Legh Outmuscles Griffin at XTERRA Australia
After a six-year hiatus, XTERRA Australia was reborn in dandy fashion this morning, as Aussie Ironman legend Chris Legh rocked a speedy bike and run to edge fellow countryman and recent Ironman 70.3 Geelong winner, Leon Griffin, by just over two minutes in 2:19:10. The women’s race saw a mix of elites and age groupers claim podium steps, with Kiwi pro Susie Wood besting all ladies with a time of 2:53:58.
A 1km swim in Victoria’s Lake Daylesford got the party started, and the hot-stroking Australian trio of Ben Allen, Sam Hume and Jamie Rhodes made quick work of their foes, climbing out of the water within three seconds of one another, Allen setting the pace with a speedy 12:28. Griffin finished the leg in sixth place in 13:20, while recent XTERRA Guam champ Andrew Noble swam a ninth-best 14:07 and Legh’s 14:16 put him in the 11th position heading into T1.
Onto the burly 30km mountain bike that followed a mixture of single- and doubletrack and socked racers with hills, creek crossings and tight twists, Legh showed off his mountain-bike mastery, finishing the technical course in a day’s-best 1:20:13. Aussie pro triathlete Jarad Kohlar, who’d finished the swim in 31st place, put the pressure on the iron-star with his none-too-shabby 1:21:04. Griffin also kept the heat on, wheeling into T2 in 1:22:20 to climb into fourth-overall place.
Gatorade darling Legh showed why he’s been a podium regular for last decade, solidifying his dominance of the day with a fastest-overall 44:39 run, which put him at the line over two minutes ahead of Griffin in 2:19:10. Kohlar nabbed the bronze medal, finishing three minutes, 24 seconds back of the 2006 International Triathlon Union duathlon world champion. Even though the medals had been claimed, the battle for fourth through seventh was tight, with only 19 seconds separating fourth-place Hume (2:26:24) from seventh-place Noble (2:26:50).
While the men’s contest was all Oz, a cheerful New Zealander ran away with the women’s race, busting up the home team’s dominance in Daylesford. But before Wood could fantasize about polishing her gold medal, she had to make up for an 18:05 swim that was over three minutes slower than pro competitor Meg Russell’s seal-like 14:48. And make up, she did. Wood killed the bike in 1:35:54, giving her the lead over Russell and top 20-24 age grouper Nicola Leary. And although Leary ran strong on the final 11km trail run, posting an impressive 57:20, Wood’s 59:57 was good enough to score her top honors in 2:53:58. The awesome age grouper strode in just two minutes, three seconds later for the silver, while Russell took third in 2:57:41.
XTERRA Australia
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Daylesford, Victoria, Australia
1km S/30km B/11km R
Elite Men’s Results
1. Chris Legh 2:19:10
2. Leon Griffin 2:21:26
3. Jarad Kohlar 2:25:50
4. Sam Hume 2:26:34
5. Matthew McDonough 2:26:37
6. Ben Allen 2:26:50
7. Andrew Noble 2:26:53
Overall Women’s Results
1. Susie Wood (PRO) 2:53:58
2. Nicola Leary (20-24) 2:56:02
3. Meg Russell (PRO) 2:57:41
4. Monique Avery (16-19) 3:00:04
5. Charlottte McShane (16-19) 3:02:49
6. Jacqui Kelly (25-29) 3:04:48
7. Kristan Hoppitt (25-29) 3:05:09
