Break helps triathlete’s form

Press, 7 October 1987, Page 72

Break helps triathlete’s form

A season’s break from triathlon racfrig has done wonders for John Hellemans of Christchurch. On Sunday he competed in a short-course triathlon in Hawaii, a warm-up for the Hawaii ironman event this Sunday, and won, beating a top class field. The winner of the race — the Kauai Loves‘Youtriathlon — for the last three years, Scott Molina, of the United States, was

beaten into second by Hellemans. Molina is ranked in the top five triathletes in the United States and was the winner of the 1985 Double Brown ironman event in Auckland. The race was the final event in the Tri-America series, run throughout the American season. Hellemans* winning ■time was 2hr 52min 235. Molina was just 31s be-

mna. The race was a 1.1 mile swim, 40 mile bicycle ride and 7.1 mile run. Hellemans was fourth out of the water and caught the leader, Bill Leech, on the first cycle hill climb. However, .Leech was using the new aerodynamically designed handlebars, and he passed Hellemans on the first downhill leg and built a lead of four minutes by

the end of the leg. Molina was two minutes behind Hellemans.

Hellemans passed Leech two miles into the run and after taking the first half of the run easily in the 35deg humid heat, lifted his pace to hold off the fast finishing Molina. Hellemans will remain in Hawaii to support Erin Baker in her bid to win the women’s section of the ironman event on Sunday (Hawaii time).