After 8 hours, a 2 seconds margin

September 30, 2015

Race officials declared the margin of victory was 2 seconds, but the pulse-pounding duel to the finish looked much closer than that. When Kirill Kotsegarov of Estonia made a final surge with 20 meters to go, he passed Matt Chrabot of the U.S. to take the victory at Ironman Chattanooga. Officially, it was the second-closest winning margin in Ironman history, after the 1990 Ironman New Zealand race won by Pauli Kiuru of Finland over Ken Glah of the United States by an official margin of one second.

Three days after that extraordinary duel, Matt Chrabot reflects on what it felt like inside the storm of the final mile.

Slowtwitch: Congratulations Matt for a great race and a great effort. Thanks for taking the time to speak with us.

Matt Chrabot: Thanks Tim. Nice to hear from you.

ST: Have you recovered from that ultimate end-of-race effort?

Matt: I'm starting to come around. The good news is that I'm just a little sore. Nothing unusual or out of whack. The bad news is that Kona is in 10 days. I have very little expectations, other than just getting used to the vibe and circus that surrounds the race.

ST: In your ITU short course and non-drafting Olympic distance races, have you ever had a photo-finish duel to the line like this one?

Matt: This is the slimmest margin I've had for a win on the line. I'm sure there may have been races just as close sprinting for 20th in an ITU race, but not for a win.

ST: How surprised are you that this happened at the end of an 8-hour day?

Matt: Very surprised. I had over a two minute lead in the middle stages of the marathon, then lost most of it when I went through a rough patch around the 21st to 22nd mile markers. At that moment all I could think of was “just hang on to the podium.” When Stefan Schmid and Kotsegarov caught me around mile 23, I just assumed running with them at their quicker pace would be easier than running slower by myself. In a weird way, I was right. I was beginning to come around as they caught me, but I totally snapped out of it and got right back in the game.

ST: How much did you think you had left going into the carpet?

Matt: I knew I was emptying the tank in the last mile. I played it "safe" by staying with Kirill until the carpet rather than attacking with 1/2 mile or 400m left. I only had one match to burn and didn't know how bright or long it would last.

ST: Did you surprise yourself that you had that sprint in you?

Matt: As ugly as it was, I sure was surprised. I felt OK enough to kick it up a notch, but it I wasn't anticipating anything like in an ITU or French Grand Prix event.

ST: What sort of strategy were you mulling over during that last mile?

Matt: Just hang on, don't even try to surge. Wait to see if someone breaks first. I was already running on vapor, and at 8 hours into the Ironman, so were the other guys. If I could hold steady at the all-out current effort level, maybe I would be the last one to break.

ST: Did you have a chance to look over and analyze how strong Kirill looked? What were the clues?

Matt: Kirill was the big tall guy of the trio. He set the pace the last 3 miles, and I was happy and comfortable running behind him riding in his draft. I wasn’t even thinking about who looked strong or not. All I thought was “we're all at our limit, just hang in there” and “don't flake out now.”

ST: Were you hiding or trying not to show how tired you were?

Matt: I kept my cards close to my chest. There was no way I could surge without wondering if it would backfire or not.

ST: Did you know anything about Kotsegerov and what sort of a finish sprint he might have?

Matt: No, I had no idea. Doing research on Ironman athletes is pretty tough. I asked around, but as far as punching each athlete into Google, it would’ve been a waste of time. The ITU makes it easy when the start lists are posted. You just click a name and all the results from every ITU event pop up. I had no idea he had won Ironman Florida a few years ago.

ST: What in your background as an athlete – running, biking, or swimming – let you know how much of fast twitch versus slow twitch muscles you have going for you?

Matt: I always had a bit of a kick on the bike and run. It's never been impressive or worth mentioning. But of all the triathletes out there, maybe at best I have a 50/50 chance at taking the sprint as long as we run the last few miles together. Compared to guys like Bevan Docherty or Andy Potts, I'm not even in their zip code.

ST: Take us through the final 400 meters. When did you decide to let it all hang out?

Matt: We came off the bridge with about 400m to go and slowly began to drop Schmid. I sat on Kotsegarov's shoulder until 50m to go, then gave it everything I had with the momentum of the slight downhill. I was trying to come over to my left and run directly in front of him, so that he'd be completely boxed in behind me and the barrier if I couldn't go any faster and he had something left. If I successfully pulled this off, he’d have to come back around me and run out of real estate to take it on the line. Just as I did this, he took two big long strides and pulled ahead to hit the tape.

