History was written at last weekend’s Ultraman World Championship on Hawaii: for the first time in history, the race was completed fastest by two women, thus beating all male participants: Jen Annett won the race – in a new course record – and Michelle Vesterby came in second. A total of fifteen athletes crossed the finish line.
The Ultraman World Championship takes place over three days: on the first day there is a 10-kilometer swim and 145-kilometer bike ride, on the second day there is another 276-kilometer bike ride, and on the third and final day there is a double marathon – i.e. 84 kilometers – run. Vesterby proved to be the fastest swimmer. The Danish triathlete, who retired as a professional athlete this year after Challenge Almere-Amsterdam, came out of the water after 2:59:19 and then had a 17:30 minute lead over Annett. During the 145 kilometers of cycling, the women then went fairly evenly matched.
On the second day, Annett firmly took the lead by posting a record time of 7:52:17 on the bike, averaging 35 kilometers per hour. During the double marathon, thus on the final day, she broke another course record by clocking 6:45:57. This set her race record of 23:04:56, including claiming the world title.
Vesterby finished second in 23:25:47. Spanish triathlete Juan Bautista Castilla was the first man and finished third overall: he did so in a time of 25:06:16.
