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Monday, July 17, 2000
Defending champions
By Brandon Lee
retain titles in
20th annual Tinman
Special to the Star-BulletinWhen he's not busy training or coaching swimming, professional triathlete Peter Hursty spends his time studying and practicing for his pilot's license.
Hursty emulated the planes he flies yesterday when he "turned on the jets" for a resounding victory in the men's open division of the 20th annual Tinman Triathlon that started at Ala Moana Beach Park and ended at Kapiolani Park.
Hursty, 27, the two-time defending champion, had his best performance and finished more than five minutes ahead of his nearest competitor.
He never trailed throughout the 800-meter swim, 25-mile bike ride and 6.2-mile run and was pushing hard to break the race record of 1 hour, 40 minutes, 6 seconds, but came up short, finishing in 1:41:24, a personal best.
The former University of Hawaii swimmer from Hamilton, Mass., has worked hard to improve in the other disciplines, particularly his weakest -- the run.
"This was definitely my best Tinman so far," Hursty said. "I felt the best, had my best run, felt the most comfortable that I have during the run. I kept my pace up the whole way during the run so I was real happy about that."
"The conditions were kind of par for the course with the headwind going out and the tailwind coming back during the bike, but I can't wait for a year when there's not that strong of a wind," Hursty said. "I really was aiming for the record. It's doable, but it's probably going to take 45 seconds faster on both the bike and the run for me to do it."
Chris Tang was the second overall finisher on the course that started with the swim from the Ewa end of Ala Moana Beach Park, then proceeded to the bike staging area in the Magic Island parking lot to Hawaii Kai and back to Kapiolani Park, and finished with the run from the park through Kahala and back again. Ralph Sawyer was third overall.
Professional triathlete Linda Neary, 36, defended her title in the women's open division.
Neary, a part-time Maui resident who works as a physical therapist in Jupiter, Fla., finished in 1:54:05, seventh fastest overall. Former champion Katherine Nichols finished in second and Heather Jorris took third.
"It was windy and challenging on the bike, but the water was flat as pancakes," Neary said. "I had a great swim and my run felt really good, too."
Neary led after the swim, but fell rapidly behind Jorris during the bike, not retaking the lead until the early stages of the run.
Among the nearly 1,000 entrants were nine competitors who have participated in all 20 Tinman races. Honored during post-race ceremonies were: Keith Arakaki, 49; Bob Deaguero, 45; Donahue Fujii, 37; Russell Goo, 51; Amy Harpstrite, 35; Leland How, 37; Linda Kaiser, 49; Dewey Millar, 60; and Bob Vierck, 60.
"It doesn't get any easier," Kaiser joked. "I had a great swim and decent bike ride. Somebody pulled the plug on the run though, but I got through it."
