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August 24, 2008
Wanjiru Races to Marathon Gold; Conditions Fail to Slow Kenyan; U.S. Runners Take 9th, 10th
from the Washington Post…
BEIJING, Aug. 24 — They were perhaps 22 miles into a marathon, and an uncharacteristically searing sun beat down on the streets of Beijing. It was a time for water, and it didn’t matter if you were Kenyan, such as Samuel Kamau Wanjiru, or Ethiopian such as Deriba Merga. The pair had run stride for stride for several minutes, pushing a pace that seemed sure to slow down, driving each other to a deep thirst.
With that, Wanjiru and Merga came across a yellow water bottle. Merga took a deep sip, and then passed the bottle just ahead of him, handing it to Wanjiru, who took a drink as well. Wanjiru then sent the bottle back. And with that one swig, he basically said “See you later” to his competition, pulling away from a stunned Merga, blistering his way into isolation.
Thus, Wanjiru seized the final gold medal of the track and field competition with a little bit of Olympic spirit and a great deal of athletic superiority. His winning time of 2 hours 6 minutes 32 seconds destroyed a 24-year-old Olympic record, left runner-up Jaouad Gharib of Morocco nearly a minute behind and gave Kenya, with a deep and rich history in distance running, its first Olympic marathon gold.
The 21-year-old finished before a packed, thunderstick-thumping crowd at National Stadium — which had already begun preparations for Sunday night’s Closing Ceremonies — waving as he entered the building, the pace he set intact from front to back.
“I had to push the pace to tire the other runners,” Wanjiru said. “I had to push the pace because my body gets tired in the heat when I slow down.”
Therefore, he didn’t slow, early or late. The chief concerns for the 93 competitors who started appeared to be the sun and the temperature, nearing 80. When the event began at 7:30 a.m., with the backdrop of Tiananmen Square and a trip by Mao Zedong’s portrait at the Forbidden City, there was a blue sky. Beijing’s notorious smog, such a concern for marathoners in the run-up to these Games, was absent, part of an elaborate orchestration by the Chinese government to move industry outside the capital city and to limit the use of cars during the Olympics.
“It didn’t feel that bad out there,” said Michigan’s Dathan Ritzenhein, who was ninth, better than any other American. “It was hot. But to run 2:06:32 in this is incredible. I think that just shows he’s a very young guy, and he’s going to be an incredible marathoner.”
August 19, 2008
Frodeno edges 3 others at finish line, claims gold in men’s triathlon
from the AP…
BEIJING (AP) — Jan Frodeno sprinted away from a chasing trio in the final meters Tuesday to win the gold medal in the Olympic men’s triathlon.
Favorite Javier Gomez was even with Frodeno, and so was 2004 silver medalist Bevan Docherty. Simon Whitfield, who won gold in 2000, was immediately behind.
“I just tried to focus and not read their names,” Frodeno said.
Whitfield, from Canada, pulled in front momentarily before being passed by Frodeno, who grimaced and yelled as he plowed through the finish line.
Frodeno’s final time was 1 hour, 48 minutes, 53.28 seconds in the grueling swim-cycle-run event. Whitfield finished 5.19 seconds behind and won silver. Docherty, of New Zealand, took the bronze.
“I knew the medal was safe, but I tried to get the gold. I kept thinking that this was the moment I’ve been dreaming of,” Frodeno said. “I could hear the other guys breathing, and I sprinted.”
August 18, 2008
Snowsill wins women’s olympic triathlon
from the AP….
BEIJING (AP) — With the finish line a few yards away, Emma Snowsill had time to grab a flag, slow down and wave.
She was all alone in front, and Australia was finally going to win Olympic gold in triathlon.
“We came so close in Sydney and Athens,” Snowsill said. “To come from a nation that’s so strong, like Australia, in terms of triathlon, it’s a fantastic feeling to finally bring home the gold medal.”
Snowsill finished more than a minute ahead of the field in the swim-cycle-run event Monday. Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal won the silver, and Emma Moffatt of Australia took the bronze.
Snowsill pulled away toward the beginning of the final leg, a 10-kilometer run she completed in 33 minutes, 17 seconds. Her overall time was 1:58:27.66.
“There’s nothing like running scared,” said Snowsill, whose run was more than a minute faster than everyone else’s. “I had to make sure I didn’t leave anything out on that field. I put every ounce of energy into this.”
August 17, 2008
Romanian runs away with Olympic women’s marathon
from the Associated Press
Tomescu-Dita pulled away from the lead pack near the halfway mark Sunday to win by 22 seconds over her nearest challenger.
Reigning world champion Catherine Ndereba of Kenya outsprinted China’s Zhou Chunxiu for the silver to the disappointment of the roaring crowd at National Stadium. Still, the bronze was China’s first medal in track and field. Another Chinese runner, Zhu Xiaolin, was fourth.
The 26.2-mile race was expected to be the biggest test yet of what impact Beijing’s polluted skies and muggy heat would have on the Olympic endurance events. Instead, the weather provided the runners with relief. Gray morning skies replaced the blue of the previous two days with a light rain falling at times and a start-time temperature of 73 degrees.
