Mar

Ironman China and Miami International Triathlon

By robin

luke_mckenzie Marsh and McKenzie triumph over the full distance …

It’s not unusual to find more than one distance to choose from at a triathlon these days. Olympic and Sprint distances are often held over the same course a couple of hours apart or even at the same time but its extremely rare (I am not aware of any other occurrence) to find a full Ironman and 70.3 run simultaneously.That’s just one of the features that makes Ironman China so unique and a race that I simply have to do.

After being forced to abandon in Malaysia, Luke McKenzie arrived as a man on a mission which was evident as he led from start to finish to win in a new record time. It must however be noted that Rasmus Henning’s maiden, and only, Ironman win came in 45 degree heat. It was too much for runner up Jozsef Major who exited the water 12 minutes behind McKenzie and must be wondering what might have been if only he could swim better. It’s a case of the old adage ringing true – ‘You can’t win an Ironman on the swim but you can lose it’.

For Marsh it was all about the bike as she crushed the women’s field to enter T2 with a massive 32 minute lead before cruising home with an easy 3:42 marathon to beat Nicole Leder by just over 10 minutes. Marsh however wasn’t able to take advantage of the better weather conditions to improve upon Charlotte Paul’s phenomenal performance of last year that saw her finish 4th overall.

amy_marsh Women

Amy Marsh (USA) 9:52:45
Nicole Leder (GER) 10:02:58
Heidi Jesberger (GER 10:08:52

Men

Luke McKenzie (AUS) 8:41:15
Jozsef Major (HUN) 8:52:29
Jens Groenbek (DEN) 9:17:06

belinda_granger1 … while Granger and Croneborg take the half

While the youngsters were slugging it out on the long course it was the ‘more experienced’ stars in Chris McDonald and Belinda Granger that chose to test themselves over the 70.3 distance.

For Granger it was an emphatic victory as she led defending champion Amanda Balding home by almost 45 minutes. The rest of the top 10 was filled with age-groupers which must raise questions about the ability to attract a full field for both distances when they are held simultaneously.

Last years winner McDonald however wasn’t as lucky and had to back seat to new pro Fredrik Croneborg of Sweden.

Women

Belinda Granger (AUS) 4:42:58
Amanda Balding (AUS) 5:27:35
Nicole Roddie (AUS) 5:29:40 (Age-Group 35-39)

Men

Fredrik Croneborg (SWE) 4:15:40
Chris McDonald (AUS) 4:21:39
Raimo Raudsepp (EST) 4:25:24

sarah-haskins It’s all USA in Miami

With the ITU season about to get underway it was the turn of the Americans to get in a warm up with the Miami International Triathlon and with around four weeks to the World Championship Series opener Team USA is looking very strong.

On the men’s side Chrabot was too good for Reed and Ironman specialist Chris Lieto while on the women’s side it was the consistent Sarah Haskins who strung together a solid swim, bike and run to outlast Jillian Petersen who is returning from a shoulder injury that put paid to most of last year.

Women