish at the Old Airport Park.
This race was begun in 1983 and, with two years taken off, this year will be the 33rd edition of the Ultraman World Championship in Hawaii. Competitors must finish each day's competition within 12 hours for an official finish.
Ultraman World Championship
The Big Island of Hawaii
November 24, 2017
Day One (Swim 10k / Bike 90 miles)
Results
Women
1. Steffi Steinberg, 36 (GER) S 3:07:49 B 6:10:53 TOT 9:12:37
2. Jessica Deree, 41 (San Diego, CA) S 2:58:41 B 7:29:26 TOT 10:23:07
3. Fiona Siemelink, 51 (Houston, TX) S 4:05:10 B 6:42:45 TOT 10:47:55
4. Meredith Terranova, 43 (Austin, TX) S 3:53:32 B 7:02:34 TOT 10:56:06
5. Amy Craft, 41 (Texas) S 4:14:53 B 7:07:21 TOT 11:22:14
Men
1. Rob Gray, 41 (Boulder, CO) S 2:48:05 B 4:51:49 TOT 8:29:54
2. Jeremy Howard, 37 (Fredericksburg, VA) S 2:27:43 B 5:18:04 TOT 7:46:57
3. Arnaud Selukov, 48 (FRA) S 2:51:56 B 5:16:43 TOT 8:08:39
4. Tony O'Keefe, 56 (CAN) S 2:50:43 B 5:30:22 TOT 8:21:05
5. Mauro Ciarrocchi, 54 (ITA) S 2:34:25 B 6:52:19 TOT 8:26:44
6. Marc Puig Amiel, 30 (ESP) S 3:01:53 B 5:33:53 TOT 8:35:46
7. Jochen Dembeck, 50 (GER) S 3:05:41 B 5:41:55 TOT 8:47:36
8. Travis Trout Wayth, 47 (AUS) S 3:08:27 B 5:39:37 TOT 8L48:04
9. Adrian Whittaker, 38 (AUS) S 3:18:12 N 5:39:03 TOT 8:57:15
10. Sam Cooke, 48 (AUS) S 3:33:20 B 5:36:39 TOT 9:09:58
