The 30th edition of the Ultraman World Championships started out of Kailua Bay on Friday with 38 swimmers taking the 6.2-mile swim. ADVERTISING The 30th edition of the Ultraman World Championships started out of Kailua Bay on Friday with 38
The 30th edition of the Ultraman World Championships started out of Kailua Bay on Friday with 38 swimmers taking the 6.2-mile swim.
The first swimmer to emerge from the water at Keauhou Bay was 43-year-old Craig Percival of Australia with a time of 2 hours, 31 minutes and 50 seconds.
Percival held a 12-minute lead over swimmer Marty Raymond of Canada. Raymond came in with a time of 2:43:04 followed by Julie Shelley at 2:53:17.
The fourth swimmer was Yasuko Miyazaki of Japan, who completed in 2:57:20, followed by Tobias Winnemoeller in 3:02:09.
All 38 swimmers completed the distance, with the last swimmer being Stacey Shand at 5:12:18.
Once out of the water, the athletes mounted their bikes and began the 90-mile ride to Volcano. The athletes started the bike in good conditions, but winds began to pick up during the 4,000-foot climb to the finish at Maunaleo Place.
Keeping his solid grip on the first-place standing for the day, Percival posted an impressive bike split of 5:33:10 to give him a Day 1 total time of 8:05:00.
Making a move from fifth out of the swim to second overall, Winnemoeller clocked a 5:43:04 ride to total 8:45:13.
Making a huge move up the field was Canada’s Tony O’Keefe, who came in from the bike in 5:43:04 for a total of 8:49:47, good for third overall. Peter Kotland of the Czech Republic completed the ride in 5:37:02 to move up to fourth place with a total time of 8:51:17.
Rounding out the top five in the men’s field was Nick Logan with a total time of 8:57:00.
The women’s race was a little tighter, with Shelley finishing first on the day with a 6:17:03 ride to post a total time of 9:10:20. Miyazaki held on to her second-place standing with a 6:19:59 bike split for a 9:17:19 total. Kathy Winkler had the fastest women’s bike split with a 6:15:35 to put her in third.
Andre Kajlich — the only paratriathlete in the field — had an excellent 6.2-mile swim and exited the water in 3:21:09. He became the first hand-cycle athlete to complete the Day 1 bike course in a time of 7:02:45, giving him a total time of 10:23:54 and placing him 15th overall.
Sylvia Ravaglia finished the day as the top Big Island athlete, coming in at 10:19:38. John Howerton followed at 10:28:08. The other three Big Island finishers came in within 10 minutes of each other: Laurie Beers at 11:46:14, Dene Sturm at 11:49:28 and Stephen Cosgrove at 11:53:43.
Two athletes were unable to complete the bike section in the 12-hour time limit. Both participants will be allowed to continue the next two days.
