This Weekend Box bring joyous accounts of Cameron Brown as the oldest men’s Ironman winner, Canadians atop the Idaho podium, a speed skater’s triathlon debut, excitement in Kansas, more action from Cairns, Australia and an Age Group Nationals report from Michigan.
Cameron Brown and Liz Blatchford win Ironman Cairns
Twelve days short of his 42nd birthday, Cameron Brown became the oldest man to win an official Ironman contest while Liz Blatchford defended her 2013 title on a rainy day at Ironman Cairns.
Brown closed out a race long duel with Tim Van Berkel with an authoritative 2:44:54 marathon to win his 12th Ironman event. “Becoming the oldest ever winner was motivation for me out there, but I am sure Craig Alexander or Chris McCormack will try and knock me off now,” said Brown. “Forty is the new 30.”
Tim Van Berkel pushed hard with a 2:48:15 marathon but fell 3:08 short of the win and thus had some very Australian bittersweet words of praise for the victor. “I really wanted the win, so I am disappointed – the bloody old bastard got me again,” said Van Berkel. “Second two years in a row here is tough, but all credit to Brownie – he has 11 years on me.”
Brown overcame a 5-minute deficit to three-time ITU Olympic distance World Champion Peter Robertson and the 3-minute advantage of Tim Van Berkel after the swim. Brown’s 2nd-fastest 4:36:20 bike split brought the New Zealand veteran into T2 third man in a closely-packed group of five including Matt Burton, Van Berkel, Brown, Robertson and Courtney Ogden.
By 17 kilometers, Brown and Van Berkel were running side by side in the lead, with Robertson 2:37 in arrears and Ogden and Burton fading. By 30 kilometers, Brown led by 1:53 over Van Berkel with Burton and Robertson more than 10 minutes back. Brown finished in 8:20:15 with a 3:08 margin on Van Berkel and 13:11 on Robertson, who surged past Burton in the final kilometers.
Blatchford won wire to wire with a race-best 52:47 swim, a 3rd-fastest 5:13:09 bike split (marred by a 4 minute drafting penalty) and a women’s-best 3:06:57 marathon. Blatchford finished in 9:16:58 with a 5:55 margin of victory over the runner-up, New Zealander Melanie Burke. Sweden’s Asa Lundström filling out the podium, 8:58 back of the winner.
“It was a solo day for me until about the 150 kilometer mark of the bike when I ended up in a big pack of age group men, got a penalty and served it in T2,” said Blatchford. “I am so happy to have returned to this special race and won again.”
Cairns Airport Ironman Cairns
Cairns, Australia
June 8, 2014
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.
Results
Men
1. Cameron Brown (NZL) 8:20:15
2. Tim Van Berkel (AUS) 8:23:23
3. Peter Robertson (AUS) 8:33:26
4. Matt Burton (AUS) 8:35:19
5. Jarmo Hast (FIN) 8:41:24
Women
1. Liz Blatchford (GBR) 9:16:58
2. Melanie Burke (NZL) 9:22:53
3. Asa Lundström (SWE) 9:25:56
4. Belinda Sharpless (AUS) 9:48:08
5. Wendy McAlpine (AUS) 9:51:03
Brad Kahlefeldt and Candice Hammond tops at Ironman 70.3 Cairns
Defending men’s champion Courtney Atkinson and women’s race favorite Caroline Steffen were knocked out of the race with punctures, so Aussie veteran Brad Kahlefeldt and New Zealander Candice Hammond reaped the rewards of victory at Ironman 70.3 Cairns.
On a rainy day in Queensland’s tropical north, Kahlefeldt and Atkinson joined a lead group of eight exiting the water right around the 23 minute mark. Within the first few kilometers of the bike, Tom Rodgers made up 90 seconds in a surge to join a lead group that included Kahlefeldt, Atkinson, Clayton Fettell, Joseph Lampe and Sam Appleton. At the 48 kilometer mark, Atkinson punctured and dropped out, while Sam Betten and Tim Reed joined the party to make a pack of six arriving together in T2.
Thereafter, the men’s race was settled on the run as Kahlefeldt’s race-best 1:12:28 split brought him to the finish in 3:50:54 with a 28 seconds margin of victory over Tim Reed (1:12:51 run) and 2:24 over 3rd-place finisher Clayton Fettell (1:14:50 run).
“I just had to put my head down and go,” said Kahlefeldt. “It was nonstop adrenaline the whole way. It’s a very testing course here in Cairns and I knew that from last year [in which he finished 2nd to Atkinson].”
The win was Kahlefeldt’s 5th in a strong 2014 season that includes victories at Challenge Bateman’s Bay, Putrajaya 70.3 and 2nd place finishes at St. Anthony’s and St. Croix 70.3.
Heavy favorite Caroline Steffen led well into the bike leg until a puncture forced her to pull out of the race. Candice Hammond of New Zealand, coming off a win at Challenge Wanaka, a 3rd place at Ironman New Zealand and a 4th at the Port of Tauranga Half, redeemed her slow 30:29 swim with a race-best 2:27:28 bike leg that was 3 minutes better than the next best women’s splits and 10 minutes better than dangerous runner Kiyomi Niwata of Japan.
