2008 Hawaii recap: was ‘Rotke’ robbed?

Storylines from the 30th edition of the IM championships in Kona, Hawaii:

• strong headwinds and blistering 42°C heat
• Craig Alexander’s astonishing race (and splits);
• Chrissie Wellington’s overall dominance & superiority;
• Yvonne Van Vlerkenburg’s 2nd place finish at her Kona debut;
• Marc Herremans’ third place finish in the handcycle division;
• Norman Stadler’s surge and meltdown during the marathon;
• The DNF’s of Chris McCormack, Bert Jammaer and Frederik Van Lierde;
• The anynomous race exit by all-time triathlon great Luc Van Lierde;
• Marino Vanhoenacker’s disappointing 21st position overall;
• Outstanding Belgian age-groupers: Inge Vancauwenberghe (AG winner), Michel Dewilde, Thierry Verbinnen, Bob De Wolf, Wim Van De Wielle, Frederik Sleutel, Alain Vervoort and Christian Bodson (50-54 AG winner). Here are the results for all 30 Belgian competitors.

Headlining this year’s race IMHO was

• Rutger Beke’s heartwarming come-from-behind third place (his fourth top-4 finish in Kona), including the second fastest marathon split. He may have won the damn thing had he not received a 4 minute drafting penalty.