Official IMWA wrap - from web site

Crawford and Vernay win at Ironman Western Australia
Hot conditions greet over 1,300 competitors for sixth edition,
Published Saturday, December 5, 2009

New Zealand's Gina Crawford became the first person to win back-to-back Ironman WA titles when she took today's sixth edition of Ironman Western Australia. In the men's race 2007 winner Patrick Vernay (New Caledonia) claimed his second WA title and fifth Ironman victory on Australian soil.

Held in Busselton, just over two hours south of Perth, today’s race reached temperatures in the mid 30s, making the 3.8km swim, 180.2km ride and 42.2km run all the more daunting for the 1,309 individual and 110 team entrants. Of the 34 professionals who set out at 6 AM this morning, just 20 completed the course.

International competitors Lawrence van Lingen (South Africa) and Scott Neyedli (Great Britain) established an early lead in the swim, followed by the main group which included defending champion Tim Berkel, Vernay, Jimmy Johnsen, Ollie Whistler, Timothy Marr, Josh Rix, Courtney Ogden and Chris Dmitrieff. Van Lingen exited the water just ahead of Neyedli, in 47:21, with the chase group around 40 seconds behind.

Following a lightning fast transition, Denmark’s Jimmy Johnsen was first to hit the bike course. It was well known going in to today’s race that Johnsen was carrying an achilles injury which had flared up following his recent win at the Shepparton Half Ironman, so no-one was surprised by his strategy of employing his superior bike strength to give himself a significant lead in to the marathon.

With no male competitor able to match Johnsen’s scorching bike speed, he spent the entire 180km riding solo. By the mid-way (90km), Johnsen was more than three minutes ahead of the main chase group, led by Vernay. The only surprise at this stage was that two-time winner and course record holder Jason Shortis was more than twelve minutes behind the leader, setting himself up for a huge challenge if he was to have yet another podium finish in Busselton.

Johnsen completed the bike course in 4:31:38, giving himself a six minute lead over his nearest competitors. Meanwhile, the chase group had been unravelling as the winds picked up, and it was Vernay, Neyedli, Berkel, Ogden and Matty White who set out in hot pursuit of the Dane.

Vernay took the lead at the 15km mark, and shortly after Neyedli also passed the determined, but clearly hurting, Johnsen. Vernay loves Australia and loves the heat, and once he hit the lead it was clear that he was going to be very difficult to beat. As many of their opponents began to suffer from the heat, the two continued to run strongly all the way to the finish, with a brave Johnsen rounding out the placings.

Vernay said at the finish, “Australia is my country. The people are so cool, it’s so beautiful, I love it here. I would like to thank the crowd, they really helped me”. He then stated that he would be taking the year off from his teaching job in 2010, to focus on achieving a top three finish in Hawaii.

An ecstatic Neyedli was almost lost for words at the finish. “I had a really good day. I had seen this race on television before and it was always a race I wanted to give a crack.

“Patrick was always going to be the winner to me. During the race I just tried to always make sure I was there. I was running fast and thought some of these guys are going to drop like flies, and sure enough they did”.

While disappointed that his injury had affected his run, Johnsen was thrilled to finally achieve an Ironman podium finish.

Last year’s top two finishers Tim Berkel and Jason Shortis once again demonstrated great comradeship, motivating each other to make it to the finish in spite of their disappointing days. Following a rough swim, Berkel was sick throughout the ride and run legs. He said: “I am very disappointed. I was walking along (on the run course), nearly tearing up, and Shortis came up alongside me and gave me some inspiring words (which helped me get to the finish).”

For the second year running, Gina Crawford dominated the women’s field from start to finish. She exited the water alongside Sarah Pollett, and from there it was a matter of “catch me if you can.” By the end of the bike leg, she had established a lead of more than 11 minutes, and she was able to maintain this lead to win her second consecutive Ironman WA.

Crawford paid tribute to the Busselton crowd, saying “I don’t know if the spectators were Kiwis or not, but they were amazing all the way.” She intends to return to Busselton in 2010 to attempt a hat-trick of wins.

The surprise of the day was undoubtedly Christie Sym, who finished second behind Crawford in her first Ironman. Sym comes from an adventure racing background, however following a series of injuries she recently decided to try Ironman racing for a change. Her finishing time of 9:20.42 in such difficult conditions indicates that she would be a force to be reckoned with should she choose to pursue the Ironman challenge.

Today was Pollett’s first Ironman podium finish. She dedicated her race to her close friend and Ironman athlete Tavis Johannsen, who died suddenly at just 42 years of age earlier this year.

Men
1. Patrick VERNAY 8:13:59
2. Scott NEYEDLI 8:17:47
3. Jimmy JOHNSEN 8:21:11
4. Courtney OGDEN 8:22:06
5. Matty WHITE 8:35:03
6. Jason SHORTIS 8:37:20
7. Timothy MARR 8:40:35
8. Luke WHITMORE 8:56:04
9. Matt STEPHENS 8:56:25
10. Petr VABROUSEK 8:57:08

Women
1. Gina CRAWFORD 9:16:52
2. Christie SYM 9:20:41
3. Sarah POLLETT 9:21:33
4. Charlotte PAUL 9:33:05
5. Kate BEVILAQUA 9:45:53
6. Linda O'CONNOR 9:50:10
7. Rebecca EVELEIGH 9:50:55
8. Dianne EMERY 9:54:27
9. Katie KENNY 9:57:01
10. Nera JAREB 10:00:00