Kona 2011 – day 1
Even though we are still several days away from the 2011 Ford Ironman World Championships, it appears that Kona is busier than before.
The pier was very crowded in the morning and roads around Kona were busy with runners and cyclists. Today the Ironman expo area opened up officially and the annual parade of nations took place. The most adorable event of the day though was the kids splash and dash event.
Enjoy this gallery from our first day coverage.
All images are © Herbert Krabel / slowtwitch.com
This sign does not seem to stop anyone from entering the water here in Kona.
Simon Whitfield, Tim Don and Javier Gomez after their morning swim.
Dirk Bockel looked very relaxed and fit before his swim.
Although he isn't racing this event, Michael Raelert is here in Kona.
Not everyone at the pier is completely occupied with the swim.
The Kona Farmer's Market offers a great selection of fruit and vegetables and is virtually across the street from the Ironman Expo.
The K-Swiss K-Ruuz 1.5 is a new shoe for K-Swiss and is the shoe of choice for the Raelert brothers.
We came across Mirinda Carfrae's Felt DA in downtown Kona.
There are all kinds of things to do near the pier.
IndyCar driver Vitor Meira at Lava Java.
Tony and Elize DeBoom have been very busy in Kona
While cyclists can be seen all over the Queen K this week, no cyclists are allowed at the Energy Lab.
The Queen K is indeed very busy with cyclists.
But not all cyclists here are getting ready for the race on Saturday.
Speedy cyclist Nikki Butterfield is also in town, but is not racing here.
And this is what you see all day long along Ali'i Drive
During the kid's Splash and Dash race this 12-year old from Salem, Oregon ran a very gutsy race, but ended up a seconds behind the male winner.
Greg Welch was the announcer for the kid's race and he is sporting the shirt that promotes WTC's "I am true" campaign.
Michael Weiss led the Austrian triathletes during the parade of nations.
Joe Tanaka wore this outfit during the parade of nations and we caught him in the expo before he changed back into his regular clothes.
