07/28/10
Awesome races and a sub-9 Ironman
With race season in full swing, ironguides athletes are competing around the world. While ironguides is proud of all its athletes that put in their hardest efforts, a sub-nine hour Ironman finish is certainly a highlight in terms of rewards for years of hard work.
Category: results
Posted by: editor
At Ironman Switzerland, ironguides athlete Balazs Csoke finished in less than nine hours and rounded out the top 10 in the MPRO division. With a time of 8hr 57min, it was a dream race and an absolutely superb accomplishment after years of believing in his ability to do this. ironguides coach Alun "Woody" Woodward couldn't be prouder.
Also at Ironman Switzerland Neil Franks finished in 11hr 59min, a great result for his third Ironman that saw him pedal to a whopping 20-minute PB for the bike.
Gergely Nagy finished 20th in the MPRO division at Ironman Switzerland, with a 10hr 56min finish. It was a hard day at the office for Gergo, but he will be back with a great performance soon.
Greg Unsworth made a very successful comeback Ironman after time off for spinal sugery and a new addition to the family. With a 10hr 4min finish he's the fastest athlete from Singapore.
Steven Yong finished in 12hr 23min, Roger Chow crossed the line in 12hr 41min and Chong Mein came home in 12hr 57min. These three athletes all posted very solid runs after a tougher-than-expected bike course at Ironman Switzerland.
At Ironman Nice, Alistair Mcveigh (M35-39) crossed the line in a solid 11hr 13min.
At Ironman 70.3 Racine, Renne Richards finished 9th in the F35-39 division, with a time of 5hr 17min. Renne really toughed this out on a hot, hot day.
In New York, Gene Derkack earned 16th place in the M30-34 age group at the NYC triathlon, finishing in 2hr 16min.
Meanwhile, Brenda McGovern earned second place in the F50-54 division at the SAIC 5kmin Huntsville and won her age group at the Wet Dog Tri.
In Brazil, Lígia Ribeiro earned third place in the F30-34 age group with a 1hr 52min finish at the sixth GPI Triathlon, winter edition. This race, 750m - 20km - 5km, has a challenging bike course, according to ironguides coach Rodrigo Tosta.
In Malaysia, it was a busy weekend too. ironguides coaches Vinnie Santana and Shem Leong went to the Port Dickson triathlon to watch athletes set multiple PBs (including Shem) and perform to the best of their abilities.
Julian Hudson set a 10-minute PB for a finish time of 2hr 20min.
Ezer Ratchaga scored his first Olympic distance triathlon finish in 2hr 44min.
Denis Oakley raced toward a 12-minute PB, coming home in 2hr 33min.
ironguides coach Shem finished in 2hr 9min, earning 5th spot in the 30-39 age group. Shem raced hard with his heroes from Malaysia, managing to pick all but one of them off on the run.
Elvia Suyardie crossed the line in 2hr 28min, good for 6th place in her 16-34 age division. Elvia had a olid performance in a deep women's field. She has to work on swimming straight in the water :- ).
Olivier Monnard posted a 2hr 15min time, earning him 10th place in the 30-39 age group. Olivier had a solid run and his first taste of a top 10 position will surely imspire him onto to faster times - and to beating his coach.
Joseph Wong did 2hr 37min. He did a fantastic run and promises his coach to work hard on his bike.
In South Africa, ironguides athletes are also reaping the rewards. ironguides coach Jono Rumbelow has begun coaching four development athletes as part of an agreement with the provincial triathlon association. Luvuyo Ncanywa has qualified out of merit and performance, for the South Africa Duathlon team to compete at the World Championships in September in Edinburgh. Marinus Johnson also qualified for the team but finances have prevented him from going. The cost per athlete is R21,000 (US$2855).
Marinus has excelled in other places too. On the 17th he took part in a cross-country league meeting in Port Elizabeth. The race plan was to take the first lap very easy and then run as hard and fast as he could for the last one. Well he did just that. His first lap of 2km he came through at 7min 3sec and in 10th place. He started gradually upping the pace and did three 45-second surges picking those in front of him one by one.
His overall time was 12min 43sec, earning him 3rd place overall and a big 22-second PB over the distance at this very same course. The winner of the race was a mere 17 seconds in front.
On Sunday the 25th a number of ironguides athletes took part at the Ocean Series Winter race, a 1km sea swim. While the wind favoured a fairly calm sea, the temperature of 14 Celsius was the big challenge. To add some fun to the day for the athletes, coach Jono took part as well.
Emile van Niekerk finished in 16min 30sec, 10th in the 15-19 age group and a 90-second PB for the distance.
Graham Richards did 18min 3sec to win his 50-59 age division.
Rob Ermes managed 22 mins 3sec, earning third in 50-59 age group and a 4-minute PB.
Enoch Katu also did 22 min 3sec.
Mike Copeland was a mere five seconds behind, at 22 min 8sec. That gave him 4th in the 60-69 age group.
