SPORTS

Walker takes podium position in Disney World

TJ Olivier was going like a train when he was derailed by an inattentive race marshal	Dave Walker took a brilliant third overall at the Walt Disney World Triathlon

by Eugene Bonthuys

Tuesday,  October 4, 2005

On 25 September, only two weeks out from the ITU Triathlon World Championships, two local triathletes took part in the Walt Disney World Triathlon in Orlando, Florida, with very different goals in mind. For Dave Walker, it was a final form tester before Worlds, to see whether all his training had made a difference. For TJ Olivier, it was a bit more serious. Olivier was still looking to meet the qualifications standards set by the Cayman Islands Triathlon Association for qualification to represent Cayman in the Commonwealth Games triathlon in March next year. The standards require male athletes to complete a recognised Olympic distance triathlon in 2:10 or less.

The race started in age group waves, and with Olivier and Walker in separate age groups, they would not be competing head to head. As it turns out, this may well have been a good thing for Walker.

The swim was in Bay Lake, and was a non-wetsuit swim, which resulted in times not being as fast as they could be. Olivier exited the water in a very respectable 25:29. As a cycling specialist, Olivier soon grabbed the race by the horns, and moved into second position in his age group, in spite of the fact that two professional triathletes had started in the group with him. In spite of his very powerful start, his entire race would soon come crashing down. At a junction in the course, Olivier was misdirected by the race marshals near the end of the bike course, and ended up on the same course as a bicycle race taking place at the same time. Olivier had been in second place overall when he was misdirected, and only realised the marshal’s mistake when he caught up to the speeding cyclists from behind. By that time though, he had added almost 5 kilometres to his cycling distance, and still had to race back to where he had been misdirected, which would bring it up to almost 10 kilometres extra, and then complete the route. This meant that, for all intents and purposes, his race was over. He cruised back to the transition area with no hope of making the qualifying standard, and withdrew from the race.

Dave Walker had a slightly better time of it in his race. He participated in the 25-29 age group, and exited the water in 23:14, more than two and a half minutes up on the second fastest swimmer in his age group, and good enough for sixth fastest overall.

Walker’s cycling time of 1:05:58, although not up to his high standards, was good enough for the seventh fastest time overall on the bike leg. In spite of gastrointestinal problems on the run, Walker still managed a 37:21, which was good enough for eighth overall on the run, and gave him a total time of 2:08:47. This time was good enough for a brilliant third place finish overall, behind Marc Bonner-Eymard (USA) and Andriy Yastrebov (UKR). Both these athletes are very highly regarded, with Yastrebov having won the professional division of Ironman Wisconsin earlier this year.

For Walker, the race was an indicator of promising form in his build-up to Worlds and Commonwealth Games next year. Although Olivier failed to finish the race, the CITA committee investigated the matter and talked to other racers to ascertain whether Olivier would have broken the 2:10 barrier had he not been misdirected. On the grounds of this, and Olivier’s previous performances, it was decided to grant him a special exemption, as failure to make the qualifying standard was caused by factors outside his control.

The Cayman National Triathlon team will be competing in the World Championships on Sunday 9 October.

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