San Diego athlete wins age-group triathlon
By Leila Wai
Advertiser Staff Writer
A California visitor scoping out Honolulu for a triathlon later this year ended up winning it all at the JAL Honolulu Triathlon yesterday.
Jim Vance of San Diego won the male overall title for the triathlon's age group race, run in conjunction with the International Triathlon Union World Cup Saturday, which featured some of the world's elite triathletes.
Yesterday's age group race included about 1,400 participants who made their way around the 1.5 kilometer (0.93-mile) swim, 40K (24.8-mile) bike and 10K (6.2-mile) run in and around Waikiki, Diamond Head and East Honolulu.
Vance, 28, was the top male finisher in 1 hour, 58 minutes and 53 seconds. Second was Troy Drinan, 28, of Mentone, Ala., in 2:05:09, and third was 22-year-old Chad Seymour of Honolulu in 2:06:05.
Honolulu resident Ingrid Rolles, 32, originally from South Africa, won the women's overall title, finishing in 2:17:22.
"I'm really happy," said Vance, an elementary school teacher who said he rode his fastest bike split yesterday. "I feel I can go a lot faster, and that's a good thing."
Vance said he picked up key information about the course, including using different bike parts and how to use the wind in preparation for the ITU World Age Group Championships in Honolulu in October.
Vance, who said it "was a tougher swim than it looks like," actually trailed Drinan and Seymour in time, completing it in 21:50. But his bike time of 59:47 — he said it was his fastest ever — helped him take the lead for good, and his 35:38 run gave him a comfortable cushion of just over six minutes when he broke the tape.
He said a "strong bike" will be key in October's championship, and that "if you can hold it, it can be tough for someone to catch you."
'Aina Haina's Mark Speck, 34, could have been the fastest Hawai'i male finisher, but was penalized two minutes for drafting on his bike, according to race officials. He ended up with a time of 2:06:16, still good enough to win his age group of men 30 to 34.
Rolles, who also competes in the XTERRA Series, was in the second group to start in the staggered format, and said, "It's hard to know where you are.
"I could see the girl in front of me. My goal was to catch the girls in the front of me."
She was followed by Christen King, 28, of Huntington Beach, Calif., in 2:17:43 and Dr. Sherry Coons of Kihei in 2:21:31.
Rolles completed her swim in 24:18, just over two minutes faster than King, even though she called it "a little tough."
She lost some ground on King on the bike, when she was almost three minutes slower, in 1:09:02. But her run of 42:08, helped her to make up the time and beat King by 21 seconds.
King was the first female to break the tape, but because of the race's staggered start, didn't win the overall title.
Like Vance, she is in Hawai'i to scout Honolulu for the ITU Age Group World Championships.
"This was a great pre-Worlds race," King said. "I think it gives us such an advantage to see the course."
Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2457.
