Race Coverage

Kim & Jasper...

Monday, 29 July 2024 00:10

CHISAGO LAKES 70.3 COVERAGE - In the days leading up to this year's races, ELENA JASPER decided not to race in the Olympic event, and instead tackle the 70.3...

It was a very smart choice, for two reasons. First, remaining in the Olympic would mean she'd have to face CARYN HERRICK, who would throw down a Performance of the Year effort. Could Caryn have been beaten on Sunday? We don't think so.

The second reason was the smartest, though. Elena totally  rocked the half, pulling away early and never looking back. Her primary competition was PAIGE SCHULZ, who cracked the Top 5 at Des Moines 70.3 earlier this season, and is the reigning champ at Madison 70.3. But Elena had an eight minute advanatage entering T1, a lead that didn't shrink during the bike phase. A mechanical issue eventually forced Paige to clock-out early, which meant clear sailing for Jasper. A strong run, second best of the day, delivered her to the finish line with plenty of time to recover before the 2nd woman crested the final hill with the finish line just around the corner. That woman was  CAMI ECKHOFF, who finished in 4:54.49, but because Eckhoff started in wave three, six minutes, back, Jasper had to wait for 13-minutes before the second woman arrived.What needs to be understood is that last Sunday was hot and windy and PRs and age group records were hard to come by.

Eckhoff clocking was only two minutes slower than her prior best at this distance. As for Jasper, her 4:47:51 was only eleven seconds off her best. Her Chisago victory, arguably the biggest of her young career, was her third W in 2024.

Elena and Cami demonstrated that a little less heat and wind would have delivered significantly improved personal bests.

VANESSA NAGEL finished in 3rd place. (5:04:51)

There was one athlete, though, that would obliterate his earlier feats. Decorated UM Swimmer NATHAN KIM (photo L) of Middleton, Wsconsin, came into the 2024 season with a 4:27 personal best. Then he lowered his PR twice, first to 4:19:09 (Milkman 70.3) then 4:15:33 (Door County). And while he appeared to be a podium hopeful at Chisago, he'd likely need a PR-comparable effort to make that happen. He would be facing SEAN COOLEY, who owns six half IM victories (a win and two seconds at Chisago), and was coming off a 4:07 top 5 performance at Des Moines.

But Kim, just 22, was ready to outdo himself. As one who can swim with the top pros, Kim had almost five minutes on the rest of the field when he left the beach. The fastest T1 transition of the day gave hm a six minute lead over Cooley. Sean would only shave two of those minutes  during the bike phase, and only one more during the run. Like Jasper, Kim would win his first half, though he'd do it in 4:11:50, almost four minutes better than his Door County PR. If heat (85+), humidity and sustained 20+mph winds weren't part of the deal, Kim, and Cooley, too, would likely have turned in sub-4:10s.

The final men's podium spot was earned by JAKE KEEHAN, who outran the field en route to a 4:16:39. Like Kim, Jake's time was a personal best.

Despite the climatological hardship, a pair of 65-69s managed to crush their AG records. TIM BROWN's phenomenal 5:07 lowered a mark that had stood since 2006, doing so by a porcine 17-minutes. The Amazing JAN GUENTHER, who set the 60-64W record in 2021, popped a 5:28:49 on Sunday. The old mark, set last year, was 6:14:13.

That's how Tim and Jan roll.  RESULTS

Approximately 800 athletes were registered for the Chisago Lakes races. Olympic and Sprint coverage will post later in the week.

Photos: Top Photo by Candace Corso. Page 2 photo by Susan Larson.