Sitchon survives scare in LA

Saipan-based triathlete Manny Sitchon survived the big waves of Venice Beach to finish the Olympic-distance race in the 2008 Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Triathlon Sunday.

“The big waves of the Venice Beach gave me the biggest lashing I’ve ever experienced in open water swimming. The waves were sometimes as high as 20 feet, and they really threw us back to shore,” said Sitchon, who completed the 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-km bike, and 30-km run races in three hours and 57 seconds.

“I thought I will never make it in the beginning of the swim portion when I began to feel my arms and legs were cramping that early in the race, but then the water became a little calmer as we reached the deeper part of the ocean,” he added.

Sitchon competed in the 50-54 age group and was in wave No. 10. The 1,111 participants in the Olympic-distance course were divided into waves with each group separated by five minutes before plunging into the water.

“The longer we waited for our turn, the higher the waves we have to face,” Sitchon said.

The 2008 XTERRA Saipan Championships age group champion still finished the swim leg with a time of 35:15. He clocked 1:19.07 in the bike portion and 58:02 in the run leg.

Sitchon completed the race faster than his target of 3:30.00.

The 52-year-old triathlete said he almost made it to the three-hour barrier because of the early morning breeze. Sitchon is used to racing in high temperature here and found the cold weather in Los Angeles less tiring than Saipan’s.

“Although I did not place in the Top 5 in my age group, I am happy to finish the race injury free,” Sitchon said.

Sitchon placed No. 696 among 911 participants in the men’s Olympic-distance event.

Australia’s Greg Bennett ruled the men’s Olympic-distance triathlon with a time of 1:46.04. He was the fastest in the swim (19:15) and bike (53:57) legs and second in the run portion (31:19).

Andy Potts timed in faster than Bennett in the run leg with 31:18, but was behind the swim (18:29) and bike (55:30) legs and in transitions to settle for second place with a total time of 1:46.47.

In third place was Paul Matthew (1:48.09), followed by Stuart Hayes (1:49.01) and Brent McMahon (1:49.17).

Becky Lavelle was the top finisher in the women’s division posting 1:59.46, followed by Mary Beth Ellis (2:01.12), Julie Swail (2:03.10), Rebecah Wassner (2:03.44), and Brooke Davison (2:05.46).