Wisconsin native Heather Gollnick reclaimed her title as Ironman Wisconsin triathlon champion Sunday, and in the men’s field, 35-year-old Canadian Dave Harju won his first Ironman competition.
Both victors gained their leads during the last section of the competition, the 26.2-mile run, after trailing during the 2.4-mile swim and 112-mile bike ride in and around Madison.
Gollnick, who was favored to win the 1807-person race, finished in nine hours, 46 minutes and 28 seconds, 20 minutes before the second-place finisher, Mary Uhl of New Mexico, crossed the finish line.
Gollnick overcame a strong swim and bike performance by Desiree Ficker from Colorado and quickly erased the deficit she faced off the bike.
“I was pretty nervous; on the bike ride, I was four and a half minutes behind. I had to pace myself and kept praying, and it worked out,” Gollnick said after the race.
Gollnick erupted onto the professional triathlon scene, winning the first three Ironman events she competed in. The first win of her career was at the inaugural Ironman Wisconsin triathlon in September 2002. Most recently, the 33-year-old from Hartford, Wis., won the Ironman USA Coeur d’Alene triathlon in June.
The athletes, who represented all 50 states and 25 countries, competed for a total of $25,000 in prize money and one of 80 qualifying spots for the 2003 Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, which will take place in October.
Uhl, who took second place, finished in 10 hours, six minutes and 39 seconds. In the past four years, Uhl has earned four top-five finishes at Ironman North America events.
In third place for the women’s competition was Spaniard Lori-Lynn Leach, who finished in 10 hours, 20 minutes and 30 seconds. This is the fourth top-three Ironman finish of Leach’s career.
Harju, who finished the race in eight hours, 55 minutes and 26 seconds, was a cross-country skier before he became a triathlete.
One of the many Ironman Wisconsin athletes who is sponsored by Timex, Harju said he used his watch to monitor his heart rate, which helped him pace himself and catch up to the leaders.
“I stayed at 140 (beats per minute) the whole way. If it was higher, I slowed down, and if it was slower, I sped up,” he said.
The second-place finsher for the men’s field, Torbjorn Sindballe from Denmark, finished the race in nine hours and 57 seconds, a career best.
Sindballe has had recent success at Half Ironman competitions, including his first major title in spring 2002 at the Ralphs California Half Ironman in Oceanside, Calif.
Uwe Widemann of Germany, the third-place finisher, completed the race in nine hours, two minutes and 50 seconds for his sixth top-five finish in an Ironman triathlon.
Thousands of supporters and family members turned out to cheer on the athletes, who included 168 Madison residents.
Many athletes crossed the finish line with their kids and were met by misty-eyed, overjoyed relatives and friends.
“These are the athletes. Many athletes bring supporters who are athletes themselves. A lot of other people come to see and be around it; it’s pretty inspiring,” said Kim Straka, director of communications for the Greater Madison Covention and Visitors Bureau.
