Ueda, Murray tops at Cozumel
Ai Ueda of Japan mustered a by-far-race-best 16:28 5k run to fuel a come-from-behind victory, and Richard Murray of South Africa held off a late charge by Canadian Kyle Jones to win the elite titles at the ITU World Cup sprint distance event in Cozumel, Mexico.
Making up time from being in the chase pack on the bike, Ueda mustered an impressive run that was 31 seconds faster than anyone else in the 60-women field and gave her a 7-seconds margin of victory over runner-up Rachel Klamer of the Netherlands. The win was Ueda’s first World Cup of the season, and also gave her a second career Mexican victory, after her gold medal at the Huatulco World Cup of 2014. “I love Mexico!” said Ueda. “After the Chicago Grand Final, I did two weeks of high altitude training in Mexico City. The Mexican people are very kind and gave me great support.”
Ueda led the chase group on the bike but could never get closer than 25 seconds. On the run, Ueda worked hard and joined a pack of a half dozen good runners working together until the bell lap. At that point, Ueda found another gear that no one else could match and stormed away to the victory.
Joining Ueda on the podium were Rachel Klamer of Netherlands and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Erin Densham of Australia.
“When we started running, I honestly didn’t think I would even make the podium,” said Klamer. “I was just smashed. I thought I was going to blow out. I saw Ueda running and I was tempted to start cheering for her because she had such an awesome run.”
Densham was happy with her 3rd place finish. “I was really surprised because I have been feeling really terrible for over a month, so I haven’t been able to do a whole lot of work. But to come out here and actually do okay, I’m really happy.”
Men
Coming off three straight bronze medal finishes – at the Rio Olympic test event, WTS Edmonton, and at the Grand Final in Chicago – Richard Murray topped off a strong season with a gold medal at the ITU World Cup sprint in Cozumel.
Murray combined a better-than-usual swim, a crowded bike that left him with some work to do, and a 2nd-fastest 14:55 5k run, that brought him to a no-drama finish in 55:03 with an 11 seconds margin of victory over runner-up Kyle Jones of Canada (14:51 run) and 12 seconds on bronze medalist Gabor Faldum of Hungary.
“I thought I was in a good position on the swim, until I got on the bike and there were 50 bikes there, and that is normally not a good sign,” said Murray. “I was thinking I could finish the season off with a run if I don't blow up at the start. But I felt great on the bike and managed to pull it together.”
Canadian Kyle Jones came in second after being further down in the field than Murray after the bike. Surging hard in the last kilometer brought him the silver, without a duel with Murray.
Jones was happy to earn his first podium of the year. “I was very happy with my swim as I was right up with the leaders, so I didn’t have to chase down on the bike. I fell back a little bit on the pack so I came into transition down a little bit. I had to make up quite a bit of ground on the first lap, but I tried to play it as cool as I could because I knew I would need it on the second lap. I felt strong and put in a surge with 800 meters to go and it paid off.”
Faldum earned his second World Cup podium of the year after taking silver at Tiszaujvaros. “I normally do not race well in this heat, so I am really happy I got on this podium,” said Faldum. “My goal was to make top 10 so this was a big surprise for me.”
ITU World Cup Cozumel
Cozumel, Mexico
October 4, 2015
S 750m / B 20k / R 5k
Results
Women
1. Ai Ueda (JPN) 59:09
2. Rachel Klamer (NED) 59:16
3. Erin Densham (AUS) 59:25
4. Yuko Takahashi (JPN) 39:29
5. Lisa Norden (SWE) 59:32
6. Adriana Barraza (MEX) 59:34
7. Lindsey Jerdonek (USA) 59:38
8. Julia Hauser (AUT) 59:45
9. Claire Michel (BEL) 59:48
10. Summer Cook (USA) 59:59
11. Avery Evenson (USA) 1:00:00
21. Taylor Spivey (USA) 1:00:35
23. Chelsea Burns (USA) 1:00:41
40. Julie Stupp (USA) 1:02:13
44. Renee Tomlin (USA) 1:02:39
46. Erin Dolan (USA) 1:03:22
48. Kaitlin Donner (USA) 1:03:57
Men
1. Richard Murray (RSA) 55:03
2. Kyle Jones (CAN) 55:14
3. Gabor Faldum (HUN) 55:15
4. Jonathan Zipf (GER) 55:17
5. Jelle Geens (BEL) 55:18
6. Premysl Svarc (CZE) 55:19
7. Joe Maloy (USA) 55:20
7. Leonardo Chacon (CRC) 55:21
9. Crisanto Grajales (MEX) 55:23
10. Kevin McDowell (USA) 55:24
23. John O’Neill (USA) 55:50
37. Eli Hemming (USA) 56:20
39. Sean Jefferson (USA) 56:22
58. Dan McIntosh (USA) 57:43
65. Jarrod Shoemaker (USA) 58:48
