Smith qualifies for Hawaii triathlon
In Coeur d’Alene 140-miler
Ketchum’s Sam Smith is going to have to
come up with the $407 entry fee for the 25th anniversary Ironman Triathlon World
Championship in Kona, Hawaii Oct. 18.
Smith, 27, was one of only 79 triathletes
who qualified for the world’s most prestigious triathlon with their finishes
during Sunday’s 140.6-mile Ironman USA Coeur d’Alene triathlon in northern
Idaho.
With an amazing running time for the
26.2-mile marathon, Smith finished 55th overall of 1,344 finishers Sunday. He
clocked the 29th fastest of all marathon times at 3.36:19 en route to a
sixth-place finish of 103 athletes in the 25-29 class.
Smith’s splits at Coeur d’Alene were
1.09:12 for the 2.4-mile swim (55th age division), 5.36:32 for the 112-mile
bicycle ride (11th division) and 3.36:19 in the 26.2-mile run (3rd division) for
a final time of 10.29:19.
The men’s winner was Michael Lovato of
Boulder, Colo. in 8.40:59 (splits 50:14, 4.49:06, 2.58:27). The women’s winner
was Heather Gollnick of Wisconsin in 9.42:08.