CANADIAN KONA QUALIFIERS
While there’s lots of hype around Lionel Sanders’s potential in Kona, he’s hardly the only Canadian we’ll get to watch race on the Big Island. As you can read in our “podium” section, the top Canadian woman in the Kona Points Ranking (KPR) system (the system used for pros to qualify for the Ironman World Championship) is Kirsty Jahn, who joined some heady company in the Ironman history books as the winner of two Ironman races in the same year (and that number could be three by the time she reaches Kona if she takes the Ironman Wisconsin title in September) thanks to wins at Ironman Brazil and Ironman Boulder.
Jahn will be joined on the start line in Kona by a super-cyclist Jen Annett, who’s 4:26 rocket of a bike split in Texas is now considered the fastest women’s bike split at an Ironman race. Annett has enjoyed a stellar year that also includes a runner-up finish at Ironman Lake Placid. Another strong cyclist, Rachel McBride, has also enjoyed a solid year and, as we go to print, sits 23rd in the KPR standings, which should be more than enough to get her to Kona, as well.
After his impressive win at Ironman Canada, Brent McMahon looks to once again be a factor on the Big Island, where he’s finished in the top 10, but has yet to have the day many believe he’s capable of. McMahon was riding with the leaders in last year’s race when he got stung by a bee and would eventually have to pull out of the race.