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Alexander, Wellington Win 2008 Ironman World Championship
By Betsy Delcour
10/11/2008 |
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If last year’s Kona was characterized by swarms of athletes dropping out due to illness or injuries, this year’s race could be characterized as the year when new names got their chance to shine – and the winners’ marathons scorched their respective fields.
The Swim
The day started off with a beautiful morning: clear skies, calm wind, flat water and 70 degree temperatures outside. As usual the pros got their start at 6:45am. Three fast swimmers – Benjamin Sanson, Andy Potts (competing in his first ironman ever) and Pete Jacobs - quickly put a gap on the rest of the field. The chase pack featured the top female swimmers, Dede Griesbauer, Gina Ferguson and Gina Kehr. Reports came in throughout the swim that as the sun came up, so did the temperature, and with many athletes wearing full speedsuits, conditions were getting hot quickly. Without a cloud in the sky, it looked like today would be a classic hot Kona day.
The lead group of Potts, Sanson and Jacobs were first out of the water in 48:38, giving them a massive three minute lead over the chase pack of men; among the chase pack were Bryan Rhodes and super runners Craig Alexander and Eneko Llanos. Potts was first out of transition, before any of the chasers had exited the water.
The top women out of the water were in the men’s chase pack. Ironman Wisconsin champion Hillary Biscay led out of the water in 54:35, followed by Gina Kehr and Gina Ferguson 10 seconds back. Chasing those lead ladies were Dede Griesbauer, Nina Kraft, Leanda Cave and Belinda Granger.
The Men’s Race
The Bike
Although Potts was first out of T1, it wasn’t long before he was challenged for the lead on the bike. Sanson and Jacobs were close by, and at 10 miles, a formidable group including Chris Lieto, Faris Al Sultan, Eneko Llanos, Chris McCormack, Craig Alexander and Cam Brown was just 2:20 back. Sanson took the lead but it would be short-lived; Torbjorn Sindballe claimed the top spot shortly after the 35 mile mark with Lieto +:24 and Llanos +:42. Al Sultan was nearby too, with a gap on a group of 11 other riders that included Macca and Alexander. Potts, Luke McKenzie and Andreas Bocherer got pinged for drafting and would temporarily fall out of the picture while serving their 4 minute penalties.
Although wind wasn’t “supposed” to be much of a factor today, reports were in that Sindballe was only riding at 19mph at times on the Queen K. Headwinds had to be pretty stiff! Around the 50 mile mark, Lieto passed Sindballe for the lead. Torbjorn held onto second, with Al Sultan looking strong in third. For the first half of the bike, people were wondering where Normann Stadler was – he had had a good swim and was reportedly in the group that included Macca and Alexander. While riding, Stadler reported having “heavy legs,” but looked to be hanging in there. Not hanging in there was defending champion Macca. Just after the turnaround, he was seen sitting up on his bike, having lost touch with his group, with packs of chasers blowing by him. Turns out he had an internal cable that had snapped; upon hearing that it would take about 20 minutes to repair, McCormack deemed the race a loss and retired for the day (showing a great attitude, Macca joined the commentators back in town for a bit to weigh in on the race and add his two cents to what was happening out on the course).
Back to the bike race – Sindballe and Lieto would trade spots back and forth, but one of the big moves of the day saw Llanos passing Al Sultan for third at mile 80. Stadler had also found his legs after the turnaround, and by mile 90 he, Llanos and Al Sultan worked together for the remainder of the bike about +4:30.
The Run
T2 saw Sindballe (4:27:40 bike) coming in and looking fresh, over 4 minutes ahead of Lieto (4:31:48). Sindballe’s lead was enough for him to change into his characteristic all-white head-to-toe run kit, exit T2, run back up the hill and make the turn onto Palani before the next men came in. His plan was to run a solid 2:52 marathon today – but there were some speedy runners behind him. Stadler, generally noted just for his biking abilities, had run a 2:32 at the Frankfurt Marathon, and had to be considered a threat, as well as Al Sultan. But the real immediate danger at the start of the run was Llanos – one of the few men who could instill fear into the likes of Macca for his 2:42 IM marathon capabilities. There was also a dangerous combination with the 10th and 11th athletes into T2: Cam Brown and Craig Alexander, respectively. Although they were about 9 minutes back from Sindballe, EVERYONE was looking at these two to possibly work together, and make some big moves through the field.
