Wow, that is interesting! I think Macca is a smart racer (playing within the rules), but not a "cheater".

Also, what about the Sergio (all kidding aside)? He now has a couple of IM runs splits that are pretty damn impressive - better than Rutger! He may just be the best IM marathoner out there.

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Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

How could those accusations be true? The media is hovering over those guys during the whole race.

I saw a few posts yesterday about drafting camera vehicles, support and on...cameras are not marshals.




No doubt Macca wil hear about this...lets wait to see what he has to say....

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

Well, (if) you did see the coverage, when the chasers were going up to Hawii (at the time Stadler was coming back down), things were pretty "tight". I bet that is what Stadler was refering to.

And that special needs pickup was like the feed-zone at the TDF. And there is no second guessing why Cam Brown didn't stop to get his bag....

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Ego numquam pronuncio mendacium,
sed sum homo salvaticus

I would also add the the argument that Clas Bjorling is one of the best runners in Ironman as well posting runs such as a 2:42 run at IM NZ and and a 2:45 at Quelle this year and a 2:52 at IM UK.

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Jason Goldberg
FIT Multisports

Well, Normann sure gave Macca a big ol hug at the finish... Was that a congratulations-on-cheating-your-way-to-second hug? That's just weird.

I was thinking the exact same thing...maybe they got him all liquor'd up before the interview...

Emilio, buddy. Come on...didnt you see the post earlier? You are supposed to be right down the center politically correct and love any all no matter what their actions. I will do you a favor and NOT find the link.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

Not refering to them as marshalls, but they undoubtedly have video proof of "cheating" allegations. No?

And? The race was yesterday and the results are final.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

I had THAT thought too! We must be sharing a brain...

When this all washs out it will be said that the interview, when translated did not capture his true intention. Yeah right.

You're right. It's just a triathlon. Who gives a crap?

OK...now that is just weird ;-)

post deleted in response....

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Ego numquam pronuncio mendacium,
sed sum homo salvaticus

His victory talk was disappointing... especially when he corrected the announcer (Mike Reilly?), who said "Ironman world champion," with "two time world champion" and then bragging about its significance seconds after crossing the finish line. Those things are best left for others to say. If I'm not mistaken, Welch had a weird look on his face as he was walking away.

His words were in stark contrast to those of several of the other top finishers, especially Desiree Ficker. I didn't know anything about her before the race (other than the pictures that people have been posting), but I was really impressed by her instantly thanking all the people who had helped her get there. I'll definitely be cheering for her in the future.

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there was no one chasing us... distance is its own reward.

You know, the funny thing is that now he says Macca was cheating and when my wife and I were watching the race when Macca finished we saw Norman go up to Macca and hug him. Why did'nt he call him a cheater right there? Why say it later? Well also, you know when I watched the race last year I saw Norman get a couple of flats and quit and start crying on the side of the road. This is the defending champion? Why did'nt he just get some other wheels or another bike or whatever and finish? Natascha Badmann was vomiting on the course and not having a typical Natascha day and she finished. I am not taking anything away from Normans performance, but I am disappointed with what he said.

Cultural differences, I guess.... maybe he thought that it was all about putting on a good show?

(Wonder where he got that from?)

But I agree, there are a lot of athletes whose IQ drops by 50+ points alone when they approach anaerobic threshhold (AT).

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Ego numquam pronuncio mendacium,
sed sum homo salvaticus

Yes, Macca did look exhausted at the end of the race, but that's what pretty much happens when you run your guts out and run faster than everybody else in the race and about 9 minutes or so fatser than the overall winner. Maybe Norman would have looked more tired if he would have run faster in the last couple of miles rather than constantly looking back to see if he had to any harder. Even if he did get information afterwards about what took place behind him on the bike during the race, who cares? Why should he worry about that after the fact? He won the race.

I like Norman, I think he shoots a bit too much from the hip sometimes, but what the hell - i'm tired of athlete's who all say "i just did what i could... i was lucky today... i have the upmost respect for my competitors... blah blah blah." I liked it when Peter Reid said Norman couldn't win and you KNOW that he was thinking about that all day yesterday. In fact it was basically the first words out of his mouth!

Norman is a very emotional person - you can tell from the way he talks and from the way he melted down last year - i do think Peter was onto something with what he said however - Norman is a one strategy guy - you won't see him finishing 3rd or 4th in any of these races - it's an all or nothing deal for him and he knows it. Look at his almost total-meltdown at IM-Germany this year - he went from 1st to 11th - once he got passed by two or three people he was basically done - he shut off and just muddled his way in.

I think he has the potential to win again - but he'll have to train even harder to do it. I think you've got three or four guys now who know they are close and finally know that if they skip that mid-summer IM they can just build their cycling skills that much more (are you listening Macca, Cam Brown). But now that he's shown he can run 2:55 twice in Hawaii no one will be able to let him get 10min up the road. they will have to keep it at under 7 and see if they can run after that hard of a bike.

Beke ran 2:48 off a 4:33 bike; Sergio ran a 2:43 off a 4:50 bike. I think that's what he's talking about. If Sergio can shave 20 minutes off the bike and still run a 2:43, then we'll have something to talk about.

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Adrian in Vancouver