Aptos’ Tommy Zaferes settles for 5th in Pacific Grove triathlon

Tommy Zaferes leads on the draft-legal bike. (Photo courtesy of the Triathlon at Pacific Grove)

Just done recovering from being sick, Aptos native Tommy Zaferes failed to defend his title at the Triathlon at Pacific Grove earlier today, coming in about five minutes behind winner Dustin Mclarty of Irvine.

Zaferes, who won the Olympic-distance event last year, crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 5 minutes, 48 seconds to take fifth among the pros, while Mclarty won in 2:00:49.

“No sign of breathing issues today! Solid swim, rode hard, and survived on the run for 5th. Zero fitness, but it was an awesome training day!” Zaferes tweeted afterwards.

Zaferes was out of the water four seconds faster than Mclarty, and Mclarty was only five seconds faster in the bike — but Zaferes lost a lot of time on the run.

The pro men’s wave start at the Triathlon at Pacific Grove in California on Sept. 9, 2012. (Photo courtesy of the Triathlon at Pacific Grove)

South San Francisco’s John Dahlz finished runner-up [2:02:44], Allen Gardner of Boulder, Colo., took third [2:03:13], and Nicholas Thompson of Danville took fourth [2:05:05].

Eric Clarkson, who is from Walnut Creek but lives in Santa Cruz, took sixth in the event [2:06:13].

Results in this report are from Tricalifornia.com.

Aptos’ Tommy Zaferes wins Santa Cruz Sprint Triathlon

Aptos resident and pro triathlete Tommy Zaferes won the Santa Cruz Sprint Triathlon on Saturday.

Zaferes, who also won the Sandman Triathlon in Aptos a couple weeks ago, beat runner-up Dylan McNeice of New Zealand by a minute and change. Zaferes crossed the finish line in 54 minutes, 11.5 seconds. McNeice finished in 55:35.9 and  and Eric Clarkson of Santa Cruz took third in 57:50.7.

Zaferes finished the 750-meter swim in 8:57.3, the 12.5-mile bike in 27:52.8, and the 5-kilometer run in 16:51.2, clocking in as the fastest competitor in all events.

Australia’s Annabel Luxford won the women’s race in the USA Triathlon-sanctioned event, taking fourth overall. She finished in 59:21.4. Los Gatos resident Becky Lavelle was second [1:00:07.1], and American Kathy Rakel was third [1:01:25.2].

Results included in this report are from the Finish Line Productions website.

Two Santa Cruz area triathletes place in top 25 of Ironman 70.3 Vineman

Santa Cruz resident Paul Matthews was one of two county residents to place in the top 25 of the Ironman 70.3 Vineman triathlon in Sonoma County on July 15, coming in third overall.

Matthews completed the race in 3 hours, 47 minutes, 55 seconds to finish behind winner Greg Bennet of Boulder, Colo., [3:45:39] and runner-up Joe Gambles, also of Boulder [3:46:14].

Matthews, 29, finished the 1.2-mile swim in 21:54, the 56-mile bike in 2:07:09, and the 13.1-mile run in 1:15:54.

Fellow Santa Cruz resident and pro triathlete Eric Clarkson placed 23rd [4:13:27]. He finished the swim in 23:35, the bike in 2:20:41 and the run in 1:25:25.

The event was a qualifier for the Ironman World Championships, which will be held in Las Vegas in September.

Results included in this report are from RaceResults360.com.

Two-time Olympic medalist Bevan Docherty takes 3rd in Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon

Aptos’ Becky Lavelle finishes as the sixth fastest woman; Santa Cruz’s Eric Clarkson breaks into the top 20

Santa Cruz resident and native New Zealander Bevan Docherty, a two-time Olympic medalist, placed third in the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon in San Francisco over the weekend.

Docherty, who will again represent New Zealand in the London Games, crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 4 minutes, 32 seconds. Colorado’s Andy Potts won the race in 2:03:17 and Australia’s Courtney Atkinson placed second [2:03:53].

Docherty completed the 1.5-mile swim in 27:37, the 18-mile bike in 46:14 and the 8-mile run in 46:06. He finished the sand ladder in 1:51.

England’s Leanda Cave was the first finisher among women, coming in 17th overall [2:18:17].

Santa Cruz had one other triathlete in the top 20: Eric Clarkson placed 16th in 2:16:03.

The top female finisher from Santa Cruz County was Aptos’ Becky Lavelle, 38, who was sixth among women and 37th overall [2:27:09]. Lavelle finished the swim in 30:04, the bike in 54:24 and the run in 56:58. She did the sand ladder in 2:33.

Results in this report are from the Escape from Alcatraz website.

– Christina Gullickson, on Twitter @CGullTweets

Wheelchair racer Erik Edmonds finishes his first half-Ironman — with a flat tire

Santa Cruz resident and wheelchair triathlete Erik Edmonds finished the Ironman California 70.3 in Oceanside on March 31.

Edmonds, who is paralyzed from the middle/upper back down but swims without aid, used two three-wheeled racing chairs (one for running and another for cycling) for the hilly land portions of the triathlon, crossing the finish line in 8 hours, 14 minutes, 11 seconds.

In overcast conditions and some light drizzling, Edmonds finished the 1.2-mile swim in 1:05:42, the 56-mile bike in 4:36:41 and the 13.1-mile run in 2:16:11 for sixth place in the physically challenged division [2,082 overall], according to results.

But his race, which was his first half-Ironman, was not without incident.

“Pretty close to the beginning of the run, I crashed and blew a tire. So I did most of the run with a flat,” Edmonds wrote in an email, noting that the challenge was also one of the biggest highlights of his race, along with finishing.

Next up, Edmonds plans to do the Wildflower tri in May and an Ironman down the road.

Also from Santa Cruz County, pro triathlete Eric Clarkson placed 29th overall [4:17:00], Stephanie Shonnenshine placed 1,741 [6:56:18], and Nickola Losee placed 1,767 [6:59:51], Alice Gallup placed 2,106 [8:23:00].

Andy Potts of Colorado Springs was the overall winner, finishing in 3:54:03, and Canadian Melanie McQuaid was the women’s winner in 4:19:13.

– Christina Gullickson, on Twitter at CGullTweets

NOTE: An earlier version of this post said Edmonds competed in the wheelchair division. He actually competed in the physically challenged division, which had two wheelchair racers. Also, a reader pointed out that earlier the post and headline made it sound as if Edmonds was physically bound to his wheelchairs, which is not the case. He just gets around with them. This post has been updated to reflect those changes.