ST: Looking at the head-on angle of the behind-the-finish-line video, it looks like you hit the tape simultaneously. But a side view showed a little more space between you two at the end. What did it look like to you?

Matt: He hit the tape right as I fell. My foot with the timing chip was way behind me and I think it took an extra second or two for the chip to engage since my chest crossed the line long before my foot did. I looked up at the finishing gantry and thought, “Well at least my torso is on the other side.”

ST: Aside from your own experiences, what memorable finish line sprints have you seen on tape or on TV and what might you have learned from them?

Matt: I always liked watching Gomez and Jonny Brownlee battling it out a few years ago. One of the coolest final kick videos out there is the slow motion video with Haile Gebrselassie versus Paul Tergat at the Sydney Olympics 10,000 meter final.

Up until Ironman Chattanooga, my all-time favorite sprint was with Simon Whitfield, Ruedi Wild, Adam Bowden, and me sprinting for 4th place at 2011 Yokohama WTS. I took 5th right behind Simon, but to come sprinting down the chute and finish within one second of one of the greatest triathletes of all time was quite a thrill.

ST: A smartphone video on the internet taken several yards before the finish seem to show you made a move into the lead about 20-30 yards from the finish line. Then Kotsegarov made a counter move that got you at the line. Is that correct? What was your perception?

Matt: Oh, the course was about 10 meters too long, wasn't it?! I had him, but just couldn’t pull ahead far enough to get a gap. When he counter surged, I was already falling to pieces. By that time there were only inches left and I collapsed right after the line.

ST: How much did it hurt physically? Looks like Kotsegarov finished standing up and you fell down.

Matt: When you win big like that, it’s so much easier to jump around or at least stand tall like you could’ve keep going. I just laid there looking up at the gantry, thinking this is the most I've ever hurt at the finish of a triathlon. Thank God I was able to hang in there to keep it close.

ST: How much did it hurt emotionally to lose?

Matt: Not as bad as you’d think. To overcome the dark patch, blow a 2 minute lead after 21 miles, and then get back in as a contender, was something I've never seen anyone do, let alone experienced in my life. At least I rallied to hang in there.

ST: How much distance/time do you think was between you and Kirill at the finish?

Matt: Maybe a foot or two. I barely touched the banner with my hand when I fell.

ST: What did you learn and what might you have done differently if you had a chance to do it again?

Matt: Immediately after the race, I thought if it came down to this why didn’t I just run with Kirill all day?! It would've been so much easier than going out alone in the middle of the marathon!

ST: What did you two say to one another afterward?

Matt: Great job. That was one hell of a race. We really brought the best out of each other. I was so tired, I could barely come up with anything articulate to say.

ST: Are you happy moving up to the Ironman distance?

Matt: So far it’s not so bad. I love going on long, hard bike rides. Watching the US men race this year, I can only wonder how I would’ve fared if I stayed on the Olympic path.

ST: Is Ironman your focus going forward?

Matt: It is for now. I’ve come in second twice in an Ironman [Chattanooga and Ironman Cozumel in 2014]. In triathlon, an Ironman victory is quite a big deal and a great marketing point.

ST: Congratulations on qualifying for Kona this year. What have you got left?

Matt: Next week! I qualified at the end of August without putting any focus into the KPR. My whole goal for the year was to win Chattanooga, attend Kona as a freshly crowned IM Champ, watch the race, and meet new sponsors. After I registered, I used Kona as a Plan B if Chattanooga went sour before the run. I didn't say much about racing since I didn't want my Chattanooga focus to be distracted by any Kona hype.

ST: What discipline at the Ironman distance needs the most work?

Matt: I think we all could be better cyclists and runners in some way, shape, or form. Coming from an ITU background, I have a swimming pedigree that easily translates to a being solid Ironman swimmer.

ST: Did you ever look at the 1990 Ironman New Zealand finish on YouTube? If so what do you think about it?

Matt: Yes, that's pretty cool!

ST: This year you focused on the 70.3 races, winning St. Croix and taking 2nds at New Orleans, Raleigh, Racine, and Challenge Williamsburg. What is your perspective on your 2015 season?

Matt: So far, so good! My plan was consistency and hitting it out of the park at each race. After Kona, I'll head over to Miami 70.3 and then call it a season. I'd love to do IM Arizona, but I'm using all of November to fine-tune for December's CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Level 1 Exam.