Perfect conditions – but no perfect race (29.08.2011)

The conditions at the Ironman Louisville were almost perfect. But that was no help for Paul Ambrose. After problems he had to drop out.

Early in the morning everything looked well for Paul. Without a wetsuit the strong swimmer jumped in the Ohio River. Together with the Frenchman Romain Guillaum Paul could again dominate the swim and they started the bike behind the leading vehicle. Just after a few meters Guillaum had a flat tire. So Paul was in front of the entire field. After 100 km the Frenchman and the Australian Chris McDonald could close the gap again. McDonald tried to further increase the distance to the strong runners and just Paul could follow him. So both Australians started the marathon together. But they were not together for a long time. McDonald had a great run which brought him his 2^nd victory in Louisville, Kentucky. Paul lost time on the run and in the end he dropped out just before finishing the first half marathon.

It was not his day: “Everything which could go wrong went wrong today. I had to change my back wheel just before the race. The borrowed one did not fit and it slid against the frame the whole 180 km which made it really difficult to push the bike. And I felt sick on the run. In the end it did not make any sense to force myself to the finish line. So I saved some energy for the next races.”