Tang, Sells conquer mountains at Kualoa triathlon
By Mike Tymn
Special to The Advertiser
As Chris Tang sees it, winning the Pflueger Honda MountainMan Triathlon calls for taking some chances on the mountain bike segment.
"You ride as safely as you can, but at the same time you have to be a little daring," said Tang, who took the lead on the bike segment and went on to win the annual event yesterday morning.
Chris Tang was the men's winner in 1:09:09.
Tanya Sells was the women's winner in 1:23:16.
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Tang, a 30-year-old Waikiki waiter, covered the rugged course at Kualoa Ranch in 1 hour, 9 minutes, 9 seconds, more than three minutes ahead of Brent Ruegamer of the Big Island.
Finishing 26th overall, Tanya Sells, a 31-year-old registered nurse, overtook defending champion Lindsay Price on the final mile to win the women's race in 1:23:16.
The event consisted of a 500-meter ocean swim, 20-kilometer bike ride and 5-kilometer trail run. There were 210 competitors, including 10 three-person relay teams.
Ruegamer, 29, clocked 1:12:12 and Chad Seymour, 19, took third in 1:15:27.
Price, 29, held on for second in the women's race at 1:24:43. Rhonda Poutney, 30, was third, another two minutes back.
Seymour, a former University of Wyoming swimmer who recently moved to Hawai'i, was first to finish the swim, some 45 seconds ahead of the field.
Tang was 1:05 back, but took the lead among the individual competitors about two miles into the bike segment.
"I was just trying to keep Ray (Brust) in sight," Tang said.
Brust teamed with swimmer Brigitte Egbert and runner Christian Friis to win the relay in 1:06:36.
Tang, who won the Bike Factory MountainMan Triathlon over a longer course at the same location in August, was never challenged after taking command on the bike. Ruegamer was two minutes behind Tang at the end of the swim and was never close enough to make a race of it.
Sells was 47 seconds behind Price at the end of the swim and 43 seconds behind after the bike.
"The bike course was really slippery and the run was hard," said Sells, who actually caught Price on the bike but then fell behind.
Joseph Zwack (1:17:11, 9th place) and Lorenn Walker (1:32:12, 7th woman) topped the 40-over competitors.
