I was very impressed!

Had a good laugh during the bike when he was leading and looked back to AB and Jan and yelled “come on, boys!”

Jan took him up on the offer and never looked back.

Great race by Tim!

NEVER thought about him being able to do this

So happy for him. Seems like a great guy

Agree with all of this.

Always thought TO was a very good, but not great IM triathlete.
Today - he became one of the greats. Breakthrough performance.

That was an inspiring effort, that in most other years (prior to '18) would have been more than good enough FTW.
He just had the misfortune of having an all-time great having an excellent day just a bit up the road.

TO is nails. BAMF.

And like Frodo, he's a Pro's Pro.

LOVED his comment about "I'm up there riding with 3 Olympic Gold medals, and I don't have any of them"
LOL.

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float , hammer , and jog

I really like the guy

Shame he raced the way he did on the bike for the last 60k. Why the hell was he pulling Frodeno and Brownlee for that long and he was pushing it because the bike train was not closing during that time.

He was not going to win so guess didn't matter but how much fresher would he have been sitting third wheel for that period vs pulling two of the GOATS !

Awesome race for sure.

Probaly because listening to his comments I dont know how much confidence he had in his ability just a few weeks before Kona. So I think you'd understand why he raced the way he did. He went for it and got it.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

As odd as that comment you made seems, I completely get it.
He raced like he had nothing to lose.

Ironic when we seem to relate that to racing with lack of confidence. Pushing the pace with those two in second half of bike would seem a quite confident move !
But I think it was the opposite of sorts as you say.

I think 2 things. I dont know how much he was actually "pushing" the pace, as I think it was a mixture of the 3 take pulls, and what the last 45 mins of the ride, Frodo went ballastic to drop them. I thought it was more of a "controlled" effort but also enough push to keep the chasers away.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

 Too bad we didn't have a poll before Kona..."A Vegan and a Low Carb guy race Kona. Where will they finish?"

Seriously though, Super impressed with TO for working with two of the greatest in the sport and finishing only behind the GOAT of Ironman distance. The announcers didn't give him enough credit. Even Rinny quit to witness his finish.

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http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

Rinny didn't quit for that reason..she had a glute issue.

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"see the world as it is not as you want it to be"

I know she wouldn't quit unless it was serious. I hope she recovers quickly.

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http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

And Lange “was sick”......

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http://www.TriScottsdale.org

TO is a true gentleman. A very nice guy to meet around a race. Not a big personality, but a solid guy that you will support if you ever meet him.

I used to look at his Kona strategy as favoring good overall placing, at the expense of really going for it. Looks like he went balls out today. Breaking 8 hours and only being beaten by the generation’s best triathlete? A helluva day.

Ok, awesome thread title.

Having said that, as someone who is slower than their wife and is occasionally referred to as “Mel’s husband” you have made me feel marginalized.

Great work considering I bet he does all the heavy lifting type stuff at home as well (mowing lawns, changing oil in the cars, painting the fence, shoveling snow etc)

Maurice

I am also slower than my wife, haha. I am content with my place.

It's almost like everyone forgets he was 3rd and 4th in Kona previously, but yeah I can't even tell you who was 5th yesterday........So totally understand everyone has short term memory ;)

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-Brad Williams
Website | Twitter: @BW_Tri |Instagram: @BW_Tri | Strava | Co-Founder & Coach at: KIS Coaching
Partnered with: Zoot Sports | Precision Fuel &Hydration | ISM

Those are not 2nd. Did you watch any interviews with TO leading up to race? Guy sounded pretty up in the air about his own self confidence.

Was hoping someone was going to start a TO thread. He is never really talked about during the run up to Kona but man did he throw down yesterday! We talk about the strength and speed of AB and Frodeno but he went toe to toe with both of them from start to finish, beating AB. Big props to him. Plus he does seem like a genuinely good guy from his Tim and Rinny show.

I wouldn’t say it was a lack of self confidence, more the unknown of how the run would go given the foot issues leading into the race/final block of training.

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-Brad Williams
Website | Twitter: @BW_Tri |Instagram: @BW_Tri | Strava | Co-Founder & Coach at: KIS Coaching
Partnered with: Zoot Sports | Precision Fuel &Hydration | ISM

k, a semantics issue then.

regardless of how you or i interpret his pre-race vibes he raced great and had a huge personal best. while not forgetting or discounting that he has placed highly before, i am still surprised and impressed at his race this year.

I am impressed, by T.O. He just put up, not just the greatest American performance in Kona ever, but possibly one of the greatest Kona performances ever. He was beaten only by the GOAT and that says something. Hats off to Hoffman too. Some great perfomances and efforts in the men's and women's fields.

Talked to TO in the elevator in 2013 minutes before the start of race in Vegas. Couldn't have been nicer. Talked about the swim and the morning rain lowering the water temps and whether it might be wetsuit legal. Reassured me and wished me a good race. Really positive vibes and it stuck. Usually wary of being disappointed about stars but couldn't have been nicer. Super glad he blew by expectations and took 2nd in a gritty performance against unbelievably deep field of superstars.

Congrats to TO and Mrs. O. Ha.

It’s only a matter of time till he is better known as “Izzy’s dad”. Lol

Is this the second fastest time by an American? I know of Matt Hanson’s 7:52, but can’t find an official list.

I am a TO fan. I remember watching last year and imploring him to “go” and take a chance instead of sitting in on the train. It looks like he went for it this year and had a great result. I am so happy for him.

Super surprised and impressed as well.

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

the live stream showed TO approaching the 2nd place podium, then not being able to step up on the box without help from Messick. TO gave 100% like a champion; could not be happier for him.

I loved TO's comment during an interview about being surprised at the position he was in.... '~Ya, I realized between of 3 (AB JF) of us we had 3 gold medals and none of them were mine". That is always good company to be in and TO hails from the short course ITU career originally. Remarkable performance.

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Yes! Think- he surpassed all of Mark Allen’s races and many in here consider him the GOAT.

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Team Zoot So Cal

He will probably be known as Rinny's husband once we settle into calling Jan, Emma's husband!

Great race. He was solid on all counts. Super impressive. I am pumped for him.

Hanson has gone 7:39
Starky has gone 7:51.
Ben has gone in the 7:50s either once or twice.
TO has gone 7:55

In taking second TO may have given Jan his third Kona. Tim had to drive hard to keep up the gap, Jan had to do nothing until he did at scenic point. TO did a ton of work and pulled off a sub 2:50 run.

It was cool to see a naval Academy guy who did not come up through the elite sport system hang out on the queenk and drive the Olympic medalists. It was like watching a David Robinson or Roger Staubach show but this time in triathlon. Not sure if the boys in Annapolis got the message of what they can do from their launch pad at the naval academy.

Don't think TO "gave" Jan anything...

Pretty sure Jan took what he wanted.

Those of us who have or had couch potato and TV watching wives might be OK with a wife that could train with us.

Good on all of you who do.

Glad that TO had a great race. As of late, he's the top triathlete in their family.

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

There was also a decent amount of talk about how much biking he was doing to keep the pressure off his feet. I enjoy watching him. He's just sort of no nonsense and moves on.

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