FIT triathletes compete in Samoa Half Iron Man [1]
Monday, August 26, 2013 - 22:30. Updated on Monday, August 26, 2013 - 22:48.
Heitini Lelenoa, Takeshi Igarashi and Kantaro Oishi
The Friendly Islands Triathlete FIT was represented at the inaugural Samoa Half Iron Man at Apia on 10 August by Takeshi Igarashi, Heitini Lelenoa and Kantaro Oishi.
The FIT triathletes were among 41 men and women triathletes who contested in the Professional and Age Group divisions of the competition.
The event, consisting of 2km of swim, 90km of cycling and 2km of running started at Apia Harbor with the swim, then after a few cycling laps along the Apia waterfront, the competitors headed off to Le Mafa pass; a four kilometers climb, and then back to Apia Harbour for the two kilometers run along the Apia waterfront.
For the twelve triathletes who competed in the Professional Division, the first prize was $NZ7000, and the second prize was $NZ5000.
There were also cash prizes for third to the sixth places.
Takeshi Igarashi came tenth in the Professional Division, and was awarded a $NZ900 prize. He completed the full event in five hours 23 minutes and 48 seconds.
Takeshi came second in the cycling section with a time of two hours, 33 minutes and 47 seconds, but he was in eleventh place in both the swimming and running section; 42 minutes and 56 seconds in swimming and two hours, seven minutes and 45 seconds in the running section.
The winner of the Professional Division was Graham O'Grady with a time of four hours, 22 minutes and seven seconds.
Takeshi said the running was the most difficult part of the contest because he forgot to take a pair of sox. "It was so hot so I took my shoes off and ran bare feet, then toward the end a villager gave me his papa, so I finished the race in a papa."
The other two FIT triathletes, Heitini and Kantaro, were among the 33 triathletes who competed in the Age Group Division; also with a mixture of men and women competitors.
Heitini finished in eighth place with a time of six hours, 47 minutes and nine seconds.
The winner of the Age Division was Heath Davy with a time of five hours, 37 minutes and 52 seconds.
Kantaro unfortunately did not finish the race, he came off his bicycle on the final leg of cycling section of the race. Kantaro – Taro said he had a bad start in the cycling section, he had a puncture and it took him 10 minutes to replace his tyre and as he was pushing to make up for lost time he went off the road while cruising down-hill on a 4km winding road.
They had to rush Taro off to hospital, but he was released with a very sore back, and a slight damage to his bicycle.
But, what happened?
"I wanted to get a medal," explained Taro, "so after the puncture, I decided to play catch-up."
Despite the set back, the three FIT triathletes have started training for a Full Iron Man contest to be held in Auckland on January 2014.