While Sindballe methodically moved forward in the early stages of the run, drinking liberally at each aid station and stuffing ice cubes in his left-hand glove, Stadler confidently ran his way up to him, passing for first just after the first turnaround (about the 5th mile). Just a few seconds back at that point was Llanos. Llanos took his time passing Stadler though, and would hover just seconds behind him until finally taking the lead around the 10th mile. The race continued to change behind them; Lieto had been holding third, but rumored to be suffering from a running injury, he took a stretch break – that’s when the fast-moving Alexander passed him for third. Alexander had started about 9 minutes back, but was now just 2:14 behind Llanos. Also moving through the field were Cam Brown (+2:40) and Timo Bracht (+2:40). Rutger Beke, who was off the radar for much of the race, was stealthily moving through the field to avenge his performance last year, which saw him walking for most of the marathon. At mile 13 Stadler started to falter, taking a walk break; Llanos pulled ahead with a 30 second gap and Alexander moved into second shortly thereafter. Alexander, known as one of the fastest runners on the 70.3 and IM circuits, was confident he could push a 2:40 marathon today. He set his sights on Llanos and by the turn in the Natural Energy Lab, he took the lead never to look back. Alexander was averaging 6:20s and was well on his way to his goal. The 22 mile mark saw Alexander in the lead, followed by Llanos (+2:50), Beke (+4:05), Ronnie Schildknecht (+4:55) and Timo Bracht (5:20). Cam was holding at sixth place 10 seconds back from Bracht.
Heading back towards town, Alexander moving with near perfect running form, could not control his emotions as far back as Pay n’ Save Hill. Hearing Mike Reilly from that far back, Alexander was visibly thrilled and waving his hands to the spectators and fellow athletes. He cruised into the win carrying the Aussie flag and zipping up his top (ever the professional!), for his first IM World Championship victory in a time of 8:17:46. He was greeted and subsequently knocked over by his daughter Lucy and wife Nerida. He cranked an even 2:45 marathon to get him there. “It’s a big dream, a big goal. I can’t believe it!” an overwhelmed Craig exclaimed at the finish. With a solid effort all day, Eneko followed in 2nd place at 8:20:50, and new dad for the second time (he and his wife welcomed a 2nd child just 3 weeks ago) Rutger Beke rounded out the top three at 8:21:23.
Further reflecting on his performance today, Alexander said “when I finished last year, I looked at Macca. I decided I needed to hurt more and go for the win, the next time I came out here. I accomplished that today!”
The Women’s Race
The Bike
Top swimmers Biscay, Kehr, Ferguson, Kraft, Cave and Griesbauer were among the first out of T1, with defending champion Chrissie Wellington only about 1 minute back. At the 10 mile point, Kraft was in the lead followed just seconds behind by Griesbauer, Cave, Ferguson and Wellington. As expected, Wellington took the lead shortly after mile 15, with the other girls putting up a good fight to stay with her at first. It just wasn’t meant to be though, as the rest of the women’s field rightfully didn’t want to burn themselves in the first hours of the day, and would eventually have to let the quick Brit go. As the miles ticked by, so did the minutes of Wellington’s lead; mile 35 saw her with a comfy 2 minute gap on Cave, 2:15 on Griesbauer and 2:30 on Granger. Granger, however, was the only woman who was actually working her way up through the field at this point. A fellow Team TBB athlete with Wellington, Granger is used to having the fastest bike split of the women she races. By mile 40, Granger was in second place, but Wellington continued to build her lead on the field.
By the time Wellington was a whopping 4:47 ahead of the field though, the cushion popped when she got a flat tire. Unfortunately, this wasn’t just ANY flat tire – it turns out one of her spokes had punctured through. Chrissie was out of CO2 cartridges and was at the mercy of bike tech to help her out. Ten minutes ticked by while she fixed her dilemma. Wellington stayed cool, even taking a potty break, and maintained composure as she got back on the bike. Notably, Australian Bek Keat lent Wellington her own CO2 cartridge (it is legal for competitors to help each other if they wish, it is not considered outside assistance) joking “you owe me!” as she rode off. Keat’s twin Simone told commentators, “Of course she [helped her], Bek loves Chrissie!”
So now Wellington found herself 4th, 5:20 back from Granger, Griesbauer and Cave. This event sent tongues wagging as to whether the field would now be evened a bit, setting up a running match between Wellington, Van Vlerken and Erika Csomor.
