Posted: September 1, 2004

Triathlon: HERT Athlete Podiums at IM Korea

Rookie female Pro, Charlotte Paul claimed second at IM Korea in her debut Pro race and was the only HERT athlete on the starting line at IM Korea this year in the absence of training partners Melissa Ashton, out due knee surgery and and Jason Davis, taking a break from training after 7 back to back Ironmans.

Like Paul, the entire 1000 plus field of athletes would face a daunting week with Typhoon Chaba roaring in from the Pacific, the triathlon eventually lost its swim to Mother Nature, but the ensuing ride and marathon run were not without their own difficulties.

Athlete’s were sent of in 5 second intervals and battled furious head winds in the opening kilometres of the bike leg which became an ally with the strong tail wind pushing the athletes over the climbs across the island of Jeju.

As expected the dominate female was the experienced Paula Newby Fraser who notched up her 24th IM victory, after passing Japanese pro Naomi Amaizumi sidelined with a three minute penalty. Newby-Fraser accelerated by to win in an amazing time of 8:54:02 (OK there was no swim) and finish 11th outright in the 1000+ person field. The run was a marathon on a freeway, as the temperature climbed into the 30Cs. The baked and wind-blown competitors made two relatively flat laps from the Stadium precincts to the turn off to Jungmun and return. The effects were too much for some.

It was no surprise that Charlotte Paul overcame a 10minute deficit off the bike to gradually reign in Amaizumi’s second place, towards the 10km mark. Charlotte’s run form giving her a 3:28 marathon in the 30 degree conditions, just 2 minutes slower than Newby-Fraser’s marathon split. Her final time was 9:12:22 which placed her 21st overall.

Women’s Top 5
1 Paula NEWBY-FRASER 8:54:02
2 Charlotte PAUL 9:12:22
3 Naomi IMAIZUMI 9:23:50
4 Cailla PATTERSON 9:41:19
5. Minako YOSHINO 10:12:20

Charlotte at Bundanoon
As part of her recovery process, Charlotte will be attending HERT’s Bundanoon Cycle camp where you can enjoy her Korean IM podium experiences.