VOLCANOES NATIONAL MONUMENT, Hawaii – Lieutenant Colonel Tony O'Keefe, the Director of the Royal Canadian Military College, made a statement Friday that he wasn't satisfied with his three straight runner-up finishes from 2002 to 2004 and led a tough field of veterans after the first day of the Ultraman World Championship.
O'Keefe combined a 6th best 10 kilometer swim of 3:04:06 and a third-best 90-mile bike for a first day total of 8:08:21 that led runner-up Alexandre Ribeiro of Brazil by 5 minutes 4 seconds on a cool and vog-filled day.
"I think I'm a little older than the rest of the guys today," said O'Keefe, who is 47, while close Ultraman rivals like 2nd place Ribeiro is 43, 3rd place Seedhouse is 44, and 5th place Miro Kregar of Slovenia is 46. "And I'm just a little stronger mentally, not physically, than before. I think I've developed a good attitude. No matter what goes on, I don't get down on myself."
Erik Seedhouse, the 1996 champion and a scientist with the Canadian space program who was coming back from a 9 year retirement from his pro triathlon career, combined a third-best 2:55:53 swim, a sixth-best 5:21:18 bike for a third-best 8:17:11 finish that left him 3 minutes and 46 seconds behind Ribeiro.
"I never touched my bike for nine years until I picked it up this spring," said Seedhouse. "I was pretty pleased with myself. I was right in the groove all day. I was in the big ring two-thirds of the way up the last 4,000-foot climb. At the end, I let Ribeiro go because I didn’t want to blow." Seedhouse, who won the 1996 edition of Ultraman with a second-best-ever 5:57 double marathon on the last day, said that getting back in competitive shape took a lot of dedication he wanted to honor on race day. "I tried to suck it up as much as possible," said Seedhouse. "When things got tough, I reminded myself of all the miserable training sessions I went through up in Canada - I rode through a complete whiteout in a snowstorm May 20. And two weeks ago I was cycling in a snowstorm with a wind chill of minus six degrees. I tried to use all those memories as fuel every single pedal stroke of that climb."
O'Keefe lauded Ribeiro, who outdueled the Canadian for the 2003 Ultraman victory, for pushing him Friday. "Alexandre is an inspiration to me. He's a gentleman and a model athlete and does everything with a lot of class."
"Yes I beat him in 2003," said Ribeiro. "But the next year he came back to Ultraman and raced second to Jonas Colting but he ran the same time I did to beat him. I think he's still getting better."
Staying calmly in the shadows you find when you start out in 6th place on day one of Ultraman was the man igniting the big prerace speculation. Peter Kotland at 36 is still a decade younger than Friday's leading rivals. But 11 years ago he became the stuff of legend when he ran an astonishingly fast 5:33:57 double marathon (2:46 pace) to win the Ultraman. On Friday Kotland seemed to cruise to a 12th-best 3:19:58 swim, 25 minutes slower than he swam in 1996, then biked a 4th best 5:18:03, six minutes slower than his 1997 first day ride, for an overall first day time of 8:38:01. The man from the Czech Republic who now calls Moore, South Carolina home wasn't fazed a bit.
"Halfway through the swim, I got cramps in my feet and calves," he said. "There's nothing you can do but slow down and try to relax. Once I got on the bike, I felt really good. I felt really strong the whole way, but I kept my heart rate in check because tomorrow (a 171.4 mile bike with 7,600 feet of climbing) is a big day and I didn’t want to kill my legs." Despite his 31-minute deficit after day one, Kotland was actually encouraged. "Back in 1997, I was 45 minutes behind John Nickles after Day 1, and 48 minutes back after Day 2. If my legs stay strong Saturday, I feel confident I can run under 6 hours and I think that would give me a good shot to win."
Shanna Armstrong, the Lubbock, Texas ultra endurance star, made a definitive move toward an unprecedented 5th Ultraman women's title with a first day finishing time of 9:08:14, which gave her a 2 hour 16 minute 8 seconds lead over her closest pursuer, 11-time Ultraman Hawaii competitor Suzy Degazon of Puerto Rico. While Degazon set a fast PR last year, adverse currents that slowed everyone on the swim made things even more uncomfortable and the result was a disastrous 4:59:18 swim, which left her third woman and 21 minutes behind Ultraman rookie Katie Paulson. Degazon took back second place with a 6:25:14 bike that put her 5 minutes 31 seconds ahead of Paulson.
24th Ultraman World Championship
The Big Island, Hawaii
November 28-30, 2008
S 6.2 mi/ B 90 mi/ B 171.4 mi/ R 52.4 mi
First day results
Men
1. Tony O'Keefe (CAN) Swim 3:04:06 (6) Bike 5:04:22 (3) Total 8:08:21
2. Alexandre Ribeiro (BRA) Swim 3:12:00 (7) Bike 5:01:25 (2) Total 8:13:25
3. Erik Seedhouse (GBR) Swim 2:55:53 (3) Bike 5:21:18 (6) Total 8:17:11
4. Josef Ajram (ESP) Swim 3:35:03 (16) Bike 5:00:00 (1) Total 8:35:03
5. Miro Kregar (SLO) Swim 3:15:08 (10) Bike 5:22:27 (7) Total 8:37:35
6. Peter Kotland (CZE) Swim 3:19:58 (12) Bike 5:18:03 (4) Total 8:38:01
7. Richard Roll (USA) Swim 2:41:28 (2) Bike 5:56:37(12) Total 8:38:05
8. Scott Gower (USA) Swim 3:03:39 (5) Bike 5:34:55 (9) Total 8:38:34
9. Marty Raymond (CAN) Swim 2:38:23 (1) Bike 6:20:24 Total 8:58:47
10. Carlos Conceicao (BRA) Swim 3:29:27 (14) Bike 5:34:53 (8) Total 9:04:20
Women
1. Shanna Armstrong (USA) Swim 3:02:44 (4) Bike 6:05:30 (11) Total 9:08:14.
2. Suzy Degazon (USA) Swim 4:59:18 (32) Bike 6:25:14 (2F) Total 11:24:22
3. Katie Poulson (USA) Swim 4:37:33 (29) Bike 6:52:20 (3F) 11:29:53
4. Leslie Holton (USA) Swim 5:46:58 Bike DNF