Hammond closed the door on her competitors with a 2nd-fastest 1:22:17 run split that gave back 1:33 to Niwata’s race-best 1:20:44 run and still left the New Zealander finishing in 4:24:03 with a 4:45 margin of victory over the 3-time Japanese Olympian and 7:49 over 3rd place finisher Anna Russell of Australia.
“It was definitely unexpected to get the win today,” said Hammond. “I am really happy to get this result.”
Ironman 70.3 Cairns
Cairns, Australia
June 8, 2014
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Men
1. Brad Kahlefeldt (AUS) 3:50:54
2. Tim Reed (AUS) 3:51:22
3. Clayton Fettell (AUS) 3:53:18
4. Sam Appleton (AUS) 3:54:34
5. Sam Betten (AUS) 3:56:46
Women
1. Candice Hammond (NZL) 4:24:03
2. Kiyomi Niwata (JPN) 4:28:48
3. Anna Russell (AUS) 4:31:52
4. Lisa Marangon (AUS) 4:32:37
5. Tineke Stewart (AUS) 4:35:00
Canadians Brent McMahon and Melanie McQuaid win Boise 70.3
Brent McMahon won his second straight Ironman70.3 race, defeating fellow Canadian Trevor Wurtele by 14 seconds after a race long duel, and three-time XTERRA World Champion Melanie McQuaid dominated the women’s field with a stellar bike split at Ironman 70.3 Boise.
McMahon swam 25:32, leading a three-man swim breakaway, followed by closely by Kevin Everett of the U.S. and Australian Josh Amberger. Overall threats Luke Bell and Trevor Wurtele had a few minutes to make up, but were not out of the picture.
By the time they hit T2, Wurtele’s race-best 2:09:28 bike split advanced him to 3rd place, 13 seconds behind leader Luke Bell and 3 seconds behind McMahon. By 6 miles into the run, Wurtele had an 8 seconds lead over Bell and McMahon, who were running side by side. At 9 miles, Bell had regrouped and rallied to a 1 second lead over Wurtele and 40 seconds on McMahon.
With 1.5 miles to go, McMahon made a charge and trailed Wurtele by 5 seconds while Bell faded to a 27 seconds deficit. At the finish, McMahon’s ITU short course speed propelled him to a 3rd-best 1:18:35 run split which brought him to the line in 3:57:33 with a 14 seconds margin of victory over Wurtele (1:18:37 run) and 1:15 over 3rd place finisher Luke Bell (1:19:50 run).
The women’s race was simpler and not nearly as close. McQuaid emerged from the swim in 29:09 as first pro woman, followed closely by Kate Bevilaqua, Jenny Fletcher and Liz Lyles. McQuaid took control of the women’s race with a race-fastest 2:22:26 bike split that was 5:21 faster than Lyles, 9:28 faster than Sue Huse and 10:28 faster than Bevilaqua. McQuaid then cruised in with a 3rd-fastest pro women’s run split of 1:29:53 that brought her to the finish in 4:24:07 with a 4:48 margin of victory over Lyles and 13:19 over 3rd-place finisher Huse.
Eight-time Olympic short track speed skating medalist Apolo Anton Ohno finished his first triathlon ever, breaking 5 hours at the 70.3 distance at Ironman Boise 70.3.
Coached by 8-time Ironman World champion Paula Newby-Fraser, Ohno swam 32:05, biked 2:30:04 and ran 1:52:08 to finish in a time of 4:59:27. Ohno, who also won the 2007 edition of the celebrity reality show Dancing With the Stars, finished 112th overall and 23rd of 138 finishers in men’s 30-34.
At the finish, he told Ironman Live, “I’m so tired. That was one of the hardest things I have done in my life. When I was speed skating, my races were 40 seconds, not 5 hours. Ten minutes into the swim, I was dead. I think I went too hard, I just got excited.”
With his finish, Ohno validated his entry in the Ironman World Championship this October. Ohno will be competing as part of the Built With Chocolate Milk team that will be featured in the NBC broadcast.
Ironman 70.3 Boise
Boise, Idaho
June 7, 2014
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Pro Men
1. Brent McMahon (CAN) 3:57:33
2. Trevor Wurtele (CAN) 3:57:47
3. Luke Bell (AUS) 3:58:48
4. Josh Amberger (AUS) 4:02:17
5. Maik Twelsiek (GER) 4:02:49
Pro Women
1. Melanie McQuaid (CAN) 4:24:07
2. Liz Lyles (USA) 4:28:55
3. Sue Huse (USA) 4:37:26
4. Kate Bevilaqua (AUS) 4:37:50
5. Oleysa Prystayko (UKR) 4:42:34
Jimmy Seear and Ruth Brennan Morrey win Ironman Kansas 70.3
Jimmy Seear of Australia posted a well-balanced race to top Todd Skipworth and 38-year-old sensational triathlon newcomer Ruth Brennan Morrey outraced Ironman World Championship runner-up Rachel Joyce by 57 seconds to win Ironman 70.3 Kansas.
