Hursty, Tennant finish 1-2 in Tinman

By Mike Tymn
Special to the Advertiser

As the leaders finished the run in the 17th annual Tinman Biathlon yesterday morning, Peter Hursty was about four strides behind Kevin O'Neal.

HURSTY: Took lead for good during start of swim

Hursty, 28, finished the 2.7-mile run and 800-meter swim in 25 minutes, 17 seconds. Finishing second overall was the first female, Deirdre Tennant, 25, in 26:27. J. Tarutani, 35, was third overall in 28:02, while Donald Koslowsky, 35, was the third male.

"I was just trying to stay comfortable on the run," said Hursty, a former University of Hawai'i swimmer, now a swimming coach. "I didn't know who he (O'Neal) was, or how good of a swimmer he might be, so I wasn't taking any chances."

The event got underway at Ala Moana Beach Park at 6:30, with 193 participants. O'Neal, a Pearl Harbor navy officer, set the pace in the run around the park and Magic Island as Hursty followed a few seconds back.

TENNANT: Only problem was goggles fogging up

Tennant, a physical therapy student at UH, was never challenged in the female's race. She finished the run with approximately a 2-minute lead. A former swimmer for LaSalle University in Philadelphia, Tennant moved into second place overall about half way through the swim.

"The only problem I had was that my goggles kept fogging up and I couldn't see where I was going," said Tennant, competing in the event for the first time as part of her training for the Kona Ironman later this year.

Ashley Swart, a 16-year-old student at Kaiser High School, finished second among the females with a time of 29:11. Adrienne Paradeise, 23, was third, another 37 seconds back.

Tito Morales (30:30) and Connie Johnston (34:00) were the top 40-older finishers.