[ TINMAN ]

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Cotter, Tennant
victorious in Tinman

The triathlon crowns a new men's winner,
while the women's champion repeats

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By Marc Dixon
Special to the Star-Bulletin

Four-time defending Tinman champion Peter Hursty had already proved he had mastered swimming, running and bicycling, so for the past year, he worked on another means of travel: flying.

While Hursty was spending 30 hours a week in a cockpit, James Cotter, a New Zealand native, was busy hiring a coach, concentrating on training and transforming himself from a contender to the new champion of the Tinman Triathlon.

Cotter, now a resident of Kailua-Kona, turned last year's fourth-place finish into a victory yesterday at Kapiolani Park in only his second Tinman, completing the 800-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run in 1 hour, 41 minutes, 32 seconds, nearly two minutes ahead of the nearest challenger.

"This morning I was a wreck. I was up until 2 a.m., I couldn't sleep, so I took a jog," said Cotter. "But now that it's all over, I feel great."

The front four separated themselves from the other 1,000 participants early and stayed together for most of the race.

Pushed most of the way by Hursty and Colorado transplants Matthew and Chad Seymour, Cotter stayed with the lead pack until he separated himself during the 6.2-mile run.

"He pulled away going up Monsarrat, and he pulled away pretty quickly," said Matthew Seymour, the second-place finisher in 1:43:30.0. "He was accelerating going uphill and I was just trying to keep a steady pace."

Third out of the water and only seconds in the lead at the start of the run, Cotter managed to get a little advice from Matthew Seymour before assuming a controlling lead.

"I was with him and I asked him if Peter (Hursty) was behind us," Cotter said.

"He said 'I never look back' so I didn't look back either until I was at the finish line. It helped because it made me push. In my mind they were right behind me the whole time, breathing down my neck."

Hursty's third-place finish (1:46:28.0), while disappointing to some, was taken in stride by the course-record holder. "I took a chance and tried to do this without proper training," said Hursty. "For as flat as I felt out there, I'm actually surprised to have done as well as I did."

The 29-year-old former University of Hawaii swimmer spends 120 hours a month in a plane working toward a career as a commercial airline pilot, but he refused to use that as an excuse for not capturing his fifth Tinman trophy.

"Not to take anything away from the young guys," said Hursty. "They're great athletes, ran a great race, they deserve it."

While Hursty was unable to repeat, Deirdre Tennant, last year's women's winner, successfully defended her crown.

"I've really been working on my Olympic distance and felt strong the whole way," said Tennant. "I was actually looking at the record a little bit, but it's tough, so maybe next year."

Tennant, a former collegiate swimmer, was the first woman out of the water and led the women's division throughout, finishing in 1:52:02, four minutes and 51 seconds ahead of Tanya Sells.

"I thought I was alone, but I still felt pushed," said Tennant. "I didn't want to spend my time looking behind me."

Having just completed the "Escape from Alcatraz" in San Francisco and the Tinman, Tennant is setting her sights on the Chicago Triathlon in August.