Posted: April 4, 2005

Triathlon: McCormack and Bentley make history at Snap Ironman Australia

Australian Chris McCormack and Canadian Lisa Bentley yesterday made history by winning their fourth title in a row at the 2005 Snap Ironman Australia Triathlon.

In a day of high emotion, McCormack, 31, and Bentley, 34, celebrated the 20th anniversary of Ironman Australia in style. It was a fitting farewell to the twin-towns of Forster-Tuncurry who have staged their final race after two decades and more than 17,000 Ironman finishers. The Ironman Australia Triathlon will now move to Port Macquarie from 2006.

The swim saw the pros go off ten minutes before the age-group athletes for the first time in history. Victoria’s Matt Tippett won the swim, followed closely by John Van Wisse just one second behind. Chris McCormack and Luke Bell were within 15 seconds of the leaders, exiting the water only metres apart.

Pushing hard on the early section of the bike course, Bell caught up to McCormack and once together, each time McCormack surged, Bell would respond, eventually taking the lead for much of the second lap. McCormack again attacked at the end of the 180km ride to take a narrow lead into the bike-to-run transition.

Bell emerged from the change tent first after a quicker transition, but as he adjusted his Fuel Belt, McCormack blew passed him, setting a blistering pace which set up a substantial early time gain over his challengers. Bell tried to respond but was unable to make any in roads into the time advantage McCormack had achieved, and Bell later stated that he hoped McCormack wouldn’t be able to sustain such a pace for the entire 42 kilometres.

Towards the end of the marathon McCormack did pay for his effort, having to walk at times. The heat of the day was taking its toll on the athletes and McCormack described this as the most painful race of his four wins in Forster. He fought back cramps late in the Asics marathon to bring it home, and his four-straight wins are now written in the record books of Ironman Australia. Only Pauli Kiuru of Finland has as many men’s title, and he also won them consecutively.

Luke Bell never gave up, crossing the line in second place in a display that showed maturity above his 25 years and again proved he has the potential to win major Ironman events in the near future.

Third was Mitchell Anderson of Victoria who placed 11th at the 2004 Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kailua-Kona in Hawaii last October. Renowned for his cycling ability, Anderson has improved his overall performance significantly to take a podium finish. His powerful bike leg and strong run eclipsed Craig McKenzie, a strong Australian short course athlete who has recently turned his attention to Ironman. The Aussie quartet were only stopped making it a quinella by New Caledonia’s Patrick Vernay, the 2004 Ironman Korea champion.

The women’s event saw one of the most exciting races seen in Forster for years. It wasn’t until the halfway point of the Asics run that the women's field began to take shape. For most of the bike, and through the first half of the run, there were only seconds separating Belinda Granger, Melissa Ashton, Jo Lawn and Nikki Egyed.

There was one other athlete keen to join that group of athletes. At the 23km mark of the marathon, Lisa Bentley completed her quest for the lead, having gradually run down each of the athletes ahead of her, and finally surging past Granger.

From a race locked within seconds for the best part of 210 kilometres, Bentley’s surge was remarkable. By the time she made it to the finish line, the lead was out to 12 minutes. Bentley’s fourth win ties the four-win record held by Louise Bonham.

"I can't really believe it,” she said between the tears at the finish line. "I'm so happy. It really does seem like home here in Forster. I'm really welcomed into the family and the local priest here has been so good to me.

“You can't give these girls anything - I'm really proud of what I’ve achieved today," stated an elated Bentley.

Behind Bentley in second place was Ironman rookie and short-course specialist, Melissa Ashton, in an astonishing display. During the marathon she ran down Belinda Granger to finish two minutes ahead of the former Australian champion. Ironman New Zealand winner, Jo Lawn was fourth – an impressive performance after her recent win in New Zealand just four weeks ago. Another first time Ironman competitor, Nikki Egyed, finished fifth in what was also a stunning debut at the Ironman distance.

Top 5 Men:
Chris McCormack 8:25:45
Luke Bell 8:31:17
Mitchell Anderson 8:37:51
Craig McKenzie 8:39:49
Patrick Vernay 8:42:58

Top 5 Women:
Lisa Bentley 9:13:22
Melissa Ashton 9:25:41
Belinda Granger 9:27:19
Jo Lawn 9:34:04
Nikki Egyed 9:42:46

For more details and full results visit www.ironmanlive.com.