The 38-year-old Tomescu-Dita won in 2 hours, 26 minutes, 44 seconds. Ndereba, a pre-race favorite, finished in 2:27:06, one second ahead of Zhou.
It was the second consecutive Olympic silver medal for Ndereba. At 36, she may not get another chance.
“I’m not disappointed,” she said. “Disappointed is not in my vocabulary when I’m doing this.”
Tomescu-Dita, the 2005 world championship bronze medalist, blew kisses to the crowd and raised her arms in triumph as she crossed the finish line.
World record-holder Paula Radcliffe of Britain, who decided to race in her fourth straight Olympics only earlier this week because she is recovering from a stress fracture in her thigh, struggled to finish 23rd, nearly six minutes behind the winner.
August 16, 2008
Wiggins earns pursuit gold at Olympics
from VeloNews…
Britain’s Bradley Wiggins of Britain successfully defended his Olympic crown when he won the individual pursuit track cycling gold in Beijing on Saturday.
New Zealand’s Hayden Roulston took silver with Britain’s Steven Burke winning the bronze medal.
American Taylor Phinney missed a spot in the medal rounds, riding 4:26.6 in Round 1.
The 27-year-old Wiggins clocked a time of 4:16.5 in Round 1 to secure his place in the final against the New Zealander, who finished in 4:19.2.
Another Briton, Steven Burke, will race against Russia’s Alexander Markov for the bronze medal later Saturday.
Burke, competing in his first Olympics, qualified third fastest in his heat in a time of 4:21.5. Markov posted a time of 4:22.3.
American teenager Taylor Phinney, the US champion whose parents Connie Carpenter and Davis Phinney both have Olympic medals, put in a spirited performance but could only clock 4:26.6.
Roulston’s impressive ride gave him a silver medal following a dramatic return to cycling after being diagnosed with a heart condition.
Known as arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, it left him short of breath, pushed his heart rate to dangerous levels, and put him at risk of dying every time he got on his bike.
He returned to cycling after embracing a Japanese hands-on healing process known as “reiki.”
Wiggins, already Britain’s most decorated Olympic cyclist with four medals, is now assured of adding another to his collection.
Men
Individual Pursuit (4000 meters)
1st round
Steven Burke (GBR) 4 minutes 21.558 seconds defeats Volodymyr Dyudya (UKR)
Alexey Markov (RUS) 4:22.308 defeats Antonio Tauler (ESP)
Hayden Roulston (NZL) 4:19.232 defeats Taylor Phinney (USA)
Bradley Wiggins (GBR) 4:16.571 defeats Alexander Serov (RUS)
Bronze medal race
Steven Burke (GBR) defeats Alexey Markov (RUS)
Gold Medal Final
Bradley Wiggins (GBR) defeats Hayden Roulston (NZL)
August 14, 2008
Is Triathlon the New Golf ?
from amateurendurance.com
August 11, 2008 by Brian
Anthony Barton used to head out to the golf course when he wanted to get face time with clients; now he finds himself on a 50 mile bike ride. “It is just so much easier to talk business out here on the road” says Barton, owner of Perfect Polish, a firm specializing in maintaining restaurant kitchens and dining rooms, “I never knew how many of my customers are doing triathlons.”
Barton is just one of a booming number of business owners foregoing a day at the golf course in favor of a swim, run or bike ride with their clients. According to USA Triathlon (USAT), the official governing body of the sport in this country, that level is high and getting higher. First and foremost, participation is increasing at a steady pace. In 1994, 49,083 single event permits were issued; in 2004 USAT issued 177,040. These are the permits that anyone must purchase if they are not a member but they want to participate in any USAT sanctioned race, which 99.9% of races are. Membership, meanwhile, is on the rise as well. In 1994 USAT boasted 15,194 members in its ranks; in 2004 that number had more than tripled to 53,254. These are the numbers that get the attention of sponsors and race directors. Some other numbers that hook the sponsors - 40% of USAT members fall into the 30-39 age group, a highly influential demographic when it comes to purchasing decisions.
By comparison, the average age of what the PGA defines as an ‘avid’ golfer, one who plays at least 18 holes per week, is 56.3 years old. 37% of golf fans who attended a tournament last year are 55 or older. America may be graying, but their hobbies are not.
August 14, 2008
Ironman adopts “Age Up” rule
New rule will provide “international consistency”
Published Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Ironman will adopt the “age up” rule starting in 2009 to establish consistency among Ironman events around the globe, according to Ironman officials.
Starting in 2009, the Ford Ironman World Championship and all qualifying events will implement both the International Triathlon Federation and USA Triathlon’s Age Group Competition rule, which states that “All age group athletes must participate and compete in the age group division corresponding to the athlete’s age on December 31 of the year of the event.”
“We are adopting the rule to provide consistency internationally,” says Ben Fertic, the president of Ironman. “Our adoption of the ITU’s “Age Up” rule will establish a common thread and consistency among Ironman events around the globe.”
The adoption of the rule will also ensure that athletes will compete in the same age category throughout any given race year.
