Austin’s Cunningham takes third; Spirig is top woman
By Ryan Metz
AMERICAN-STATESMAN CORRESPONDENT
A nagging ailment sent down Richie Cunningham early this season and sent back his training. The two-time defending Longhorn Ironman champion, said he had to play catch up in his preparation in order to defend his home turf title.
On Sunday, an up and coming South African had a different idea, however.
James Cunnama pulled away from the competition in the 11th mile of the run, and topped the field at the Longhorn Ironman 70.3, winning in 3 hours, 53 minutes and 57 seconds.
Marko Albert of Estonia, the pacesetter for much of the morning, finished second at 3:55:06. Cunningham finished in third place, with a 3:57:04 pace.
Cunnama, 27, had nearly a seven minute deficit to start the run, but ran a blistering split (1:12: 56) on the 13.1-mile off road terrain course.
“The run is certainly my strength but I had to use every ounce of that today,” he said. “The course today suited a very strong runner with all the off road and the up and down of everything. It all came together perfectly.”
The South African participated in his first Ironman in 2007.
“There is no more flying under the radar, anymore,” Cunnama said. “I was an outsider with not much pressure on me, which is a nice place to be. But as a professional athlete I’m ready for that now.”
Cunningham, who lives in Austin and trains on Town Lake Trails, said he felt the added pressure of winning his third straight title, but was pleased with the third place finish.
“I’ve struggled early on in the year,” said the 37-year-old, who was hampered by a tooth and gum infection early this season. “It’s slowed me down and I haven’t felt right since September.”
On the women's side, Nicola Spirig of Switzerland, ran away from the competition with a 4:09:34. She had the fastest splits in all three events and was nearly 8 minutes faster than her closest competitor, Angela Naeth of Canada.
“The weather was great today and I took advantage,” Spirig, 28, said. “I’ve been doing more short course, but today I was ready for the long course after training with the guys.”
Spirig and Cunnama are both teammates of Team TBB, who trains in Switzerland in the summer.
The men and women from the Army dominated the collegiate standings, as four of the top eight men and the top three women were from West Point.
A total of 2,148 competitors started the race Sunday, with the first wave of triathletes hitting the water at 7:30 a.m. at Decker Lake in Walter E. Long Park. After a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride, the participants finished the 13.1-mile run inside Luedecke Arena at Travis County Expo Center.
Published in the Austin American-Statesman on Oct. 24, 2010.
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