That is until October comes around and its the Ironman world championships in Kona, Hawaii, this is when I do get a little in the spirit and try to follow whos competing and who the favourites are.
As you know Chrissy Wellington was my ironman idol but she has retired so in the last couple of days i've been trying to research a little into who are the favourites and who i'm going to cheer on.
Here is a list of the current rankings going into the competition, (well the most up to date i've found anyway).
Craig Alexander - He's a Cronulla boy! His website says he splits his time between Boulder, Colorado and Cronulla so I suspect he does most of his training in Boulder. I've probably seen him around and i'm ashamed to say I wouldn't recognise him.
He's three time Kona champion and at 39 he is one of the oldest contenders for the championship. I'm tipping him to win the mens, only because I want him too.
Pete Jacobs - He's another i'll follow closely, another Aussie and he won in 2012. I just checked out his website http://www.petejacobs.com/ he seems like a nice guy :)
Paul Amey - The highest ranked brit but he's about 30th on the list. Given the strength of shorter distance british triathletes with the Brownlee brothers it is a little surprising there aren't any higher in the ironman rankings.
Sebastian Kienle - A German whos is already a half ironman champion. He is ranked second and started triathlons at 12 years old.
And now the women...
Leanda Cave - This brit was ranked number one earlier in the year, shes since dropped down to number 4 but still looks like a strong contender. She is currently world champion in the half and won last years full race, the first woman to hold both titles!
Rachel Joyce - Another british woman! Not to be confused with the author of The unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which i've just read and thought was very good!
Ranked 2nd however it is for the author connection that I am going to tip her to win than her past success.
Mirinda Carfrae - Another Aussie, a well know name in the tri world, she has been clocking up success for over a decade.
Jodie Swallow - A British girl around 10th in the rankings, coming from a Olympic and Half background. Shes only really on my radar from twitter but i'd like to see her doing well.
Natascha Badmann - Ok I only chose her because I like her name and her wikipedia page says she is known for her positive attitude on during races which I thought was ironic!! Shes ranked just above Jodie and is from Switzerland.
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| from www.ironman.com |
CK.x
