Kemper, Kaye Victorious At Life Time Tri Chicago
The "equalizer" came down to the final stretch, with Kemper barely edging out Kaye.
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As one of the biggest triathlons in the United States, the Life Time Tri Chicago welcomed more than 9,000 athletes to swim, bike and run in the Windy City. The event served as the fourth stop on the Life Time Tri Pro Series, with Life Time Tri Tempe (Sept. 22), Life Time Tri Dallas (Oct. 6) and Life Time Tri Oceanside (Oct. 20) remaining. The race was the second of the three events that make up the Toyota Triple Crown. It was Americans Hunter Kemper and Alicia Kaye who earned the victories, top prize money and valuable series points at today’s race.
PHOTOS: 2013 Life Time Tri Chicago
Men’s Race
American Hunter Lessi led the men out of Lake Michigan with a 1.5K swim time of 19:42. He was followed closely by American Dustin McLarty (19:45), with top contenders like Kemper, Matt Chrabot (USA) and Ben Collins (USA) following about 40 seconds later. Collins used his signature strength on the bike to power through the 40 kilometers in a time of 54:37. Kemper also followed up a strong with swim with a top-notch bike split (55:22), with Stuart Hayes (GBR) and Kevin Everett (USA) also entering the run in contention for the title. Kemper utilized the run speed that helped him earn a spot on four consecutive Olympic teams and powered through the 10K run course in a time of 33:56. He took the overall victory at 1:50:30. Collins held onto the second spot, with Hayes rounding out the top three.
Women’s Race
As she always does, American Sara McLarty earned herself a significant lead heading out of the water. She was 22 seconds ahead of Lauren Brandon (USA) and a full minute ahead of Alicia Kaye (USA) and Helle Frederiksen (DEN). Kaye was the only female to bike under one hour (57:56), passing both Brandon and McLarty and gaining the lead to start the run. Frederiksen was next to start the 10K and the question was whether or not Kaye had enough left in the tank to hold off the former Olympian. The answer was yes. Kaye cruised through the 10K in 40:55 to earn the win in 2:01:54. Frederiksen had the fastest run of the day (39:22), but had to settle for second in 2:02:55. Daniela Ryf (SUI), another former Olympian, rounded out the top three.
The Equalizer
The women were given a head start in front of the men in an effort to create competition among the pro men and women. Kemper was first across the line, with Kaye following close behind.
Life Time Tri Chicago
Chicago, Ill. – Aug. 25, 2013
1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run
Men
1. Hunter Kemper (USA) 1:50:30
2. Ben Collins (USA) 1:51:11
3. Stuart Hayes (GBR) 1:51:41
4. Matt Chrabot (USA) 1:52:11
5. Jarrod Shoemaker (USA) 1:55:08
Women
1. Alicia Kaye (USA) 2:01:54
2. Helle Frederiksen (DEN) 2:02:55
3. Daniela Ryf (SUI) 2:06:52
4. Lauren Barnett (USA) 2:08:20
5. Jillian Petersen (USA) 2:10:20
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