Race blues for Buckingham following Hawaii bike curse
PORT Elizabeth professional triathlete Kyle Buckingham’s heart aches following persistent bike troubles to end 26th in the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
Buckingham finished in eight hours, 44 minutes and nine seconds, some distance behind Germany’s Patrick Lange, who won the race in 8:01:40 on Saturday.
The former Victoria Park pupil said he was bitterly disappointed not to have done better in an event he said he was primed for.
“Words cannot describe how disappointed I am! After training my ass off for 18 weeks and feeling in the best shape ever,” he said on is Facebook page.
“I know it’s after race blues but this one has hit hard.
“I am proud to get to the finish line in 26[th] after an ongoing mechanical on the bike. I tried my very best on the marathon,” Buckingham wrote.
Lange produced a sizzling marathon run, charging to victory in a course record time, while Swiss Daniela Ryf claimed a third successive victory in the women’s event.
Lange came off the 180km bicycle leg more than nine minutes behind Canadian Lionel Sanders and still trailed by more than six minutes halfway through the 42.2-km run.
But he turned on the afterburners to pass a shuffling Sanders less than 5km from home and looked amazingly fresh as he charged to victory.
The available results of Nelson Mandela Bay athletes are: Men Pro: 26th out of 54, Kyle Buckingham, 8:44:09. Men 50 to 54: 10th out of 215, Terry Thornton, 10:10:32. Women 45 to 49: 13th out of 90, Michelle Enslin, 10:53:05. Men 40 to
44: 206th out of 256, Bruce Gie, 11:41:04, 244th out of 256, Hanson Singaphi; 15:01:47. Women 50 to 54: 22nd out of 78, Mariette Hattingh, 12:09:02.