it makes everyone else have to work that much harder.
No, it doesn’t.
They KNOW they’ll catch her. It doesn’t affect their strategy or tactics at all.
Steve
…anyone agree?
Uhmm … no.
Crashed in the the first curve … and then a DNF.
Doesn’t seem very smart and not very impressive at all.
Frank
shes been in the sport for 6 month and is obviouslly an incredible athlete
world championship race and shes not afraid to go it alone. not many would have the courage to do that.
I admire that.
until she can bike and run as good as the rest of them, shes pushing the swim and taking charge where she can.
yeah, I find that impressive and smart.
Well, I didn’t want to say only negative things about a person I don’t know but if she is really in the sport for just 6 months and competes in an itu race than I’d say - Yes, that is really impressive! Good luck for the future.
Frank
he is so negative and seems really stupid…anyone agree? \
You must be her father. Right now she is a great triathlon swimmer, period. No, she should not go off the front, she is not a rabbit. You must be a threat in the overall for anyone to pay any attention to you out front. Her best stragedy at this point would be to pull the front group just hard enough, so that only the top 3 to 5 could hang. Then she would have some people to ride with, that is if she is capable. IF not, then swim off the front like she does, and head to the locker room 5 miles into the ride.
Great swimmers have the raw talent to be great triathletes, but it takes time, and racing expirence, especially in ITU. There is no glory in how she is racing now, and you can bet that when she does get her bike and run where she can keep up, it will affect her swim advantage. And that advantage is only really an advantage in non drafting tris. Swimming off the front of ITU races is a really bad tatic. Like I said, if you are that fast, take the top few with you so that you can stay out there, and not have 25 girls catch you.
If you are indeed her father, then I will cut you some slack on you gushing over her. If not, then you are doing her a diservice by painting her into something she is not yet, and associating you lack of knowledge about ITU racing with her performances…
I very rarely reply to these sort of posts, I’m very grateful for the advice and help I’ve rec’d from slowtwitch members via Stephen, but I just don’t have time what with all my own training and also coaching other athletes. But because we’re in the race hotel in new york and waiting for tomorrows race we’ve got a bit of time on our hands before athletes briefing at 4.30.
I’m not going to talk about Hayleys swimming, you all know about that. Hayley, the triathlete, is awesome. She’s been in the sport 6 months and she’s already leading ITU fields out of the swim, and going after it on the bike, like going after it 100%. She’ll only get stronger, guaranteed. Her tactics may not have paid off today, they may not pay off next time, but mark my words…they will pay off for her one day. Barry’s a great guy too, he does so much for us athletes, but on this occasion I’d have to agree, if everybody saved their powder for the run you guys would have even more to critisize ITU about, atleast Hayleys doing something about that and going after it big time.
She’s a Sirius athlete believe me…
Sam.
shes been in the sport for 6 month and is obviouslly an incredible athlete
world championship race and shes not afraid to go it alone. not many would have the courage to do that.
I admire that.
until she can bike and run as good as the rest of them, shes pushing the swim and taking charge where she can.
yeah, I find that impressive and smart.
What makes you assume that is so inevitable? For every Shelia Taormina or Barb Lindquist, you have an athlete like McLarty - dominant swimmer, but not much of a factor after that. McLarty’s biggest impact has been when she has worked effectively as a team player with Sarah Haskins, to help spring her. I’m not saying that Peirsol won’t learn to ride or run, but it’s certainly not guaranteed. Peirsol is obviously an amazingly talented athlete, and I think it’s great that when she burned out on swimming that she found a new passion. But, Barry is correct in evaluating her racing. Right now, she’s still a very good swimmer, but she’s not a very good triathlete. That may change. Or it may not. But until it does, she is a total non factor as she is so much better than everyone else swimming that no one is even going to try to stay with her. She’s one of only a handful of female swimmers to have broken 16:00 for 1500m. When Andy Potts came to triathlon, he was a very good swimmer, but not that good (relatively). A big part of why he changed the races so much was because some guys were able to stay with him on the swim, meaning he set-up a lot of breakaways (and the fact that he very quickly established himself as a good biker and very good runner). The same is not true of Peirsol. Kudos to her for having guts, but she’d benefit a lot more from actually waiting for the lead pack to come so that she can get comfortable riding in a pack. That would also put her onto the run with fresher legs and with a whole bunch of people to help her learn to race a 10km of the bike. She gets nothing out of sitting out in the wind. She’ll tire herself out for when she is caught on the bike, making it that much harder for her to latch onto a good group, and she’s taking time out of her run. If she rode easy, let the leaders catch her, she might find herself in a good group where she could sit in, learn pack skills, and she’d come out on to the run in a way better position, both in terms of fatigue and in terms of potential gaps on the other women.
Just want to clear one thing up - she’s been in the sport at least a year. I know, because I saw her blow by me 200 meters into the swim at a local race last summer. I didn’t know who the heck she was! For those 200 meters, I owned her on the swim. 
Hi Jordan,
Thanks for helping Stephen with my tyres earlier.
I hear what you’re saying about Sara, because it seems Sara has never made any serious attempt to master all three disciplines. She’s known for turning upto races without her running shoes and just packing at T2. The difference with Hayley is that she is being trained to go hard for the full 2 hours. A subtle difference but a difference non the less.
Right gota dash to race briefing.
ps whats with Carlsons picks…doesn’t he know I’m here!!!
Sam.
shes been in the sport for 6 month and is obviouslly an incredible athlete
world championship race and shes not afraid to go it alone. not many would have the courage to do that.
I admire that.
until she can bike and run as good as the rest of them, shes pushing the swim and taking charge where she can.
yeah, I find that impressive and smart.
. . . **But, Barry is correct in evaluating her racing. Right now, she’s still a very good swimmer, but she’s not a very good triathlete. That may change. Or it may not. But until it does, she is a total non factor as she is so much better than everyone else swimming that no one is even going to try to stay with her. **
All I can say is she has a pretty good coach with pretty good credentials herself so I suspect the “tactics” we are seeing now are not directed towards winning today’s race but, rather, towards a longer term goal. I have little doubt she will develop great biking and running skills to go with her swimming skills by 2012.
Well said Monty. I don’t think anyone here (myself included) is criticizing her training, her potential, etc. She obviously has boatloads of athletic talent. But, the fact remains, that right now she is not a very good triathlete. She might become one. She might not. But she’s clearly not a factor in races right now, and I also don’t think that her racing tactics currently are prepping her for the future well. No matter how she races, she’ll always be able to escape on the swim, so why not work on the parts of the race where she is weakest? She could probably not swim from now until London and still make the front group. Nobody’s questioning that. But so what?
They don’t give prize money, Olympic slots, or medals for “potential.” This is not a criticism of Hayley, by any means, it’s a criticism as those who hold her out as something she is not. The road to the top is littered with athletes who “could have been.” And most of the time, the burden of expectation is a big part of that. The real story of this season is Emma Moffat, and she ought to be the one getting the attention and respect. She has become a great triathlete - by all measures the best in the world right now - and that’s quite extraordinary.
Hi Paul,
According to this article at http://www.journalpatriot.com/fullstory.asp?id=630 Bandit’s Challenge 2008 was her second triathlon and the Chattanooga Waterfront was her first. She is listed as winning the beginner female division at Chattanooga. Results at http://www.onlineraceresults.com/...ext.php?race_id=8070
–gary