August 13, 2008
Olympics triathlon schedule (NBC)
August 19 10 AM EST - Men’s
August 18 10 AM EST - Women’s
Check local listings….
August 13, 2008
Another Armstrong wins cycling gold
BEIJING (Reuters) - No, she’s not related to Lance Armstrong. But Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong is proud to share some traits with the seven-time Tour de France winner, whom she describes a wonderful role model.
“I get that question quite a bit — if Lance and I are related,” Armstrong said after beating Briton Emma Pooley and Karin Thurig of Switzerland to win the women’s 23.5-km time trial at the Great Wall of China.
“The answer’s no, but I feel like we have a lot of similarities. We both come from a triathlon background; we both have the same mentality.”
Armstrong placed eighth in the road race in Athens, then in 2006 became only the third American in history to win a world championship in the women’s time trial.
Before she started cycling competitively Armstrong was a swimmer and triathlete, competing in the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii in 1999.
She was diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the hips and told to stop doing high-impact sports like running. She began cycling as therapy for her condition then started competing.
“The sport of cycling in America isn’t huge. I think that the audience is every four years at the Olympics or when Lance Armstrong is winning the Tour.
“So I hope that winning the gold medal will bring the fans out more than just one day every four years.”
August 13, 2008
Leipheimer wins bronze
from the Salt Lake Tribune
JUYONGGUAN PASS, China - Having been controversially denied the chance to ride in the Tour de France last month, cyclist Levi Leipheimer spent much of his time in Utah, instead.
Riding among the mountains of the Wasatch Front and living with a friend near Park City at 9,000 feet, he trained for the Beijing Olympics and allowed the refusal of cycling officials to permit his new team into the tour because of its past associations with doping to fuel his intense drive to make his summer mean something, and perhaps show the world what it was missing.
Powered by fresh legs and weeks of training in the thin mountain air, the man who found his start in cycling years ago while a student at Rowland Hall in Salt Lake City finished third in the Men’s Individual Time Trial on a grueling course near the Great Wall on Wednesday - giving him a cherished bronze medal to ease the pain of missing his sport’s premier event and finishing only 11th in the road race four days earlier.
“It’s one of the highlights of my career,” he said, comparing it to the joy of winning the final time-trial stage of the Tour de France last year. “The Tour de France, it is the pinnacle of our sport. And for me to win that stage and then stand on that podium the next day was incredible. It still doesn’t even feel like it really happened. And this is just as good. Standing up there today was incredible.”
Good thing he could manage it.
Leipheimer dropped to the ground after crossing the finish line of the torturously hilly 29.4-mile course, exhausted from the effort that brought him home in second place - but with five riders yet to go in their one-by-one race against the clock.
Two of them were out of contention - Salt Lake City’s David Zabriskie already had finished, and wound up12th - but Leipheimer sat back on the pavement, drenched in sweat, and waited to see whether the others would bump him off the podium.
“Honestly, I was delirious,” he said. “I know I shouldn’t be sitting down on the ground, but I just need to stop for a second and collect my thoughts, catch my breath and get some water down.”
It was clear that Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara, the last rider, was annihilating the field and going to win the gold. Sweden’s Gustav Larsson was already in, ahead of Leipheimer. The only question remaining was whether Spain’s Alberto Contador - the pro teammate who won the Tour in which Leipheimer finished third last year - or Australia’s Cadel Evans could eclipse Leipheimer’s time.
Neither did.
Contador came first, falling eight seconds short. Then, Evans crossed the line, behind by nearly 14 seconds, and Leipheimer, still sitting on the pavement, had his place on the podium, just hours after American Kristin Armstrong of Boise won gold in the women’s time trial.
“It was a big relief,” Leipheimer said.
Officially, Leipheimer finished in 1 hour, 3 minutes and 21.11 seconds - nearly 1:10 behind Cancellara. The Swiss star won in 1:02:11.43 after earning bronze in the road race, while Larsson finished in 1:02:44.79, somewhat surprisingly taking the silver.
Zabriskie seemed disappointed with his performance, after not finishing the road race. He’s one of the best time trialists in the world, too, but clearly strained against the hilly course and perhaps suffered from having to recover from a back injury suffered in a crash at the Giro d’Italia in May that interrupted his training and kept him out of the Tour de France, too.
“I don’t think I ever bogged down or anything on the climb,” he said. “It’s just like any time trial. You just give it your all. I threw up when I crossed the line. I was really exhausted. I can’t go any harder than that.”
Leipheimer thought just the opposite.
He said he felt stronger as the race progressed, and like Larsson, regretted not choosing a larger chainwheel to provide a bigger gear that would have enabled him to go even faster on the sweeping descents on the course.
Still, he was resilient enough to start reeling in competitors in the final miles, and drew upon the strength he forged on all those relentless training rides back in Utah, fueled by his frustration at missing the Tour.
“I kept telling myself there’s no way I’m going to be 10 or 15 seconds from a medal,” he said. “I’m not going to let that happen, and I think that came from watching the Tour in July.”
“Just to be an Olympian,” he added, “and then to win a medal, it’s indescribable.”
