I wonder if some of the top elite Ironman pros could hold their own in a sprint or Olympic tri against the same level of competition? Or would that be like pitting Haile Gebrselassie against Usain Bolt? hahah
Lifetime Fitness 2008:
1 Whitfield, Simon 01:48:01
2 Potts, Andy 01:48:04
3 Bennett, Greg 01:48:07
4 Reed, Matt 01:48:54
5 McMahon, Brent 01:48:56
6 Tichelaar, Paul 01:49:23
**7 Alexander, Craig 01:49:34 **
8 Matthews, Paul 01:50:41
9 Kemper, Hunter 01:50:47
10 Hackett, Stephen 01:52:39
I think that ought to answer your question. I guess the answer really depends on what you mean by “hold their own.” Considering Craig won this race in 2005 (?) by outrunning Simon, I would say the answer is “no.” 90sec back is a lot, and Craig was never really in it once the bikes hit T2, and from that standpoint, was probably never really in the race at all, since he wasn’t going to break away on the swim or run. And I don’t think there is any Ironman athlete out there that would do any better (or even as well) as Craig.
I think that you’d see the same thing if you put Geb back in a 10km now. He’d still be fast, but I doubt he’d dictate the terms of the race the way he used to. It’d be like putting Geb against Bekele now. Close, but not really close if you think about what is really defining the race (meaning the race for the win).
I think that you’d see the same thing if you put Geb back in a 10km now. He’d still be fast, but I doubt he’d dictate the terms of the race the way he used to. It’d be like putting Geb against Bekele now. Close, but not really close if you think about what is really defining the race (meaning the race for the win).
Jordan,
True, Geb isn’t the dominant athlete he was over the middle distances, but…
**
He did face off w/ Bekele in Beijing when he opted to run the 10K instead of the marathon due to the pollution. Geb actually was right in the mix (27:06 vs 27:01) & it took an OR time for Bekele to put that gap in over the final lap.
Umm…Jordan…you missed the best top-10 IMer in that list…
Potts seems to have done quite well at Lifetime and then managed a stellar IMH. (I will grant you that his year was initially focused on the Olympics…but still…)
Umm…Jordan…you missed the best top-10 IMer in that list…
Potts seems to have done quite well at Lifetime and then managed a stellar IMH. (I will grant you that his year was initially focused on the Olympics…but still…)
I would say that answers the opposite question “Sprint/Oly pros competing in an IM,” not that we really needed any confirmation of what would happen…
It has happened before…
Mark Allen won ITU and Kona in the same year (1989)
Luc Van Lierde came in second for ITU and won Kona in 1996.
I don’t know finishing times for those, or any recent ITU, but I suspect that in the last 10 years or so the 10k time has improved to the point to where it’s harder for the true Ironman elite to compete.
I think that you’d see the same thing if you put Geb back in a 10km now. He’d still be fast, but I doubt he’d dictate the terms of the race the way he used to. It’d be like putting Geb against Bekele now. Close, but not really close if you think about what is really defining the race (meaning the race for the win).
Jordan,
True, Geb isn’t the dominant athlete he was over the middle distances, but…
**
He did face off w/ Bekele in Beijing when he opted to run the 10K instead of the marathon due to the pollution. Geb actually was right in the mix (27:06 vs 27:01) & it took an OR time for Bekele to put that gap in over the final lap.
Geb also ran a 26:51 and set the marathon world record in that same year. But now we’re talking about probably the greatest distance runner of all time, and not just your typical pro.
Speaking of ‘Sprint/Oly pros competing in an IM’, I’d love to see Greg Bennett race the longer distances. He seems to have found his niche in the non-drafting Oly distances though. That guy is easily one of the best bike/runners in the sport.
Can you imagine the footrace at Hawaii with Reed, Potts, Bennett, Crowie & Macca?? Would the uber bikers (Normann, Lieto, Sindballe) put down a suicide ride in an effort to build a lead big enough to possibly hang-on for the win??
At least we’ll see what happens with 3 of the big time runners in the field next year…