I thought the same thing. I would think... maybe... that was his last Kona, bet he'll keep racing, at least 70.3s.

Then comes back as an age grouper & kicks all the 40-44's in the butt. Top podium at Kona...I can hear lots of grumbles coming from the AG ranks--could be entertaining. Seriously now, he just got his position on the bike dialed in better--don't quit now Andy!

Yeah, I noticed he turned around and waved. I was wondering if maybe it'd be his last Kona. Getting all the points you need to qualify has gotta take its toll (both racing and traveling around the world to races).

He's always seemed like an absolute class act. At CDA 70.3 I was laying off the side of the run course with bad cramps in both hip flexors. When he ran by me he yelled something along the lines of "Fight through it. Just get up and start walking and you'll eventually be able to run again. You got this buddy!" I was floored that a pro in the would take the time to yell out this encouragement when he's locked in a battle to podium with 2 miles left in his race. So awesome.

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Matt

Not sounding like it - Fitter Radio interviewed him at the finish and he sounded fired up. Had a 7 minute Kona PR this year and said he was excited to still race with the big dogs and planned to do it for a few more years.

He made it sound like his race strategy was planned and executed well. All intentional.

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

That's great news! I wondered the same as the OP when I saw him cross.

I had mentioned before the race that he wasn't a favorite going in this year because he hadn't dominated races all summer like he did last year. But what if he's just transitioning to an all or nothing at Kona strategy.

And it was good to see him run so well off the bike considering how bad he looked running into T2 after getting off his bike. Looked like he was hurting! Guess he loosened up and had a great run.

I saw him having dinner once in Chattanooga before the 70.3 there one year and being the idiot I am said,"this may seem like a stupid question, but are you Andy Potts?" His replay, "not stupid at all because I am." He laughed then spoke to us a bit, said hi to my son and wished me luck on the race.

That is awesome! I have only heard good things about him....except for when people here were discussing his Gatorskins.

Andy had a horrible spill off the bike at t2 last year. Major slip and landed on his side/hip/shoulder

I imagine this was the reason he got off the bike so carefully

I took it that he was proud he was the first American, especially since he enjoyed a moment with the flag.

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Cynthia
Blog: http://yousignedupforwhat.com/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/yousignedup FB: http://www.facebook.com/yousignedupforwhat IG: http://instagram.com/yousignedupforwhat

All season long I wondered if this would be his last Kona. He is into the coaching and he wasn't winning the 70.3 races.
BUT-- he had the third fastest run and was first American!
He said he was racing a 70.3 in Aruba this weekend.
Guess we'll see.

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Team Zoot So Cal

I listened to the post race interview on Breakfast with Bob today and it doesn't sound like he's hanging it up next year, Kona or otherwise.

He talked about he did some backstroke during the swim as he has realized that hammering the swim to get a gap likely isn't worth the effort in most cases. He also said that he transitioned to riding outside once per week this year, something that he thought helped in the back half of the bike.

I never realized that the guys is already 40 years old, which makes his performance a bit more impressive.

I like the fly under the radar approach, arrive Wednesday night, skip the media frenzy, race, finish first American...

I've enjoyed watching his post race videos. He definitely seems like he's having alot more fun than most of the guys. I guess it's a result of being experienced enough to have realistic expectations, and knowing beating the Lange and Frodos of the world is just not in the cards when they're at their best.

I loved the post race video of him sitting in a bar, playing air guitar, air drums, etc... All while sitting down Probably because he was too shelled to be up bouncing around. Pretty cool.