By mile 85, Wellington had worked her way back to the front of the women’s field, seemingly without any extra exertion, and she steadily built back her lead. At 90, Granger was +1:02, Griesbauer was +2:22; Yvonne Van Vlerken, who recently broke Paula Newby Fraser’s IM record this season at Roth was over 5 minutes back at this point. At this time too, everyone was dealing with a miserable head/crosswind, that forced them back and forth across the road. The wind today was reportedly worse than it’s been in years.
With her characteristic smile and waves to the crowd, Wellington stormed into T2 off a 5:08:15 bike – just 30 minutes back from the top men (and this included her 10 minute stop). Granger rolled in 7:09 back and Van Vlerken, who had worked her way through the field on the back end of the bike course, came in 3rd at 7:32 back. A surprise 4th off the bike was 27 year old Linsey Corbin, having a great time on the course today.
The Run
Although some wondered if Van Vlerken would be able to challenge Wellington on the run, most people knew it was a sealed win for the Brit, barring some strange alignment of the moon and stars. The only thing to guess about was ‘how fast will Wellington run today?’ And run fast she did. By the first mile she was 8:30 and 8:40 ahead of Granger and Van Vlerken, respectively. Between miles 3-4, Wellington cranked out a 6:25 mile to widen the gap on Van Vlerken (who had just overtaken Granger for 2nd) to 10 minutes. Even the famously fast Craig Alexander, while on his way to victory in the Energy Lab asked for WELLINGTON’S run splits – and was relieved to find he was averaging 20 seconds/mile faster than her.
While Wellington cruised through the marathon, there were some battles going on behind her. Linsey, continuing her great performance, passed Granger for third by mile six. However, there were some other famously fast women cutting through the crowds behind her. Sandra Wallenhorst, who made a name for herself by coming out from (relatively) nowhere at IM Austria – racing to an 8:47:26 IM the same day as Van Vlerken’s and Csomor’s record-setting performances at Roth – was quickly charging through the field with Csomor right behind her. By mile 9 Wallenhorst was in 3rd, and by mile 15 Csomor also passed Linsey to take 4th. (Linsey held off a hard-charging Virginia Berasategui and would maintain her fifth place to the end.)
Back to Wellington! As she made the turn back down the hill towards town, Wellington – like Alexander – visibly was overwrought with emotion. Smiling, waving and wiping tears off her face, she knew a second victory in Kona was hers. Doing a Blazeman roll across the finish, and greeted by her parents (who missed her performance last year) Wellington beat her time from last year and finished in 9:06:25. She ran a course record 2:57:44 marathon, and surely would have broken 9 hours if not for the flat tire debacle. (I guess that leaves a goal for next year?). Yvonne Van Vlerken showed that she can run in heat and humidity as well as cooler temps and finished 2nd in 9:21:20, followed by Sandra Wallenhorst, who ran a stunning 2:58:35 marathon to come in at 9:22:52. Csomor finished 4th at 9:24:49, and Corbin enjoyed by far her best Kona performance to date, coming in 5th at 9:28:51.
“That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Thank you all so, so, so much!” an elated Wellington said at the end. Of her flat tire incident, Wellington said "I just reminded myself of [TBB team mate] Bella [Comerford] - she got a flat at Ironman South Africa and still came back and won!"
2008 Ford Ironman World Championship
Kailua-Kona, HI
October 11, 2008
2.4/112/26.2
Professional Men
1. Craig Alexander 8:17:45
2. Eneko Llanos Burguera 8:20:50
3. Rutger Beke 8:21:23
4. Ronnie Schildknecht 8:24:46
5. Cameron Brown 8:26:17
6. Patrick Vernay 8:30:23
7. Andy Potts 8:33:50
8. Mathias Hecht 8:34:02
9. Michael Lovato 8:34:47
10. Eduardo Sturla 8:36:53
Professional Women
1. Chrissie Wellington 9:06:23
2. Yvonne Van Vlerken 9:21:20
3. Sandra Wallenhorst 9:22:52
4. Erika Csomor 9:24:49
5. Linsey Corbin 9:28:51
6. Virginia Berasategui 9:29:15
7. Bella Comerford 9:34:08
8. Gina Ferguson 9:36:53
9. Gina Kehr 9:37:06
10. Dede Griesbauer 9:39:53
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