Karen Smyers looks back at a career that brought her much more than three ITU World Titles, an Ironman World Championship, seven US elite titles, two Pan Am golds and the Hall of Fame,
by Tim Carlson, January 26, 2009
USA Triathlon tabs Jon Noll, Verne Scott, the late Judy Flannery, Sheila Taormina and Karen Smyers for its first Hall of Fame class.
Normann Stadler thinks a better fit for his new Scott race bike will eliminate the problems that plagued his 2008 Kona effort. So this week he checked in with his old Tri Dubai race director Franko Vatterot in Boulder and got measured by Retul technology.
Persistence pays for two Aussies – Richie Cunningham wins on his fifth try, Belinda Granger wins on her sixth attempt; six hundred entries show up despite some civilian unrest, temporary closure of international airports.
Rudyard Kipling might have been thinking of the triathletic warriors of Ultraman when he wrote of the code of the brave soldiers of the British Empire. Catastrophes and glory await both on their disparate journeys.
The Brazilian star adds a blazing 6:15:32 double marathon to a Day 2 lead to win the 24th Ultraman World Championship in the third fastest time ever; Shanna Armstrong finishes her 5th win with an 8:17:32 double marathon.
Ribeiro’s near-record 7:20:41 split for the 171.4-mile Day 2 course gives the Brazilian a 10 minute lead over O’Keefe and 31-minute cushion over legendary double marathoner Peter Kotland going into Sunday’s finale.
This ultra distance triathlon classic on the weekend after Thanksgiving kicked off its 24th edition with tough swim currents, headwinds, and an unlikely 47-year-old Canadian military officer leading the pack.
The 36-year-old Aussie sits down with Timothy Carlson and explains what he did for an encore after his perfect, five-for-five, $500,000, 2007 Life Time Fitness series triumph.
They start with a 10k swim from Kailua Pier to Keauhou Bay, then ride 90 miles to Volcanoes National Park. The next day they ride 171.4 miles from Volcanoes to Hawi. Then they run 52.4 miles on the Queen K to Kailua.
Things we learned at the blazing fast 70.3 worlds – Transitions count. You probably can’t win Clearwater after racing Kona. Amateur Brooke Davison rocks. Drafting is unavoidable in the amateur waves.
As Crowie, the new King of Kona, takes a rest, and defending champ Andy Potts is presumably still recovering from his Kona debut, the men’s field at the 70.3 World Championships is wide open.
With 2006 champion Sam McGlone sidelined by Achilles tendinitis and 2-time Ironman winner Chrissie Wellington resting on her laurels, can anyone beat defending champion Mirinda Carfrae?