Oct. 12, 2009
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
You can say that bib number 1626 made the University of New Mexico proud Saturday in Kona, Hawaii as Lobo Swim Coach Tracy Ljone was the first swimmer out of the water in her age division (30-34) and finished 35th in that group in the 2009 Kono Ironman World Championships.
Ljone, competing in her first Ironman championship, went to Kona with the main goal to “have fun and finish,” but also was looking forward to proving herself in the water at that international level.
Ljone, 33, came through in a big way as she also was the second amateur out of the water with a time of 54:20, less than one second behind the top amateur time of 53:33 — set by a 24-year old.
“On the (swim) start, I thought I was going to drown,” said Ljone. “I was getting pushed under with all the people hitting, punching, pushing. The first five minutes of the swim was tough. It was like getting trampled.”
The top triathletes in the world — pro and amateur — were invited to compete in a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile marathon through rugged ocean water and lava-covered terrain trying to establish their excellence as world-class athletes. Ljone’s total time of 11:18:30 included a 6:09:08 clocking on the bike and a 4:06.13 time in the marathon.
These events are run back-to-back-to back. The winner in the 30-34 age group was Kathleen Calkins, who finished 13th overall behind the pro winner, Chrissie Wellington’s record-setting time of 8:54:02. Calkins finished at 9:46:26 and was the only amateur to finish in the women’s Top 20. Ljone finished 145th overall out of 507 women triathletes, including the pros.
“It was even harder than I ever imagined,” Ljone said of the World Championships. “It was the toughest thing I’ve ever done mentally, but it was a great experience. I got sick the first couple of days I was out here, but I felt fine on race day. I was happy with how I did.”
Ljone qualified for the Kona Ironman with a third-place finish at 30-34 on June 20 at the 2009 Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene (Idaho). She was the first woman swimmer out of the water in that Idaho competition and the 11th swimmer overall at 2.4 miles.
“I think the Ironman is one of the ultimate tests of athleticism and conditioning. It’s such a personal challenge,” said Ljone, whose time was 10:57:07 in Idaho.
Ljone actually improved her swim time in the Kona water: 54:20 to 54:47 in Idaho. She also improved on the bike: 6:09:08 to 6:09:50 in Idaho. The marathon in Hawaii bit into her time: 4:06:13 on the island compared to 3:45:22 in Idaho. Ljone was in 28th place in her age group after the bike ride.
“The bike course wasn’t as difficult (as Idaho), but the wind was really blowing and it was mentally tough,” said Ljone. “The (marathon) was tough because it was so hot and humid and I just wasn’t used to running in that kind of humidity. I ran the whole way and I was happy that I kept on running.”
The marathon is the third event of the three-event leg. Ljone said competing in the world finals was “a dream-come-true type of thing.”