Since she began in 2007, Chrissie Wellington has never lost a 140.6-mile triathlon that she has started - and she has started eleven of them. She also won Ironman South Africa in Port Elizabeth on Sunday with 8:33:56, setting a new Ironman World Record. Wellington finished 8th overall as usual - she has lately finished in top 8 overall consistently in Ironman-distance races. Her fellow Englishwoman Rachel Joyce arrived second, crossing the finish line 34 minutes after Chrissie.
Actually she went faster last summer in Challenge Roth (8:19:13), but that is known in triathlon circles as a somewhat shorter course than advertised. Her previous record was 8:36:13 from Ironman Arizona in November, after the disappointing DNS in Kona.
After a solid swim and bike, she ran an incredible 2:52:54 marathon. Nobody could beat that, not even the local hero Raynard Tissink, who took the men's title with a new course record 8:05:36. Marino Vanhoenacker posted the best bike split of the day (4:18), but Tissink was able to keep up with him on the bike and hang on there until Van's wheels come off completely on the run.
The live video feed made the race easier and more fun to follow online.
No comments:
Post a Comment