Then he is a US resident. Doesn't change the flag besides his name on the results.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/...eoesophageal_fistula
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2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
Canadian Record Holder 35-39M & 40-44M - 200 m Butterfly (LCM)

Another thing to take in to account is that although his swim times might not be a lot faster, Lionel might be becoming a lot more efficient in the water which will pay huge dividends later in the race.

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Let food be thy medicine...

When an athlete gains efficiency in the water, they are faster.

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http://www.magnoliamasters.com
http://www.snappingtortuga.com
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I think Lionel would easily break 18 min 5K after his hour record. 1 min walking with a coke and gel, 1 min easy jogging (total 300m), 16 min 4.7 km jogging.

IMO, the next american to win Kona is not any of all the guys that have been mentioned ,is still to be known. And even considering Sanders is american, i dont think he will win in kona.
still 5 years of european dominance: Germans, norwegians, danish, AB, ...

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Spaniard. Sorry for my english for the sensitive ones :P

Yeah after I thought about it - i came to a similar conclusion.

Super human - he's amazing!

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DFRU - Detta Family Racing Unit...the kids like it and we all get out and after it...gotta keep the fam involved!

This same argument is made every Olympic cycle yet we still haven’t really seen that immediate domination. Yes, Jan is the exception. But who else has been an ITU standout that came over to dominate Ironman and Kona more specifically?

Javi and AB look like they have a long way to go. The Norwegians do appear to be built for long course but what about the Kona heat?

I know most of the current guys were once LC guys, but it doesn’t seem to be the ones at the pointy end of ITU racing that do well at Ironman.

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Mark Allen
Greg Welch
Macca
Leanda Cave
Michellie Jones
Karen Smyers
Erin Baker

But then again I am old and have a long memory....
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How is pulling a calf muscle related to racing tactics?

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Good list and some that I forgot had ITU backgrounds. My big takeaway from that though is three men since the 1980s....yeah ITU stars are really dominating the last 40 years.

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Well, I'm old too but possibly more accurate to say Allen, Baker and Smyers were long course who came back to standout in a non draft ITU? They were just the best triathletes in the world and translated to non draft Oly really well.

I think that ITU benefits racers development to long distance but the best short aren't always the best long...

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DFRU - Detta Family Racing Unit...the kids like it and we all get out and after it...gotta keep the fam involved!

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Yep,they are all ITU World Champions and there are a bunch from the ITU over the years who won Ironman's but faltered in Kona,Simon Lessing and Spencer Smith to name two huge names from their era.

I believe that the ITU athletes now have found their perfect transition to Ironman in the 70.3 races where the distances aren't much longer and the intensity is very similar.The leap to Ironman is something else altogether and even these days I think an "apprenticeship" needs to be served.
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If that's an AB reference, it's probably a reference to training and running technique moreso than racecraft. What Ali does works well for short course, but carries with it a high risk of injury. As we've seen, he can blow up spectacularly in long course races. With the way he trains and the way he runs, it's a knife edge between success and failure, and I think long course racing means he loses that roll of the dice more often than he does/did at short course.

My big takeaway from that though is three men since the 1980s...//

It is actually 1989 where this group of 3 started, and they represent like 10 or 11 wins between them? So more like 30 years and about 33% of the wins since by ITU athletes. See how numbers can work? (-;

And going a bit further, you could probably throw in Luc Van Leirde into that group too, so a couple more wins and another guy..

This is good summary of AB in Long Course. I'd also add that in the heat of battle he maybe still thinks it's 2009 and he can roll the dice and get away with it. But in my opinion the injuries have taken their toll and 2021 AB is a shadow of that 2012-2012 version. So the problem of bad decisions at LC is compounded by his relative lack of fitness.

The 2017 St George race where he utterly destroyed everyone with bad nutrition was a day he got away with it. A month later in Samorin he did not. Like you say a knife edge.

The 70.3 distance is almost set up for well adapted ITU athletes to clean up. But there is definitely a learning curve at full IM that all athletes seem to need to go through including the all time greats like Jan.

This is why I think AB and JG have came to IM too late, as there isn't enough time in their careers to properly do their Apprenticeship. That and I honestly think they have left their best days in ITU. Kinda reminds me of Ivan Rana.

The Norwegians might be a different proposition mind you....

Probably too young for you mate, but Daniela Ryf too :-)

And also Haug had her share of wins and ITU podiums, too, no?

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Yeah but Ryf wasn't an "ITU standout" as the OP mentioned. I only included the ITU World Champions in my list.There are other Ironman Hawaii Champ's who did very well in Olympic Distance or won non OLY ITU Championships races in their era like Molina,Tinley,van Leirde,Alexander and PNF..
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Sure, but some of those names are from era where it was less specialized and they raced more.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Top 10 at the Olympics is not that bad. And Dani was two time world (mixed relay) champion!

Yes, Haug did have a successful ITU career, even if it was very much hit and miss due to her swim weakness.

Good point. I forgot how many wins they all had between them. It still seems that some of the best long course athletes are athletes that have the ITU background but weren’t suited to the distance.

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