Godart sets the Iron Man standard
DURBAN once again smiled on yesterday’s Standard Bank Iron Man 70.3 ultra tr iathlon with perfect weather conditions greeting the 2 704 athletes who assembled at uShaka Beach just as the sun was rising.
But the 1.9km surf swim was delayed for almost half-an-hour as race officials found it difficult to manage so many people who had to be sorted into their respective categories with this year’s event strictly for amateurs competing in their age groups.
Once under starter’s orders, however, things went smoothly with only a slight swell for the swimmers to contend with as 43-year-old Olivier Godart setting the standards for the rest of the field.
Originally from Luxenbourg, Godart is based in Dubai where he specialises in sports management and trains mainly indoors using treadmills because of the extreme heat.
Godart was already among the lead- ers at the end of the swim leg and once on his racing bicycle completely dominated the 90.1km cycle leg on the tough, undulating out-and-back course on the M4 heading northwards first out of the city to the Sibaya turning circle.
By the end of the bike leg Godart had opened a seven- or eight-minute lead on the chasing group and settled into an easy-paced run on the two-lap 21.1km course on the beachfront promenade and finishing in a remarkable 4 hours 8 minutes 39 seconds (04:08:39) competing in the 40-44 years age group category.
His time was 12 minutes faster than that of second-placed Jeren Seegers, 32, of Johannesburg (30-44 years) who clocked in at 4:20:30, with Chris Bruchhausen, 24, of Cape Town (18-24 years) third in 4:22:30.
The first woman to finish was 27-year-old personal trainer Jade Nicole of Johannesburg, (25-29 years) who was timed at 4:50:34, three-and-ahalf minutes ahead of Gabriella Gioia, 23, of Pretoria, in 4:54:01 (18-24) followed by Kelly van der Toorn, 43, of Cape Town, almost exactly one minute later in 4:55:02 (40-44 years).
Godart said that he liked nothing better than to be out in front during the bike leg so that he could dictate the pace of the race.
As for the full road closures on the day, he had nothing but praise, saying they were “only a pleasure”.
“My lead was never seriously challenged, he said, “and I was able to run a relaxed half-marathon on the Durban beachfront promenade.”
Godart said that he competed internationally as an amateur in a programme of between 10 and 12 Iron Man 70.3 events a year which also included one or two full Iron Man races.
Nicole, the women’s overall winner, said she was usually quite nervous before the start of the surf swim and yesterday was no exception but that once in the surf she settled quickly into my stroke.
Yesterday’s race was only her third major Ironman event and her biggest win so far as she focusses in the long term on next year’s Iron man 70.3 World Championships in Port Elizabeth.