I’ve done a little analysis of the KPR and the resulting qualifyers.
There has been a lot of discussion on the Raelert thread about the KPR, but from what I can see there are not too many athletes that tried to qualify but so far are not in:
Mary Beth Ellis (two time winner, but not enough points)
Michael Raelert (injury before his only try at an IM)Aaron Farlow, Kristin Moeller (UK winners, but not enough points)Who else is missing who hasn’t made a conscious decision not to try and qualify for Kona (such as Rappstar)?
(Note: I’d like to limit this thread to a discussion of athletes … and not get into a discussion of “is WTC doing a good job for the sport” - if that’s possible on slowtwitch ;-))
What about Reed? I thought he was trying to focus on Kona this year. I don’t know if the 2nd at Steelhead last weekend gave him a boost or not. Do you know what number on the KPR list they are at — after rolldowns?
He’s not in as of now, but his latest points should be enough to get him over the line in the August qualifiers. Do you think he can be a factor in Kona?
Aaron had a very late start to the year as he had a broken leg last year after about November I think so he did not race until probably April this year. I do think that Aaron would go to Kona, but he is using this year as a rebuilding and $$ earning year.
Mary Beth had a perfect storm of things last year, especially late in the season with injuries, so she did not start racing until late either. Certainly, she would like to go to Kona, but is now playing the game of chasing points after having won 2 races. So, I agree with you that she should be in the qualifiers.
Who else is missing? I don’t know. I believe that Terrenzo received a roll down spot after the first round of 40 men and 25 men were notified. They had to accept their spot and register within a certain date. After that, spots rolled down so that the first cut of 40 and 25 were made. While the rankings will continue to change and some athletes will move up and down…those 40 and 25 are safe regardless of where they end up after August 28 or so and only 10 and 5 more will qualify.
I really think that the big question is…will WTC use their wildcard option? Surely a case can and maybe should be made for a few of those that you mention. But, at the same time, we all knew what the game/rules were starting September 1 of last year. So, it does become a game. There has been criticism for Chrissie being ranked as ‘low’ as she is. But, I think that is mainly due to her not racing Kona last year and choosing to do lower point races during the qualification period.
I found the same info on flmstri.com Unfortunately both articles do not provide where their info is coming from, so they may just be quoting each other.
I feel for Aaron Farlow. Ironman Champion and no spot at Kona…but you did say don’t get started on WTC so I won’t! However, I saw this week that he signed up for Challenge Henley here in the UK (September 18th) so I assume he has written it off regardless. Wise move though, could be an easy pay day if there is such a thing, 8’500 Euros I believe.
I was curious about Mary Beth Ellis and at the moment she is 5th among the next group of women, so she would be in right now. But there are a few races to come before the next 5 “locks in.”
I guess I’m dumb, I don’t get it. Terrenzo was 50th before last weekend so he decided to race the European 70.3 Championship. He raced and Dnf’d. I assume he picked up zero pts. But now he is in 40th place and got a slot. If you look at the article, it looks like 6 passed on Kona (in red). Macca is the only guy in yellow not racing so that’s 7 that passed, how did he end up at 40?
Hey Miranda - are you making a last minute run for it? Penticton maybe? (I just figured who was giving me sunscreen advice! ) Would be good to see you in Hawaii.
I don’t think the Challenge race would stop Aaron. Remember that he raced Alpe de Huez and took 3rd on Wednesday and then traveled to IM UK and then won it. So I don’t think him signing up for the challenge race is completely knocking him out of doing Kona But then again maybe he is taking the same approach as James and not doing it this year regardless. Only time will tell…
I don’t remember what the table looked like a week and a half ago.
Terenzo received a roll down after the first round. Ian Mickelson did as well (I think). So, the first 40 were offered their spots. If they did not take them then that spot rolled down to the next athlete. Terenzo did not finish 70.3 Europeans, so he received no points for that race. But, he did not need them. He just posted that he will not be racing Kona. So…I suspect that spot is now gone.
There is a recent article on the IronmanProMembership page. WTC is NOT using the Wildcards for Kona this year.
The chart will be confusing for at least 1 more week as 40 athletes have qualified, but there will be some up and down movement between the last 10 males and 5 women.
Someone else asked about Aaron…I do not think that Kona was in his plans this year. For Mary Beth Ellis, I believe that she is planning on Canada. When you do not have points from Kona, poor or no late season results, it is proving to be a little challenging this year.
) Would be good to see you in Hawaii.
But then again maybe he is taking the same approach as James and not doing it this year regardless. Only time will tell…