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attracted Fernandez to toward Keauhou. Ultraman and that test Ten kilometers—a common is what provided run distance. In the Ultraman, ten Fernandez with an kilometers is the length of the experience she’ll never swim. forget and hopes to Fernandez started the 10K repeat again in the swim knowing that it would be her future. strongest event. She was focused JAMIE JANOVER on a very doable goal time for DAY ONE—6:30 AM her—two hours and forty-five min- Fernandez waded utes. The women’s swim record into the water near the stood at 2:53. Part of Fernandez’s If you’ve completed four familiar start of the Ironman, only game plan was to exit the water in Ironmans—Hawaii ’97, Germany the date was November 24 and the Keauhou Bay with the new record ’98, Hawaii ’98, Lake Placid ’00— before start- and are no longer feeling ing the bike. challenged enough by the Beyond that distance, what’s next? THREE DAYS IN THE SUN: little bit of For Boulder resi- confidence dent and native MONICA FERNANDEZ TAKES ON THE she faced the Guatemalan Monica unknown. Fernandez, the answer is In the a three day endurance Ultraman, test over Thanksgiving ULTRAMANULTRAMAN making the weekend on the Big cut-off times Island of Hawaii—the Ultraman. full moon of October had passed. each day and getting to the final It’s only fitting that this And the 1,500 athletes and con- finish line at the Old Kona Airport evolution in the sport takes place comitant spectators of Ironman is never guaranteed. In fact, the near many familiar landmarks of were back at their respective odds are against it. the Hawaii Ironman. Despite the homes, digesting Thanksgiving As Fernandez followed her similarities of place and disciplines, meals with bikes still pace kayak packed in boxes. BY ADAM HODGES with hus- Instead of the band Ran snow of Colorado, Fernandez Netzer at the helm, she felt strong found herself in a land of never and was on the mark over the first ending summer. Even November five kilometers. Then she encoun- in Kona can get hot, especially if tered the rock that wouldn’t disap- you’re planning on running a dou- pear. As if sucked into a swim ble marathon. But that was still flume, Fernandez knew she was two days away. swimming hard, but she wasn’t The thirty-five swimmers, ..........continued on page 19 DAPHNE HOUGARD with sup- port crews the races are entities unto them- nearby, took selves. Is the Ultraman twice as their cue hard as the Ironman? Is a victory at from the Ultraman twice as sweet? Just ask starter and Monica Fernandez, this year’s embarked Ultraman champion. on a jour- DAPHNE HOUGARD After missing an Ironman ney into the spot this year, Fernandez, who likes unknown "to challenge my mind and body," via the coast jumped at the opportunity to take of the Big her triathlon racing a step further. Island. The There is something appealing swimmers about going into a race and not headed knowing if you’ll even get to the south out of finish line at the end. That’s what Kailua Bay 2 April-May 2001 Cover Story: Three days in the Sun: #10 Monica Fernandez Takes On the Ultraman by Adam Hodges....................2 Photos this page: top: Gretchen Reeves at Los DeBooms en Chile T1 in the Winter Triathlon; Interview by Elizabeth left: Monica Fernandez at Anderson..................................7 the Ultraman finish; below: Ned Overend at P2 Triathlon Club the Winter Triathlon Makes It’s Mark by Suzanne Sneed..................14 Wind Sprints U.S. National Winter New USA Head Coach Bolton Wins First Marathon Triathlon Championships Smedley in Formula 1 by Scott Schumaker..............26 European Winter Triathlons Barholomew Baby Sound Mind and Body ..................................................10 by Adam Hodges.....................4 Wildflower Preview: Bettina Younge Interview by Adam Hodges....................19 Wildflower Dreams by Megan Clute................................17 In Pursuit of Another National Championship by Bettina Younge.................................................................17 THE COLORADO TRIATHLETE APRIL-MAY 2001 Sound Mind and Body by Adam Hodges What About the Ironwomen? haven’t reached equality among the sexes—although Last week I found myself in a pick-up game of the world of triathlon may offer a vision to those ends. basketball with a group of middle school students. We In triathlon, we test our mettle on a stage where the divided into a team of four against my team of three. best women in Ironman races show equal amounts of The players were all boys except for one, a girl of