As for coach Jono, at 20min 39sec it wasn't a bad effort considering he has only swum four times this year. Hopefully he will do better at the summer series events starting in November.
A 5km run on both sand and asphalt took place at the same event. As a final prep for the Provincial Cross-country Championships next weekend, Marinus Johnson stormed to an impressive 14min 3sec finish, taking the overall win by 26 seconds.
Also at Ironman Switzerland Neil Franks finished in 11hr 59min, a great result for his third Ironman that saw him pedal to a whopping 20-minute PB for the bike.
Gergely Nagy finished 20th in the MPRO division at Ironman Switzerland, with a 10hr 56min finish. It was a hard day at the office for Gergo, but he will be back with a great performance soon.
Greg Unsworth made a very successful comeback Ironman after time off for spinal sugery and a new addition to the family. With a 10hr 4min finish he's the fastest athlete from Singapore.
Steven Yong finished in 12hr 23min, Roger Chow crossed the line in 12hr 41min and Chong Mein came home in 12hr 57min. These three athletes all posted very solid runs after a tougher-than-expected bike course at Ironman Switzerland.
At Ironman Nice, Alistair Mcveigh (M35-39) crossed the line in a solid 11hr 13min.
At Ironman 70.3 Racine, Renne Richards finished 9th in the F35-39 division, with a time of 5hr 17min. Renne really toughed this out on a hot, hot day.
In New York, Gene Derkack earned 16th place in the M30-34 age group at the NYC triathlon, finishing in 2hr 16min.
Meanwhile, Brenda McGovern earned second place in the F50-54 division at the SAIC 5kmin Huntsville and won her age group at the Wet Dog Tri.
In Brazil, Lígia Ribeiro earned third place in the F30-34 age group with a 1hr 52min finish at the sixth GPI Triathlon, winter edition. This race, 750m - 20km - 5km, has a challenging bike course, according to ironguides coach Rodrigo Tosta.
In Malaysia, it was a busy weekend too. ironguides coaches Vinnie Santana and Shem Leong went to the Port Dickson triathlon to watch athletes set multiple PBs (including Shem) and perform to the best of their abilities.
Julian Hudson set a 10-minute PB for a finish time of 2hr 20min.
Ezer Ratchaga scored his first Olympic distance triathlon finish in 2hr 44min.
Denis Oakley raced toward a 12-minute PB, coming home in 2hr 33min.
ironguides coach Shem finished in 2hr 9min, earning 5th spot in the 30-39 age group. Shem raced hard with his heroes from Malaysia, managing to pick all but one of them off on the run.
Elvia Suyardie crossed the line in 2hr 28min, good for 6th place in her 16-34 age division. Elvia had a olid performance in a deep women's field. She has to work on swimming straight in the water :- ).
Olivier Monnard posted a 2hr 15min time, earning him 10th place in the 30-39 age group. Olivier had a solid run and his first taste of a top 10 position will surely imspire him onto to faster times - and to beating his coach.
Joseph Wong did 2hr 37min. He did a fantastic run and promises his coach to work hard on his bike.
In South Africa, ironguides athletes are also reaping the rewards. ironguides coach Jono Rumbelow has begun coaching four development athletes as part of an agreement with the provincial triathlon association. Luvuyo Ncanywa has qualified out of merit and performance, for the South Africa Duathlon team to compete at the World Championships in September in Edinburgh. Marinus Johnson also qualified for the team but finances have prevented him from going. The cost per athlete is R21,000 (US$2855).
Marinus has excelled in other places too. On the 17th he took part in a cross-country league meeting in Port Elizabeth. The race plan was to take the first lap very easy and then run as hard and fast as he could for the last one. Well he did just that. His first lap of 2km he came through at 7min 3sec and in 10th place. He started gradually upping the pace and did three 45-second surges picking those in front of him one by one.
His overall time was 12min 43sec, earning him 3rd place overall and a big 22-second PB over the distance at this very same course. The winner of the race was a mere 17 seconds in front.
On Sunday the 25th a number of ironguides athletes took part at the Ocean Series Winter race, a 1km sea swim. While the wind favoured a fairly calm sea, the temperature of 14 Celsius was the big challenge. To add some fun to the day for the athletes, coach Jono took part as well.
Emile van Niekerk finished in 16min 30sec, 10th in the 15-19 age group and a 90-second PB for the distance.
Graham Richards did 18min 3sec to win his 50-59 age division.
Rob Ermes managed 22 mins 3sec, earning third in 50-59 age group and a 4-minute PB.
Enoch Katu also did 22 min 3sec.
Mike Copeland was a mere five seconds behind, at 22 min 8sec. That gave him 4th in the 60-69 age group.
As for coach Jono, at 20min 39sec it wasn't a bad effort considering he has only swum four times this year. Hopefully he will do better at the summer series events starting in November.
A 5km run on both sand and asphalt took place at the same event. As a final prep for the Provincial Cross-country Championships next weekend, Marinus Johnson stormed to an impressive 14min 3sec finish, taking the overall win by 26 seconds.