Former champs favored
Two former champions, including the two-time defending men’s professional champ, are heavily favored to capture championships Sunday at the sixth annual Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene.
Viktor Zyemtsev, a Ukrainian resident, is seeking a third consecutive win at Coeur d’Alene. No wonder it’s his favorite race. He became the first back-to-back champ last year, holding off Tom Evans of Penticton, British Columbia, by 52 seconds in the tightest finish in the brief history of the race. Zyemtsev finished in 8 hours, 33 minutes and 32 seconds.
Heather Gollnick of Bradenton, Fla., a five-time Ironman champ, was the inaugural women’s professional winner at CdA. Following back-to-back runner-up finishes, Gollnick is seeking to return to the winner’s circle.
Gollnick is heavily favored largely because the women’s field is light on Ironman experience. Gollnick is the lone Ironman winner among 14 entrants.
She is coming off one of her best seasons as a pro. She won two Ironman titles last year, winning the inaugural race at Louisville, Ky., and Ironman Arizona.
“I like those inaugural races,” Gollnick said.
Gollnick, 38 and a mother of three, seems to be getting faster at an age when female pros usually hit the twilight stages of their careers.
“It’s nice to still be getting faster,” said Gollnick, who had her fastest time at Louisville. “As you get older, you get smarter. A lot of people say you start slowing down when you get to my age, but I seem to be getting faster. I don’t know why.”
She’s not sure how much longer she’ll compete as a pro.
“There are a few pros that are the exception who are still competing into their early 40s,” she said. “Hopefully, I’ll be one of those exceptions.”
The pros hit the water Sunday morning at 6:25, 35 minutes ahead of the balance of an age-group field expected to include 2,200 competitors. After a 2.4-mile swim in Lake Coeur d’Alene, the athletes make the transition to a 112-mile bike course that was revamped last year. The final leg of the three-prong event is the 26.2-mile run, which meanders through downtown Coeur d’Alene and east of town along the old freeway bordering the lake.
The first pro should finish about 3 p.m. The men and women are battling for a first-place check of $12,000 out of a $75,000 purse.
This will be the first time the women pros tackle the revamped bike course. Most of the course treks through hilly but scenic Hayden Lake.
Gollnick got a preview in late May when she flew to Coeur d’Alene to do a half marathon. She took time to tour the bike course.
“I like the course,” said Gollnick, who arrived with her family last Sunday to do final preparations for the race. “It really suits me. It has a lot of up and downs. I think it’s more of a strength course.”
Gollnick is poised to capture a second CdA title.
“I’m really ready and feel like I can go out there and win it,” Gollnick said. “Anything can happen on race day. Somebody else can have a phenomenal day and you can’t control that. But I’m ready to go.”
The main reason Zyemtsev, 35, enjoys Coeur d’Alene so much is it reminds him of his home in Ukraine – especially the mild weather.
He’s knows winning again will be a challenge. He’s coming off a fourth-place finish at a half Ironman two weeks ago.
The key for Zyemtsev will be the run, which is his strength.
“I feel like I’m ready,” he said. “But every Ironman is very unpredictable.”
The men’s pro field is much deeper than the women’s. The field of 20 consists of six former Ironman champs.
After Zyemtsev and Evans, 39, the other notable contender is Michael Lovato, who captured his first Ironman title at CdA.
Lovato, 34, who tied his best finish (ninth) at the World Championships in Hawaii in October, is seeking to redeem himself to an extent at CdA. Last year, he felt he lost the race in the swim, especially during the second loop. He’s spent considerable time trying to hone his swim.
“I have a lot of experience in dealing with bad swims,” Lovato said. “The reality is if I swim badly, I’ll just run and ride faster. But last year (the swim) killed me. It was my undoing. I don’t anticipate that happening this year. I feel better prepared and more confident in my swimming ability.”