Millward Muscles Through IRONMAN New Zealand
In only his second year of racing the IRONMAN distance, Callum Millward is proving he’s a force to be reckoned with on race day. This past weekend, at IRONMAN New Zealand, the King of Cupcakes took on Kiwi legend Cam Brown, who had won 11 previous IRONMAN New Zealand races.
Thanks to Millward’s second fastest swim split on the day, 46:49, he put himself in contention right from the get-go. Staying in the lead pack on the bike, Millward turned in a 4:31:13 bike split. Once he got to the run, there would be an epic foot battle with the race favorite, Brown.
After the current leader slowed down with a cramp on the run, Brown and Millward ran stride-for-stride, neither one looking like they were going to slow down or stop fighting for the win. Although Millward gave a valiant effort, the experience Brown had in his bag of tricks played out as he made his move around the 28-kilometer mark and never looked back. Brown took his course-record winning time of 8:07:57 across the finish line for his 12th IRONMAN New Zealand victory, which was also a record!
Millward was eventually passed by Joe Skipper for second, but held onto third place with a solid 2:48:01 marathon time and turning in his podium-worthy performance of 8:10:57.
Other noteworthy performances were Colorado’s Matt Russell who finished fifth, 8:15:25, and showed off his running skills with the third fastest run split of the day, 2:45:10. Boulder’s summer trainee, Mark Bowstead, had a great opening IRONMAN distance performance with a 10th place finishing time of 8:29:38, adding the fastest swim split of the day in 46:36. Unfortunately, Aussie standout, Paul “Barney” Matthews, did not continue after the bike, but we look forward to watching him battle back in his next race. Well done, guys!
Griesbauer Amazes in Argentina
Dede Griesbauer, a top 25 Kona finisher last year, is known for her speed in the water and her power on the bike, but it was her run this past weekend at IRONMAN 70.3 Buenos Aires that helped catapult her to an almost-win and a strong second place finish.
“I made some great improvements in my race performance from Panama and I am really happy with how the day went. Coming off a huge training camp in Kona with the Julie Dibens crew helped me freshen up for the race,” Griesbauer said.
The former Stanford swimmer wasted no time putting the hurt on the rest of the ladies as she exited the water second with a speedy time of 25:47. On the bike, Griesbauer stayed strong and churned out a bike split of 2:22:24, entering the run still in second place.
For Griesbauer, this was a run for the books. Not known particularly as a “runner,” she definitely turned on the jets to turn in a zippy time of 1:29:48, which was the fifth fastest women’s run split of the day. Griesbauer’s finishing time of 4:20:52 was only nine seconds behind the winner, Kim Morrison, who finished in 4:20:43.
Griesbauer added, “I was closing hard on the winner, but simply ran out of real estate! Even coming up on the wrong side of a close race, I’m all smiles.”
I am sure the people not smiling are those who will have to race Griesbauer this season as she has proven she’s got the run speed to add to her swim-bike arsenal.
Boulder-summer trainee, Chilean Lucita Poblete, debuted in her first 70.3 as a pro in Buenos Aires and turned in an impressive seventh place finish overall in a time of 4:31:19. Helping Poblete turn in such a fine showing was her run time of 1:29:08, which was the third fastest of the day. We hope to see the always-smiling Poblete back in Colorado this summer as she continues her rookie pro season. Great job, ladies!
Appleton, Hoffman Battle in Buenos Aires
It’s safe to say that when the names Sam Appleton and Ben Hoffman are on a start list, you can bet a pretty penny you will see them crossing the finish line in the top spots. At IRONMAN 70.3 Buenos Aires, Appleton and Hoffman dominated, as expected, with Appleton claiming the title and Hoffman finishing in second, just six seconds back.
The two were neck and neck throughout the race, coming out of the swim with Appleton just 11 seconds ahead of Hoffman. However, the Hoff’s biking legs would edge Appleton by over 20 seconds so that the two would leave the 13.1 miles as their final, and telling, battle ground. They would run shoulder to shoulder with eventual third place finisher, Ben Collins. But once Collins faded, the title was left for our two Colorado guys to run down. In the end, Appleton would make a surge, finishing in first in 3:45:33, to edge out Hoffman who finished in 3:45:39.
Boulder trainees, Brazilian Fabio Carvalho, who led the swim in 22:41, turned in a solid effort and finished fourth on the day, while Argentina’s Mario De Elias, turned in a smokin’ fast run split of 1:15:37, helping him finish fifth on the day in 3:52:31. Chilean Rodrigo Sepulveda, also represented Colorado well in Buenos Aires. Thanks to his swim time of 25 minutes, Sepulveda was able to stay steady all day, finishing 14th overall in a time of 4:18:22.