aver- endurance, drive, and determination as the men. You age middle school height, which means no taller, but don’t have to go far down the list of race results before no shorter than most of the boys on the court. the names of female competitors start mixing in among After a few possessions, my team of three the males. started falling into our roles. Then why do we call the race an Ironman? Jonathan was the short ball han- What about the Ironwomen who have shaped our dler who ran point. I sport and have had to battle for equal prize money and played Michael Jordan in equal coverage? We all know that the women, such as the wings and Megan Julie Moss, Erin Baker, Paula Newby-Fraser, Lori hustled in the post. Bowden, Wendy Ingrahm, Sian Welch, Karen Smyers, We got into a rhythm and the endless list of other female triathletes from and proba- bly out- professionals looking to make the Olympics to ama- passed most teurs raising families and working full-time jobs, have NBA teams. T h e worked equally as hard as their male counterparts and teamwork was con- have played just as integral a role in shaping our sport. tagious as Jonathan I have yet to see an Ironman coverage on TV put the ball into play that pays as much attention to the female competitors and I dished off pass as the males, unless they’ve collapsed on the ground after pass into and are crawling to the finish. I’ll admit that I stopped Megan for her s u r efire watching the coverage a few years ago, though, having shots in the post. given up in frustration. Anytime she got the ball within In the recent Sydney Olympics, we saw ten feet of the bas- ket, it was Michellie Jones, Brigitte McMahon, and the US money in the bank. Jonathan and I shot women, Joanna Zeiger, Sheila Taormina, and Jennifer from outside and drove Gutierrez, put on a splendid display of sportswoman- ship and athleticism. Beyond the showcase of the first the lane just enough to Ironwoman Lori Bowden, ever Olympic triathlon, we saw Darra Torres and keep the defense honest photo by Jamie Janover and allow Megan to keep Jenny Thompson in the pool, Marion Jones and Cathy working the basket. Freeman on the track, to take a small sample from the On defense, our star player out-hustled every slew of events that glimmer in the spotlight every four member of the opposing team for the rebounds. As I years. If only that type of coverage of women’s sports watched Megan school the boys in basketball, I real- took place more than two weeks out of every four ized I was surreptitiously aiding in the most important years. During the typical week we turn on the TV to lesson of the school day for these boys—debunking the see men playing football, basketball, baseball, hockey, myth that every male is unfortunately socialized to or arguing politics in Congress. learn in childhood, the myth that women are less capa- So how does triathlon fit into the bigger equa- ble and somehow unequal. I smiled without bringing tion? I’m better at asking the questions than answer- any attention to the lesson as I kept dishing assists to ing them, but I hope that Megan turns her basketball Megan and taking her passes after she cleared the fitness into a love of endurance sports and will one day boards. compete in an Ironwoman event during time off from I also wondered what the future would hold a career where she earns an equal paycheck as her for Megan. Would she find the support and encour- male counterparts and receives the same amount of agement to continue in athletics, giving her the coverage for her feat. Maybe if more young females strength and self-esteem needed to play on an unequal could be exposed to the stories of our women triath- field where men out-earn their female counterparts by letes, we could help shape a future society where the an average of 30% and where a woman has to hustle struggle for self-esteem and self-worth is a moot issue twice as hard to achieve the same rank? among adolescent girls, and boys grow up with At the start of the new millennium, we still Ironwomen as role models. Assistant Editor Adam Hodges is also our website developer. ❂ 4 THE COLORADO TRIATHLETE APRIL-MAY 2001 5 The Colorado CLUBS AROUND THE STATE Triathlete Bad Boys and Girls Tri Club . 303.796.8581 South Denver Metro Area . [email protected] www.coloradotriathlete.com to subscribe to email list go to :http://bbgtri.listbot.com 1906 13th St., Suite 206 Boulder Triathlon Club. 303.938.2109 Boulder,Colorado 80302 P.O.Box 3691, Boulder, CO 80307. www.bouldertriathlonclub.org 303.443.3371 Dave Scott’s MultiSport Club . 303.786.7184 888.443.3371 .