September is often referred to as “Golden Autumn” (金秋九月) as the weather at this time of year, at least in Beijing, is often little short of outstanding. And so it was as I alighted in Fengtai and set off to find the Nangong Spring Season Hotel, the lodging assigned for the athletes to stay in ahead of the 2012 Beijing International Triathlon on Sunday. The sky was clear blue and bright, and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride (and possibly a little relief) that the international athletes who had arrived in Beijing for training would be seeing the city at its best.
Just as I arrived at the hotel I ran into women’s race favorite Sarah Groff, looking fresh-faced and happy on the back of her fourth place at the London Olympics, and she kindly agreed to let me take some shots of her standing with her (very snazzy) bike (see the gallery below).
Inside, we were treated to something of a parade of top athletes in both the men and women’s pro fields, all of whom will compete for a share of $100,000 in prize money. I felt slightly cowed in the presence of these Ironmen and women, who tomorrow will race across the epic 3.86 km swim,180 km bike and marathon distance running course.
The competitors on show included Matt Reed, one of the US’ leading competitors and a former Escape from Alcatraz champion. Astoundingly, Reed grabbed his first win of 2012 in June during the first ever dead heat tie in the history of Ironman events at the Boise 70.3. Alongside him, New Zealand’s Bevan Docherty, himself a two-time Olympic medalist, and Brian Fleischman, a veteran of US pro triathlon series.
The Beijing event is also a chance for China to showcase its homegrown talent, here in the men’s race in the form of Faquan Bai (白发全), the latter of whom was the first male Chinese triathlete to qualify for the 2012 London Games.
Chris McCormack and Javier Gomez Noya, the two favorites for the men’s race, were conspicuous by their absence at the press conference. Australian Chris “Macca” McCormack, a multiple Ironman World Champion and winner of the 2007 International Triathlon Union World Cup Series, is one of the most recognized triathletes in the world and has become something of an Ironman pin-up. Galicia’s Noya is the current Olympic silver medalist having put in an impressive race at last month’s Games.
In the women’s field, we were graced by the presence of New Zealand’s Nicky Samuels, the reigning Escape from Alcatraz champion, Germany’s national triathlon champion Richarda Lisk, as well as leading US competitors Becky Lavelle and Jenna Parker, a colorful character who takes time out of her busy training schedule to pursue a budding acting career, and China’s very own national champion, Yi Zhang (张一).
So the stage is set for tomorrow’s race and the athletes will be bedding down tonight in preparation to rise at the crack of dawn to make the 07:00 a.m. start of the swim. In China, there is a saying which roughly translates as “The winner of a fierce competition will be he who has the greatest courage” (狭路相逢，勇者胜), and there is perhaps no truer test of this adage than an Ironman event.
At the close of the press conference, we were treated to some words of wisdom from 50-year-old Lao Cui (老崔), a man who perfectly embodies the spirit required to be an Ironman competitor.
Known as “The Fengtai Ironman,” Cui has been competing in triathlons for 25 years and will participate in the Beijing event as an amateur. While his best days may be behind him, he reminded the assembled journalists of the importance of enjoying the competition, but that every Ironman should “dare to be number one in the world” (敢为天下先), and never give up even as others fall by the wayside. It’s an exhortation the competitors in tomorrow’s race would do well to keep in mind if they aspire to have a chance of victory.
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