McKenzie, Klingler take Japan
Luke McKenzie took a commanding win at the 2009 Ironman Japan in a time of 8:28:31. The women's race was won by Nicole Klingler in a time of 9:52:52.
The men
Luke McKenzie's day started with a great swim and he exited the water just a step behind swim leader Kieran Doe.
Once out of transition, a group of 4 started to emerge, containing McKenzie, Doe, Cameron Watt and Tim Marr. Those 4 athletes pretty much stayed together throughout the bike and Courtney Ogden was several minutes behind them. Doe though snapped his chain with 40k to go on the bike and Marr fell off the pace. That meant that McKenzie and Watt were now on their own and that is how they arrived into T2.
McKenzie quickly gaped Watt and started to build a nice lead. Ogden was now running in 3rd place and he soon had a seemingly struggling Watt in his sight. But Watt was not going away easily and the two of them battled for quite a while before Ogden got the upper hand. But McKenzie was in a different area code and he was virtually unchallenged as he crossed the line in first place and successfully defended his title. Ogden held on for second and a strong Petr Vabrousek moved all the way up into third.
"I was really happy with my race and defending my title." said McKenzie to slowtwitch. "The weather was tougher this year with more wind and it was very humid on the run. Because of the Swine Flu (H1N1) scare we had to stop at each aid station to serve our own drinks which made it tough and broke up the rhythm. With about 7km to go I got a split of 18 minutes to second place and being able to relax and take it easier really hurt me mentally. I suddenly started to struggle on the last few hills and just wanted to see the finish line. I was really happy to break my course record by 40 seconds."
The women
Hillary Biscay was first out of the water for the women and was closely followed by Maki Nishiuchi and Nicole Ward.
Biscay then really pushed it on the bike and got away from the other fast swimmers. After a slow swim, Nicole Klingler also pushed a hard pace and started to pass quite a few competitors. Coming into the second transition, it was Biscay with a solid lead. Klingler was next just under 6 minutes behind.
Out on the run, Klingler started to reel in the fading Biscay, and Nicole Ward made her presence known too. Megumi Shigaki and Hiromi Sato were also coming into the picture. But no one was going to take the first Ironman title for Klingler away. The pro from Liechtenstein crossed the line first in a time of 9:52:52. Ward and Shigaki rounded out the podium.
Ironman Japan
Goto City, Japan / June 21
Top 10 pro men
1. Luke McKenzie (AUS) 8:28:31
2. Courtney Ogden (AUS) 8:42:54
3. Petr Vabrousek (CZE) 8:45:59
4. Park Byung Hoon (KOR) 8:49:10
5. Kuniaki Takahama (JAP) 8:51:28
6. Hiroyuki Nishiuchi (JAP) 8:56:59
7. Cameron Watt (AUS) 8:57:54
8. Morimichi Iihoshi (JAP) 9:03:22
9. Masayuki Matsumaru (JAP) 9:04:14
10. Daiki Masuda (JAP) 9:05:17
Top 10 pro women
1. Nicole Klingler (LIE) 9:52:52
2. Nicole Ward (AUS) 9:56:00
3. Megumi Shigaki (JAP) 10:01:07
4. Hiromi Sato (JAP) 10:07:50
5. Hillary Biscay (USA) 10:14:19
6. Kaori Tokai (JAP) 10:31:29
7. Mai Taketomo (JAP) 10:46:18
8. Amanda Balding (AUS) 10:51:55
9. Anne Fallows (GBR) 11:05:59
10. Masako Kawakami (JAP) 11:11:21
