Rachel continues her run and becomes 4th at the World Championships! (09.10.2011)
After a 6th and a 5th place in the last years Rachel Joyce added a great 4th place in Kona to her successes. Faris Al-Sultan could also show his strengths and he finished 10th in an extraordinary race.
A tiny pro field was sent into the ocean for the first time 30 minutes ahead of the amateurs. It was not surprising that the swim specialist Andy Potts came out of the water in the lead. 2 minutes behind him a big group started the bike. Faris and all the other big names where underneath them. The lead of Potts did not last long and also the big group did also not stay together for a long way. It was the American Chris Lieto who tried to get away from the pack. After the turnaround in Hawi it worked and some of the other athletes could follow him. Fairs was not under them. In the end he lost 10 minutes and he reached the 2nd transition area on the 10 place. Faris started the run but he wanted to drop out. After a few kilometres he find his run rhythm and he continued. But it was still quite a long way. He did it and in the end it was the 10th place overall. That happened already for the 3rd year in a row. There are not many athletes who have so many top 10 results as Faris. And the race today was the fastest ever as Craig Alexander set a new course record in 8:03:56 h.
Faris summed up today’s event in the following way: “The conditions were perfect. You can also see that at the fast times of many athletes. I was in good shape but I could not push my self as hard as I usually can. I think I suffered so much in Frankfurt and I am still not ready to take everything out of my body. On the other side I should be happy. A 10th place at the World Championships is a great result.”
In the women’s race it was again the Brite Julie Dibens who led the race over a long period of time. Already in the water she was faster than the other ones and as former world-class mountain biker she could increase the gap on the bike to the second girl (Caroline Steffen) up to 10 minutes. On the 3rd place Rachel fought after a good swim performance a great battle. Together with her counterwoman Leanda Cave she tried to stay close to Dibens. But after the a few kilometres on the run Dibens had to drop out. An injury let her stop. Now Caroline Steffen was the first and the potential champion. But everything came in a different way. From the back it was Chrissie Wellington and Mirinda Caefrae who overtook all their opponents. Steffen had to slow down on the last kilometres and Leanda and Rachel could pass her too. So Rachel could add a 4th place at the world champs to her great resume.
After the race she said the following: “The marathon was the toughest one I ever did. Because of the heat I had to cool my body at every single aid station. Much water went so over my head. In the end it worked and I am more that happy that it did.”
