'Take two' – Cramp can't stop Norman
THE wait is over – Chris Norman and Megan Chapple have been confirmed as new Granite Man champions.
Two weeks after a shock race-morning postponement caused by heavy fog, Guernsey’s signature half-Ironman finally got under way to a beautiful sunrise breaking through the clouds at Pembroke Bay.
Both winners capitalised on these generally welcoming conditions to set new records for the roughly 2km swim, 90km bike and 21km run event, for which this was the eighth edition.
The initial postponement had particularly troubled the UK-based Chapple – indeed, the Island Games silver-medallist committed only days prior to what organisers dubbed ‘Granite Man Take Two’.
But her persistence earned her a seventh-place overall finish, more than 40min. ahead of the next-fastest woman.
It was not all sunny skies for Norman either.
En route to his record-breaking 4hrs 18min. 32sec. victory, the up-and-coming triathlete had to battle cramp during the run, never welcome in such a competitive race.
The start followed the usual script as established Island Games man James Travers dominated the swim, holding at least 3min. on most realistic challengers.
But after the first of two bike laps, Dave Mosley was heading both Travers and Norman, with outstanding cyclist Ove Svejstrup poised ominously about a minute back.
Come transition and Svejstrup had broken ahead, with Norman hot on his heels, as Mosley trailed by nearly 3min.
Norman soon breezed into first – but would that stick?
Worryingly, he approached the 5km turn-point at a walk, just ahead of Svejstrup.
Yet after taking on some electrolytes, Norman powered through the longer second lap, characterised by a distinctive dip into Ronez’s Les Vardes quarry.
Mosley secured second in 4-22-54, with Travers, Rowe and Svejstrup all comfortably inside 4-30.
‘Absolutely delighted – I am buzzing and didn’t expect that at all today,’ the winner said.
Given his record of struggling off the bike, his strategy was to relax in the final 2km of the cycle to ease the transition.
‘That seemed to work – went into the run feeling good, and the rest is history,’ he added.
‘I still can’t believe it. I was expecting to hurt a bit more on the run, but the legs felt good today.
‘I was looking at the clock round Chouet way – I knew I was looking to get under 4-30 – and realised I still had over 15 minutes left, 3km to go, and it was on.
‘But I just kept pushing to the finish line basically. You’re never 100% until you cross it.’
Chapple’s route to victory proved more straightforward.
The 24-year-old left the water within 1min. of the top men’s pack, but Izzie Grierson, an excellent swimmer, still had the upper hand.
Chapple made the overtake on the initial east coast stretch of the cycle and after reaching final transition within the top 10, she ran outstandingly to finish in 4-33-56.
Emily Squire followed in 5-14-24, with reigning champion Magda Murphy silencing a back injury to place third, another 4min. behind. Amy Critchlow and Grierson completed the top five.
‘Pretty chuffed – it makes it worth coming back for,’ Chapple said.
She admitted that the postponement had been quite ‘surreal’ for her.
‘For a race to be fully cancelled is a real shock. I was quite flat for the week after, and I still wasn’t sure whether I was going to come back.
‘I only decided on Wednesday, booked my flights last minute, as I just didn’t want to miss it.
‘I said to myself “I’m not going to come back” and then got chatting to Emily and she was like “You have to come back”. It was a bit of persuasion and a bit of talking to myself.’
Thierry Le Cheminant, 16, won the sprint option convincingly in 1-07-01 despite struggling from stitches on the run.
But top woman Sammy McNaught also stood out, producing the run of her life to hold off some threatening male rivals and seal second in 1-15-44.
