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The first BVI Steelman triathlon got off to a blistering start last Saturday. Fifteen swimmers eagerly lined up on Well Bay, ready to
begin the Olympic distance. The gun went off at three pm and the swimmers began the testing 1500 meter swim in scorching
conditions. As the athletes began to spread out across the course, Mathieu “The Fish” Santerre lead the pack.
The Fish held his lead and was first out of the water in just under 23 minutes, giving team “One Fast Start” just that. Louise
Wearmouth came in not far behind for team Wearmouth, with the Chorpedo Spencer just two minutes later, competing individually and
for team Super Tubes.
As swimmers streamed out of the bay, Gareth Thomas invincibly led the 40km grueling bike leg for One Fast Start. However, in the 4th
lap, disaster struck, as Thomas collided with a vehicle. With Thomas momentarily dazed, Andrew “Tubes” Thompson took his team
Super Tubes from 3rd to pole position.
As the cyclists pounded nine laps of the Beef Island course, Tubes maintained his lead finishing the bike course in 69:28 minutes.
Closely followed by Mark Smith for team VISAR in second place and Lisa Adamson for Team Kegel in third.
In the male solo competition, the Chorpedo opened up a 12 minute lead over the South African contingent Elliot “Achilles” Steer in
second with Jonno “Frank the Tank” in third.
Sue Tucker led the cyclists in the women solo competition, extending her lead over Jessica Broderick 2nd and Yegane Guley 3rd.
Into the final but brutal 10km run and Mark Downing was first off the blocks for Team Tubes. Downing completed a blistering record of
43 minutes to win the run and to seal the Steelman trophy for Team Tubes. Zebron came second in the run to give Team Signy overall
second place (Tucker, Cullimore, Zebron) with a solid all round performance. Jon Bridgeman completed an excellent run, to come in a
close third place, but it wasn’t enough to place his team Drysdale. Team One Fast Start (The Fish, Thomas, Smith) took third with a
courageous near death comeback from Thomas
The Chorpedo maintained his lead throughout to take the title of BVI Steelman. With strong debut performances by Achilles in 2nd
place and the Tank in the 3rd.
Broderick made a challenging come back on the run but it wasn’t enough to catch Tucker, who took the Steelwoman title. Broderick
took silver with Yegane Guley making an excellent debut appearance in 3rd. Full results at www.tribvi.com.
MEN Solo
1. Spencer 2:33:64
2. Steer 2:41:37
3. Jonno 2:49:34
4. Cook 3:10:34
5. Tekeli 3:13:43 DNF 1 lap
6. Barnett 3:45:10 DNF 1 lap
FEMALE SOLO
2. Broderick 3:03:21
3. Guley 3:30:00
TEAM
1. Super Tubes (Spencer, Thomson, Downing) 2:18:15
2. Signy (Tucker, Cullimore, Zebron) 2:27:33
3. One Fast Start (Santerre, Thomas, Smith) 2:28:53
4. VISAR (Perrot, Smith, Koster) 2:32:28
5. Wearmouths (L. Wearmouth, R. Wearmouth, J Smith) 2:34:16
6. Kegel (Lou, Adamson, Reddy) 2:37:16
7. Drysdale (Drysdale, Drysdale, Bridgeman) 2:40:19
THE STEELMAN 2007
The 2007 Steelman Olympic distance triathlon got off to a blistering start last Saturday. A record 46 competitors entered, with athletes coming from
Miami, St Maarten and the USVI to compete in the grueling event.
The eager competitors began the first leg of the competition, a 1500 swim in Well Bay. As the swimmers kicked and splashed their way round the
triangular course, Anthony “Chorpedo” Spencer, in his usual casual fashion , took control of the race.
Spencer was first out of the swim, followed closely by Sue Tucker and Kevin Drysdale. Overall at the end of the first leg, Spencer led the solo event for
the men, with Eddie Robbins from Miami in second and Iron Man Peter Wilmott in third.
Sue Tucker led the race for the ladies, with Teresa De Witt, from St Maarten, in second place and Adele Perrot in third. For the teams, The Rusty Men
held first with Ogier I in second and Team BVI in third.
In the transition phase from the swim to bike, the ladies race was hotting up, with Julie Anne Pearson completing a searing 1 minute transition to
overtake Rachel Johnson for forth place and putting only seconds behind Adele Perrot.
In the second leg, competitors completed a 40k bike race from the airport up to the college. The mid pack of ladies engaging in a fierce competition.
Johnson seized back her position from Pearson, but they were both outdone by Sally Blackmore who stomped out a devastating ride to overtake them
both. Meanwhile at the front of the pack, Sue Tucker led the race for the ladies, only to have a puncture in the last lap allowing DeWitt to close the
gap in second place. Blackmore elevated herself from sixth to third place with Johnson only seconds behind.
In the mens race, Spencer increased his dominating lead and Robbins maintained second place. Wilmott held on to third, but only just, with Simon
Cook biting at his heels. In the mid pack, Tim Clipstone made headway moving from sixth to fourth place.
In the team race, Team BVI moved from third to first place, with the Rusty Men dropping to second. John Rochester put in the fastest bike time in the
team competition accelerating team Rochesters from sixth to third place.
In the second transition from bike to run, the competitors were starting to feel hot and tired, with a 10km run ahead looking particularly unappealing.
Cook took advantage of Wilmotts weariness to start the run ahead. While Pearson completed another blinding transition, closing the gap on Johnson.
Spencer maintained his lead to take the Steelman title in a record breaking two hours and twenty one minutes. Robbins dropped his pace in the run,
allowing Cook to take second place and John Folmsbee from the USVI to take third.
Steven put in a shattering 10km run in just over 34 minutes, a good 10 minutes faster than the next best time, which allowed the Rusty men to take
the team title. Cara Scoles put in a solid run allowing the Rochesters to nab second place, beating Team BVI into third.
Full results at www.tribvi.com. The next triathlon is the Sports Club sprint triathlon in February. BVIRunners host the first 10km run at the Sports Club
next Saturday.