Seear started his day with a 3rd-fastest 22:45 swim that was just 4 seconds back of fellow Aussie Todd Skipworth and David Kahn of the U.S. and a few ticks of the clock ahead of U.S. veterans TJ Tollakson and Joe Umphenour. By the end of the bike leg, Tollakson posted a race-best 2:08:30 bike split and Seear’s 2nd-best 2:12:25 left him 2:01 down beginning the run, 1:25 ahead of Skipworth and about 4:10 ahead of Joe Umphenour and Robbie Wade.
While Matt Hanson, Umphenour, Wade and Skipworth all made up time on Seear’s 5th-best 1:14:48 half marathon, the time he banked on the bike was enough to get the South African-born Australian to the finish in 3:52:18 with a 1:12 margin of victory over Skipworth and 3:15 over 3rd-place finisher Umphenour.
If you just looked at the names on the entry list, no way that 38-year-old Ruth Brennan Morrey of Rochester, Minnesota, who has been doing triathlons for just three years and turned pro last year, was going to contend with Ironman Hawaii runner-up Rachel Joyce. But somehow this long-ago NCAA Division I soccer star, Olympic Trials marathon qualifier, mother of three with a PhD in psychology who took 10 years off sports altogether managed once again to upend any and all athletic preconceptions with a bang.
Morrey started her day with a 10th-best 28:34 swim that was 3:47 back of swim leader Amanda Stevens and 3:10 back of Joyce. After the bike, Morrey’s race-fastest 2:21:31 split left her just 16 seconds back of Joyce (2:24:12 split) and 1:23 ahead of Stevens (2:26:50 split). Morrey then put the dagger into her rivals with a race-best 1:20:50 run that was 56 seconds better than Joyce could muster and left the Rochester Rocket with a 4:13:47 finish, a 57-seconds margin of victory over Joyce and 2:23 over 3rd place finisher Lauren Barnett.
A quick look at Morrey’s form chart would have lessened the shock. Last September, she was running second overall woman, five minutes behind leader Eva Nystrom during the 150 kilometer bike segment at the ITU Long Distance World Championship in fabled Zofingen. On a steep, wet downhill, a car pulled in front of her and she crashed heavily on her left side. The bike was in twisted shape, and she lost five minutes kicking the tire back in the frame and filling the flat with a CO2 cartridge. She was 9th when she rejoined the race and pushed hard. With 200 meters left on the run, she passed the 3rd place woman with a final sprint to earn the bronze.
Until this weekend, there have been no such dramatic triathlon heroics this season – she took 5th at Ironman 70.3 Panama and 9th at Ironman 70.3 St. George. But it’s a good bet Morrey will have more great days in the future.
Ironman 70.3 Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
June 8, 2014
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Men
1. James Seear (AUS) 3:52:18
2. Todd Skipworth (USA) 3:53:30
3. Joe Umphenour (USA) 3:55:33
4. Robbie Wade (IRL) 3:55:44
5. TJ Tollakson (USA) 3:56:24
Women
1. Ruth Brennan Morrey (USA) 4:13:47
2. Rachel Joyce (GBR) 4:14:44
3. Lauren Barnett (USA) 4:16:10
4. Laura Siddall (AUS) 4:18:06
5. Amanda Stevens (USA) 4:27:16
Daniel Stubelski and Dani Fischer win USA Triathlon Long Course Nationals
Daniel Stubelski of Washington, Michigan, the 2013 USA Triathlon Amateur Triathlete of the Year, won the men’s overall title at the USA Triathlon Long Course Nationals in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Stubelski finished the half Ironman distance course in 3:56:58 with a 6:55 margin of victory over the runner-up, Dave Slavinski of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, and an 11:37 margin over 3rd-place finisher Alex Vanias of Leroy, Michigan.
Dani Fischer of Wausau, Wisconsin won the women’s overall title with a time of 4:23:37, which gave her a 4:24 margin of victory over the runner-up, Kirsten Sass of McKenzie, Tennessee, who was the 2013 USA Triathlon Women’s Triathlete of the Year. Cindi Bannink of Madison, Wisconsin, who coached fellow University of Wisconsin graduate Gwen Jorgensen through the 2012 Olympics, placed 3rd, 12:25 behind Fischer.
USA Triathlon Long Course National Championship
Grand Rapids, Michigan
June 8, 2014
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Overall Men
1. Daniel Stubelski (Washington, MI) 3:56:58
2. Dave Slavinski (Point Pleasant, NJ) 4:03:53
3. Alex Vanias (Leroy, MI) 4:08:35
4. Doug Clark (Morristown, NJ) 4:10:39
5. Benjamin Rawson (Madison WI) 4:11:58
Overall Women
1. Dani Fischer (Wausau WI) 4:23:37
2. Kirsten Sass (McKenzie TN) 4:28:01
3. Cindi Bannink (Madison WI) 4:36:02
4. Chris Wickard (La Porte IN) 4:45:48
5. Jeanne Debonis (Brecksville OH) 4:46:21
