Triathlon Daily

Race Preview: 2008 Ironman Brazil

From Ironman.com…

The 2008 Ironman Brazil will take place this Sunday on the island of Florianopolis in the State of Santa Catarina. Located in southern Brazil, Florianopolis is a destination spot for many South American’s. The island is known as “Floripa” to those who visit the area often. Brazilians and Argentines love to vacation in Florianopolis not only for its beaches but also for its culture, history, food, nightlife, and well protected diverse ecosystems.

The area has a steep history dating back to the 1500’s when the Spaniards inhabited the land. Eventually the Portuguese would assume control in the mid 1600’s which has resulted in Portuguese now being the native language of the country. On May 25th, another power struggle will occur on the Island, however this time it will be for the titles of Ironman Brazil Champion. The region’s history and landscape make for a perfect back-drop for an Ironman.

The battle grounds; the transition, finish-line, expo and race headquarters are located at the Doze de Agosto Club at the north western tip of Florianopolis Island. The clubs focal point is a covered soccer field which also doubles for the location of the carbo and awards dinners. Last year’s carbo dinner and festival featured a little taste of Rio de Janeiro with carnival dancers and bands entertaining the competitors.

Read More »

Race Results: 2008 Ironman China

from InsideTriathlon…

Keeping with the recent Ironman trend, the inaugural Ironman China proved to be one of the hottest on record, with temperatures soaring into the 90’s and athletes dropping like flies. As with last weekend’s Ford Ironman Arizona, the race in China was transformed into a war of attrition and the two left standing at day’s end were Germany’s Olaf Sabatschus and Aussie Belinda Granger.

Sabatschus, known as one of triathlon’s elite “super-bikers”, actually won the race on the run, a rare feat for the German. At the start of the day Sabatschus had some serious time to make up after the swim, exiting the water over five minutes behind swim-leaders Mathieu O’Halloran of Canada and Matthew Clark of Australia.

As the top men began rolling through the hills of Hainan Island, huge gaps were forming among the top ten, with Clark leading the charge. McDonald, the pre-race favorite, suffered his first of two flat tires just before the turnaround and was relegated to almost 20 minutes behind Clark. McDonald fell victim to a second flat tire with over ten miles left on the bike and actually rode to transition with a flat. Instead of surging to the front on the bike, Sabatschus chose to be conservative on the bike and entered transition two minutes behind American Timothy Marr, who overtook the lead on the second half of the bike leg.

As the men made their way onto the sun-baked run course, it became clear that Sabatschus was the most prepared for the heat. Halfway through the marathon the German had already amassed a seven-minute lead and behind him the leaderboard was changing rapidly. By the time he hit the finish line in 8:52:14, Sabatschus had a 21-minute cushion on would-be runner-up Byung Hoon Park of South Korea. Marr, who was clearly suffering toward the end of the run, hung on for third, one minute back of Park.

Like Sabatschus, Granger had some serious work to do after the 2.4-mile swim. The Aussie exited the water in just under an hour, six minutes behind race leader Ute Mueckel of Germany. Granger began stalking the German from the moment she got on the bike and reeled her in by the halfway point. Granger, who prefers racing from the front, began pulling away from Mueckel and the rest of the field the moment she took the lead.

Granger hit T2 with a comfortable gap on Mueckel, which quickly grew on the early miles of the run. As with the men’s race, the leaderboard on the women’s side was turned upside down once the athletes began the run. Canadian Donna Phelan, who trains with Granger under Brett Sutton in the Philippines, proved that the Team TBB girls can really handle the heat, as she moved into second in the later stages of the run. Granger continued her stroll to the finish, crossing the line in 10:08:37, over 28 minutes ahead of Phelan. Britain’s Abigail Bayley also made up huge chunks of time on the run, finishing third in 10:43:11. It was the seventh Ironman win of Granger’s career and her second already this season (she won Ironman Malaysia as well).

Read More »

Race Results: 2008 Panthers Ironman Australia

Patrick Vernay repeated his win from last year with a time of 8:31:33 in this year’s event. Chrissie Wellington continues to dominate every Ironman she enters with another win - she’s now three for three - with a time of 9:03:55.

Mitchell Anderson moved up from fourth last year to second this year. In the women’s race Kate Major led for most of the bike leg before being overtaken by Chrissie near the end.

Men’s Top Ten

1. Patrick VERNAY 8:31:33
2. Mitchell ANDERSON 8:40:19
3. Mathias HECHT 8:42:48
4. Tim BERKEL 8:44:20
5. Luke MCKENZIE 8:46:01
6. Luke BELL 8:56:17
7. Matt WHITE 8:59:50
8. Nathan STEWART 9:03:29
9. Raimo RAUDSEPP 9:04:24
10. Kevin CUTJAR 9:06:50

Women’s Top Ten

1. Chrissie WELLINGTON 9:03:55
2. Kate MAJOR 9:09:12
3. Melinda COCKSHUTT 9:50:02
4. Prue OSWIN 10:00:11
5. Sarah POLLETT 10:00:12
6. Alison COYLE 10:00:49
7. Joanne BENNETT 10:05:37
8. Amelia PEARSON 10:10:45
9. Emma WEITNAUER 10:20:41
10. Kirsten MOLLOY 10:23:17

Chris McCormack inducted into Ironman Australia Hall of Fame

From www.foxsports.com.au…

Last October, McCormack became only the third Australian after Greg Welch and Michellie Jones to win the Hawaiian Ironman, triathlon’s most famous race.

McCormack also holds the Ironman Australia record for the most men’s wins with five, from 2002-2006.

This year’s Ironman Australia is on Sunday at the northern NSW town of Port Macquarie and the event will officially induct him at Monday night’s awards presentation.

He will be officially inducted at an awards presentation, the day after the Ironman Australia competition.

McCormack is training in the United States, but will “attend” via a video presentation.

He is only the 2nd inductee after Jason Shortis to receive the honour while still racing.

Read More »