Ribeiro, Winkler lead Ultraman
VOLCANOES NATIONAL MONUMENT, Hawaii — Five Time Ultraman World Champion Alexandre Ribeiro of Brazil and 2009 runner-up Kathy Winkler of Mill Valley, California overcame tough swim currents and a rainy bike to lead Day One of the Ultraman World Championship on the Big Island of Hawaii.
The Men
Ribeiro, the 47-year-old master of Ultraman Hawaii, combined a 3rd-best 3:13:50 10k swim and a race-best 5:14:57 90-mile bike to finish Day One in 8:28:53 with a 24-minute 5 seconds lead on runner-up Nino Cokan of Slovenia, age 39, and 34 minutes 14 seconds on third place finisher Miro Kregar, age 50, also of Slovenia.
The difficulty of the day was underlined by the fact that Ribeiro's Day One performance was 42 minutes slower than his best-ever 2008 Day One time.
Ribeiro was pleased but not overwhelmed with his performance. He was extremely impressed with the performance of 2008 runner-up Tony O'Keefe of Canada, who was starting his first triathlon since a brutal bike training collision with a car on Colorado Springs a year ago shattered his face and legs. O'Keefe, 51, finished 6th man on the day with a 3:10:42 swim and a 6:15:03 bike to end Day One 57 minutes back of Ribeiro.
"This is a such a tough race even if you are healthy and perfectly trained," said Ribeiro. "What Tony did today was incredible!"
Most of the difficulty was on the swim which was plagued by a severe outgoing current which forced most of swimmers entering the final mile into Keauhou Bay to a standstill – reminiscent of the killer current which forced 10 competitors to miss the Day One cutoff time in 2000. Ribeiro's 2012 swim time was about half an hour slower than his typical split.
The Women
Kathy Winkler, whose best prior Ultraman result was runner-up to Shanna Armstrong in 2009, combined a women's-best 3:15:07 swim and a women's second-best 5:49:16 bike split to finish Day One in 9:04:23 with a 3:13 lead on two-time Ultraman World Champion and women's course record holder Amber Monforte of Reno, Nevada.
Winkler's Day One time was 43 minutes slower than Monforte's Day One record time.
Monforte's 2012 swim time was 31 minutes slower than her best on the Kailua Pier to Keauhou Bay split.
Winkler, whose daughter competed in the 2012 U.S. Olympic swimming trials, said that she was amazed when she was told she was running third overall with just 15 miles to go on the bike leg. "I thought you were crazy when you told me," Winkler told an on course observer. "I thought there was no way that could be possible after such a slow swim. I thought we were not moving at all for 20 minutes near the end."
On the final 10 miles of the bike, Miro Kregar passed Winkler to take 4th overall and third man on the day. But Winkler was far more moved by a whale sighting on the swim. "My crew saw a whale on the swim, and I felt it was a sign from my mom who died five years ago. We saw a whale right after my wedding earlier this year and someone said that was your mom coming to day hello. I believe my mom came by again today."
Ultraman World Championship
The Big Island of Hawaii
November 23-25, 2012
Day One S 10k / B 90 mi. Day Two b 171.4 mi. / Day Three R 52.4 mi.
Day One Results
Men
1. Alexandre Ribeiro, 47, (BRA) S 3:13:50 B 5:14:57 TOT 8:28:53
2. Nino Cokan, 39, (SLO) S 3:20:38 B 5:32:30 TOT 8:52:58
3. Miro Kregar, 50, (SLO) S 3:41:02 B 5:22:05 TOT 9:03:07
4. Joseph Ajram, 39, (ESP) S 3:49:08 B 5:18:14 TOT 9:07:22
5. Peter Mueller, 50, (SUI) S 3:19:55 B 5:56:32 TOT 5:56:32
6. Tony O'Keefe, 51, (CAN) 3:10:42 B 6:15:03 TOT 9:25:48
7. Mark Ford, 50, (USA) S 3:21:55 B 6:13:45 TOT 9:35:40
8. Tim Robert, 47, (USA) S 3:39:28 B 6:22:20 TOT 10:01:48
9. Gary Wang , 44, (USA) S 4:21:04 B 5:50:47 TOT 10:11:51
10. Robert Parsheghian, 42, (BRA) S 3:44:38 B 6:36:55 TOT 10:21:32
Women
1. Kathy Winkler, 46, (USA) S 3:15:07 B 5:49:16 TOT 9:04:23
2. Amber Monforte, 34, (USA) 3:31:31 B 5:36:05 TOT 9:07:36
3. Yasuko Miyazaki, 35, (JPN) S 3:26:17 B 6:03:10 TOT 9:29:27
4. Tracey McQuair, 37, (CAN) S 3:29:43 B 6:29:06 TOT 9:58:49
5. Joni Moore, 46, (USA) S 4:36:39 B 6:01:50 TOT 10:38:29
