Tang, Eakin earn victories at MountainMan Triathlon
By Mike Tymn
Special to The Advertiser
There were about a dozen competitors ahead of Chris Tang when he finished the 1,000-meter swim in the Bike Factory MountainMan Triathlon at Kualoa Ranch yesterday afternoon. But at the completion of the 30-kilometer bike segment, Tang had a commanding lead.
Tang continued on in the 8K run to easily win the event, clocking 1 hour, 44 minutes, 28 seconds.
"It was pretty muddy and slippery out there, but I can't complain," said Tang, a 30-year-old Waikiki waiter from Australia.
Lou Ortiz, 32, took second in 1:46:37, while Brent Ruegamer, 28, was third in 1:48:46.
Tina Eakin, a 31-year-old Pearl Harbor Navy mechanic, captured the women's race in 2:03:31, overtaking Tanya Sells about midway into the run.
Sells, 31, finished in 2:04:29 for the runner-up spot. Maui's Rhonda Poutney, 30, edged Sara Clark by five seconds for third in 2:08:07.
"I had a hard time in the swim, as I usually do," Eakin said, "but I had a good bike and an awesome run."
With 168 competitors, the event got under way at 2:30 p.m. in the ocean near Mokoli'i.
National 10K swimming champion John Flanagan was out of the water nearly two minutes ahead of the next swimmer, but Flanagan obviously wasn't in a hurry after that as he took his time in the transition to the bike and set off from there at a leisurely pace.
Tang passed Flanagan in the early miles of the 18.6-mile mountain bike race around the rugged terrain surrounding the ranch, then made the transition from the bike to the run with a lead of nearly three minutes on Eduardo Boca Torres de Sa, who wound up fourth.
Ortiz covered the run of 4.95 miles, also over muddy trails around the ranch, 36 seconds faster than Tang, but Tang's lead was far too much.
"I could see him about half into the bike, but he was out of sight after that," Ortiz said.
Eakin was three minutes behind Sells at the end of the swim and two minutes behind her at the start of the run, catching her on the third mile before rapidly pulling away.
"I'm at my best when I'm in the wilderness," Eakin said.
A companion relay event was won by the team of Brigitte Egbert, Ray Brust and Monique Mata. They combined for a time of 1:41:12.
