The Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii on Oct. 6 are always a test of character, and this year was no exception. With strong winds kicking up waves during the swimming leg, and cyclists battling headwinds up to 90 kilometres an hour, some of the top names in the sport were forced to drop out.
Among them was Peter Reid of Victoria, the defending world champion. A total of 15 pro men withdrew before the final run stage.
Lori Bowden of Victoria, the 1999 world champion, finished less than four minutes back of Swiss triathlete Natascha Badmann to win the silver medal. Heather Fuhr and Jill Savege also finished ninth and 10th for Canada.
Two Whistler athletes qualified for the championships, and both of them managed to finish the race in top form.
Mae Palm, who ran her first Ironman at the age of 60 last summer, won the women’s 60 to 64 category in 14 hours 46 minutes 55 seconds, almost a full hour ahead of the second place finisher.
Dawn Weberg-Titus, a teacher at Pemberton Secondary, finished 16 th out of 38 competitors in the women’s 40 to 44 category with a time of 12:46:07.
