Belgian Marino Vanhoenacker may have entered the ranks of the Ironman greats as his 7:52:05 time to win his 5th straight Ironman Austria is the fourth-fastest all-time at the distance.
The 33-year-old from Jabbeke, Belgium gave a virtually perfect performance on one of the two fastest Ironman-distance venues, posting a 47:49 for the swim, 4:18:30 for the bike and 2:42:03 for the marathon in winning his 8th career Ironman event.
Vanhoenacker’s great race was just 98 seconds slower than the all-time record for the distance of 7:50:27 set by fellow Belgian Luc Van Lierde in 1997 at Ironman Europe on the classic course at Roth, Germany. The second best all-time mark was set by Jurgen Zack of Germany, who finished second to Van Lierde that day at Roth in a time of 7:51:42. Third best ever Ironman time was three-time Ironman Hawaii champion Peter Reid’s 7:51:56, set at Ironman Austria in 1999 – thus Vanhoenacker’s bravura performance was not a race-record.
In addition to his 5 straight Ironman Austria victories, Vanhoenacker won Ironman Florida in 2005, Ironman South Africa in 2009 and earlier this year won Ironman Malaysia. So far he has not matched his Ironman Austria brilliance at Kona, with his best performances at the Ironman World Championship a 6th in 2006 and a 5th in 2007.
Vanhoenacker dominated the day, as runner-up Dennis Devriendt of Belgium finished 20:46 behind Vanhoenacker and Austrian Michael Weiss was third, another 1:59 back of Devriendt. Vanhoenacker scored the fastest bike – 43 seconds better than Austrian super-cyclist Michael Weiss – and his race-best 2:42:03 run was 3:42 faster than the second-best marathon, posted by runner-up Devriendt. Vanhoenacker’s only slight blemish was the swim, where his 4th best 47:49 was just 8 seconds behind Stephen Bayliss’s leading 47:41 mark.
Eva Dollinger of Austria took a home country victory in 9:18:50 by a margin of 16 minutes flat over runner-up Karina Ottosen of Denmark. Germany’s Beate Goertz, a 41-year-old age grouper, was another 4:06 back in third.
Dollinger, a 32-year-old pro from Angath, set the fastest swim (52:06), third fastest bike (5:02:02) and fastest run (3:20:14). Only 28-year-old Austrian pro Barbara Tesar (4:55:59) who finished 6th, and Simone Helfenschneider-Ofner, a 27-year old age grouper (4:59:05), were faster on two wheels.
Karnten Ironman Austria
Klagenfurt, Austria
July 4, 2010
S 2.4 mi./ B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
Results
Men
1. Marino Vanhoenacker (BEL) 7:52:05
2. Dennis Devriendt (BEL) 8:12:51
3. Michael Weiss (AUT) 8:14:50
4. Markus Fachbach (GER) 8:20:43
5. Jose Luis Cano Villanueva (ESP) 8:23:04
6. Stephen Bayliss (GBR) 8:31:07
7. Max Renko (AUT) 8:34:57
8. Patrick Walliman (SUI) 8:36:56
9. Ernst Moser (AUT) 8:40:51
10. Anton Blokhin (UKR) 8:43:17
Women
1. Eva Dollinger (AUT) 9:18:50
2. Karina Ottosen (DEN) 9:34:50
3. Beate Goertz (GER) 9:38:56 * F40-44
4. Simone Helfenschneider-Ofner (AUT) 9:41:19 * F25-29
5. Michaela Rudolf (AUT) 9:43;04 * F35-39
6. Barbara Tesar (AUT) 9:43:27
7. Joyce Wolf (IRL) 9:46:43
8. Sandra Stattman (AUT) 10:03:01 * F30-34
9. Kathrin Petzold (GER) 10:05:28
10. Annette Mack (GER) 10:05:28 * F40-44
