Women's press conference

Chrissie Wellington ushers in a new era of racing at the Ford Ironman World Championship

As with the men, one of the best ways to wrap up today's race is to recount some of the quotes from today's press conference. Of course, the first question for today's champion, Chrissie Wellington, was about the 10 minutes she spent on the side of the ride trying to get her flat tire fixed.

“About 90 km I got the flat tire,” Wellington said. The defending champion had moved into the lead by that point in the race and enjoyed a lead of about five minutes at the time. “I managed to get the tire off pretty quickly and get the tube changed. I couldn’t get the two CO2 cartridges that I have to work.

“I have to say a huge thanks to Rebekah,” Wellington said of Rebekah Keat, who stopped to hand her a CO2 cartridge. “To me what she did epitomizes everything that is good about the sport.”

Despite the time she had lost out on the course, Wellington cruised to an impressive win here today. Her 9:06 time is the fifth fastest time ever recorded here in Kona, and included the fastest marathon ever run on this course.

It all ended with another fun trip down the finish chute here in Kona.

“Like last year, to run down the finish line was so surreal,” Wellington said. “Just to come down that finish line first, like last year was so emotional for me.

“This past year has taught me about the magnitude of the event and what winning this race means. I have to say this second win has made every dream come true. I’m absolutely overjoyed. To have my family here has made it very special.

“So much has changed for me this past year. I try and see those additional pressures as a positive. Brett hasn’t let me get carried away. He has made me keep my feet on the ground.

“For some people the crown weighs heavy, but for me it’s lifted me up. Coming in here I felt additional pressure, but no more pressure than I had on myself. I found everyone, the athletes, the general public, my fellow competitors to be so respectful of me and to give me my own space.

“Today was so much harder than last year in so many ways. The swim I found so much more comfortable than last year. The bike was hotter and the winds were way more challenging. I was getting blown across the road at various times. The run was tough out there today.

Like Wellington a year ago, Sandra Wallenhorst arrived here in Kona for the first time. The winner of Ironman Austria ran a 2:58 marathon, which would have been the fastest time ever posted on the marathon course … if Wellington hadn’t run a few seconds faster before the German got to the line.

Wallenhorst says she wasn’t totally surprised that she did well here today.

“I always like the heat,” she said. “I used to train in Australia. I knew I was in pretty good shape. I trained hard since I came back from Austria. I got my old swim coach back and trained with him a lot. I ran a lot more miles.

“Since I raced this strong this year, I hope I can start this career and keep it going.”

You think? I’d say an 8:47 in Austria followed by a third place finish at the Ford Ironman World Championship is a pretty decent re-start of a career that was stalled 22 months ago for the birth of her son.

Today’s fifth place finisher, Lynsey Corbin was also the top American today. Two years ago she was a “fast age grouper.” Today she found herself in third place at one point.

“When I ran into third I was surprised and wondered what I was doing here.”

When Jan Wanklyn, one of our spotters, came in at the end of the day, she announced that today was a day when we saw a changing of the guard in the women’s race. How accurate a statement is that?

Today we saw a very classy changing of the guard – even without runner-up Yvonne Van Vlerken at the press conference, another Kona rookie who excelled here today.

In a race that went as planned, somehow we managed to have lots of excitement built in.