Triathlon: Ironman Arizona - Major wins men's title; Csomor takes women's

Monday, April 14, 2008 - 10:22 AM

Carnage in hot and windy Arizona...




A 2:50 marathon in those conditions? Give that man another bottle!

He heard the footsteps draw closer.

With just a mile and half to go to complete Sunday's Ford Ironman Arizona in Tempe, T.J. Tollakson had built a 14-second lead over James Bonney. This after the two had gone back and forth for the lead throughout the bike course and for much of the marathon run, the last portion of the race.

But after he thought his first Ironman title was all but sealed, Tollakson heard another competitor creeping up on him. Someone he never figured.
"Starting the run, I knew I had a 12-minute lead over him," Tollakson said of Jozsef Major. "All of sudden, in the last mile, I hear he's 12 seconds behind. Then 10 seconds. Then five seconds.

"I couldn't believe it. . . . I didn't think there was any way he can possibly catch me."

But Major, 29, of Hungary did, eventually passing Tollakson and winning his first Ironman title in 8 hours, 34 minutes, 19 seconds. Tollakson, 27, of Iowa, finished 17 seconds behind in second place. Jordan Rapp of New York was third at 8:35:04. Bonney, who is from Texas, was fourth at 8:35:32.

Hungarian Erika Csomor won the women's title with a time of 9:14:49 just two weeks after winning a half-Ironman (a 70.3-mile race) in Southern California.

The men's race was tight throughout the run. The first-place finisher through the fourth-place finisher were within 1:13 of each other, making it one of the closer races in Ironman history.

Major didn't think he had a chance to win. Not after the 12-minute gap was lengthened with about 12 miles to go because his stomach was aching and he took a bathroom break. But he pushed his pace and closed the gap significantly.

"In the last eight kilometers (just under five miles), I was still fourth and was just hoping for a podium finish," Major said through an interpreter. "I didn't know I was inside 30 seconds behind the leaders. Then they told me how close I was in the last two kilometers. That gave me the final push."

Major ran the marathon in 2:50:12, more than 12 minutes faster than anyone in the men's top five. No surprise there. He set the course record last year with a 2:46:45 run. Csomor, 34, said winning in California gave her a lot of confidence heading into this race.

"Doing the (70.3-mile race) two weeks before an Ironman is just perfect," she said. "Here you feel like the speed is easier, but you just have to keep it up longer. It was just perfect for preparation."

Michellie Jones of Australia, who took the Ford Ironman Arizona and the world championship titles in 2006, finished second with a time of 9:25:52. As if surviving through a 140.6-mile course were not enough, the competitors also had to struggle against the elements. In the 2.4-mile swim, it was the frigid waters. In the 112-mile bike course, there were headwinds and dust storms. And awaiting them at the marathon course was the brutal, 93-plus degree heat.

"Oh my goodness, it was such a tough day out there," Jones said. "Anyone who finishes out there is just awesome. . . . I was happy to see the finish line. I was praying to see the finish line."

Major was able to pull through it all and see the finish line before anyone else. Even Csomor was surprised when Major told her he had won the men's title.

"The last time I saw him on the running course, he was fifth or something," said Csomor, who gave Major a bear hug when she learned of his finish. "And I just hoped he could make the top five."

That makes two of them.