Hewitt dominates Yokohama WCS
New Zealand’s Andrea Hewitt did not have any letdown after her impressive WCS Grand Final win last week in Beijing, as she dominated the field for the second week in a row at the World Championship Series event in Yokohama Japan.
At the finish, Hewitt’s 1:59:17 finish topped 2009 and 2010 ITU World Championship Series winner and Yokohama runner-up Emma Moffatt of Australia by 14 seconds, with Hewitt’s fellow Kiwi Kate McIlroy making her first ever World Championship Series podium in 3rd place, 31 seconds back of the winner.
Held in high 80s Fahrenheit water and air temperatures on the Yokohama waterfront, the bike started with a front pack of 24 women who carved out a one minute lead on a chase pack of equal numbers. By the end of the multiple-lap, 40 kilometer bike, the two packs almost merged, giving some hope for the top running chasers.
However, when the running started, Hewitt surged out front, joined by Helen Jenkins and Emma Moffatt and the trio created a 30-second gap on chasers including Aileen Morrison of Ireland, Lisa Norden of Sweden, Kate McIlroy of New Zealand, and Vicky Holland of Great Britain.
Trailing by another 30 seconds but moving up fast and through the field were a trio of Japanese women – Kiyomi Niwata, Jure Ide and Ai Ueda – all tempted to fly knowing that whoever made the podium would earn an automatic 2012 Olympic, spot.
By lap two of four on the 10k run, Hewitt betrayed no hint of a letdown after her bravura winning performance in Beijing and blasted off the front in the daunting heat and humidity.
By lap 3, Great Britain’s Helen Jenkins, who does prefer cooler temperatures she found while winning the 2008 ITU World Championship event in Vancouver, started to fall back, while Moffatt kept up a steady runner-up pace.
On the final lap, McIlroy, Morrison and Jackson cruised past Jenkins, who could console her fade to 6th place with happy thoughts of her recently won second ITU World
Championship.
Surely as she took control of the race, Hewitt’s 34:29 run was the best on the day, McIlroy’s 34:57 advanced her to the podium, while Moffatt’s 34:58 was quite good enough to hold securely to second place.
Of long term interest, the legendary Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal finished her first race back after taking the better part of two seasons off with injuries and illness. The 20-time ITU World Cup winner, 2007 ITU World Champion and 2008 Olympic silver medalist navigated to a conservative 26th place, 3:11 back of the winner.
As Yokohama’s scheduled WCS spring start was canceled due to local radioactivity precipitated by Japan’s catastrophic earthquake, this race was the very first WCS event to count for the 2012 season.
Yokohama World Championship Series Triathlon
Yokohama, Japan
September 19, 2011
D 1.5k / B 40k / R 10k
Results
Elite Women
1. Andrea Hewitt (NZL) 1:59:17
2. Emma Moffatt (AUS) 1:59:31
3. Kate McIlroy (NZL) 1:59:45
4. Aileen Morrison (IRL) 1:59:50
5. Emma Jackson (AUS) 1:59:58
6. Helen Jenkins (GBR) 1:59:59
7. Lisa Norden (SWE) 2:00:01
8. Ai Ueda (JPN) 2:00:06
9. Kiyomi Niwata (JPN) 2:00:23
10. Jure Ide (JPN) 2:00:30
26. Vanessa Fernandes (POR) 2:02:29
