06-05-01:
A new generation of triathletes
stamped their authority on one of the sport’s oldest races last
Saturday. Terenzo Bozzone,
21, and Samantha McGlone,
27, dominated loaded race fields and established new course
records at the 24th Annual Jamba Juice Wildflower Triathlon.
Last year, New
Zealand’s Bozzone introduced himself to the North America
triathlon scene with an impressive 3rd place finish
at Wildflower. This year, he ripped up a top field and spat out
the course record. Bozzone laid down a near perfect race – he
was second out of the swim, rode away from the likes of Torbjorn
Sindballe and Chris Leito on the bike en route to the day’s
fastest bike split, and capped off his incredible day with a new
run course record of 1:11:57 over a tough trail and road course.
He broke the course record by nearly six minutes. This was no
soft course record as Wildflower has hosted virtually every name
triathlete in the sport’s history. Until last year, when Simon
Lessing posted a 3:59:33, no one -- not Reid, not DeBoom, not
McCormick, not Legh, not Bell, not Zack, not Larsen, not Widoff,
not Brown, not Stadler -- had ever broken four hours on the
Wildflower course.
While the news about
Samantha McGlone’s win was not quite as sensational (as she was
the defending champion) her result was equally impressive. Out
of the swim with the race favorites, McGlone held off a
determined challenge on the bike by 6-Time Ironman World
Champion, Natascha Badmann, and then ran away to win by nearly
six minutes. McGlone took 58 seconds off Donna Peter’s 1992
course record, possibly the oldest course record in the sport.
Chris Legh’s
second place was a definitive response to the speculation about
his health following his April announcement that he would no
longer race full-distance Ironman races. As Legh has explained
in many interviews, the difficulties he’s experienced at the
full Ironman distance are solely caused by a patent foramen
ovale, an opening in the heart that naturally closes before
birth in 85 to 90 percent of the population. As he's found since
first experiencing symptoms four years ago, the hole widens
under race stress lasting longer than 4 hours and allows blood
to flow out and settle in his lungs. This condition does not
affect him in races up to half Ironman distance. Legh will now
specialize at this distance and focus on the inaugural Ford
Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
Ironman 70.3
Champion, Luke Bell
dropped out of the race during the bike due to a cold he caught
on his flight over from Australia. Luke is ramping up for
Ironman Brazil at the end of the month.
After withdrawing
from Ironman New Zealand due to illness,
Kate Major finally
got into the action at Wildflower finishing 5th in
the strong women’s pro field.
2006 Jamba Juice Wildflower
Triathlon
May 6, 2006
Lake San Antonio,
Calif.
1.2-mile swim,
56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run
Men
1. Terenzo Bozzone (NZL)
3:53:43 (23:34/ 2:16:20/ 1:11:57)
2. Chris Legh (AUS)
4:01:38 (24:31/ 2:18:56/ 1:16:20)
3. Greg Remaly (USA)
4:03:29 (23:49/ 2:18:18/ 1:19:22)
4. Tom Evans (CAN)
4:06:08 (23:20/ 2:19:20/ 1:21:17)
5. Matt Seeley (USA)
4:09:29 (24:41/ 2:23:23/ 1:19:24)
Women
1. Samantha McGlone
(CAN) 4:31:08 (27:01/ 2:37:07/ 1:25:05)
2. Natascha Badmann
(SWI) 4:36:53 (29:06/ 2:35:50/ 1:29:38)
3. Kim Loeffler
(USA) 4:44:18 (29:52/ 2:46:04/ 1:25:43)
4. Joanna Lawn (NZL)
4:45:25 (27:04/ 2:46:29/ 1:29:29)
5. Kate Major (AUS)
4:50:54 (29:11/ 2:46:10/ 1:33:09)
For complete results
browse
www.http://www.tricalifornia.com/wildflower/2006/
