Sergiy Kurochkin (UKR) and Małgorzata Otworowska (POL) prevailed in the Triathlon IRONMAN 5150 Warsaw on Sunday, June 16, 2019. On a hot and sunny day in Warsaw, nearly 1200 athletes took on the course leading from the Lake Zegrzynski to the city center of Warsaw.
Photo: © Kseniya Vashkevich / Triathlon IRONMAN 5150 Warsaw
Kurochkin started strong leading after the swim and exiting T1 3 seconds ahead of Tomasz Brembor (POL).
– I felt confident with my swimming but expected James Cunnama or Ruedi Wild to take the lead on the bike. I thought the decisive moments would come after 30 km – said Sergiy Kurochkin.
Photo: © Kseniya Vashkevich / Triathlon IRONMAN 5150 Warsaw
However, his expectations did not come true. The Ukrainian was able to extend the lead over the chasing contenders thanks to his impressive 54:10 bike split that gave him 2’39” advantage over Brembor on entering T2.
Photo: © Sport Evolution / IRONMAN 5150 Warsaw
While Kurochkin enjoyed a safe lead, the battle behind his back was heating up. A group of 4 athletes started their runs separated by only 19 seconds. Interestingly, Brembor quickly fell to the 5th place, with Ruedi Wild (SUI), James Cunnama (RSA) and Miłosz Sowiński (POL) overtaking him already in the second transition. Wild was then able to close a gap of 3 seconds to James Cunnama and took the second position while Brembor recovered after the slow transition, overtaking Sowiński and getting within just 9 seconds behind Cunnama to threat his podium finish. However, he was not able to keep this fast pace in the second part of the run and the top standings did not change any more.
Photo: © Andrzej Waszkewicz / Triathlon IRONMAN 5150 Warsaw
Sergiy Kurochkin finished in 1:51:28, 2 minutes and 50 seconds ahead of Ruedi Wild. James Cunnama complemented the podium, while Tomasz Brembor kept his fourth place finishing as the fastest Polish athlete, just ahead of Miłosz Sowiński.
– I really liked the race. It’s a fantastic scenery and very good organization – said Ruedi Wild. – The heat was there on the run course but it was still early in the morning and it was bearable for a short 10K distance – he added.
Photo: © Andrzej Waszkewicz / Triathlon IRONMAN 5150 Warsaw
Miłosz Sowiński also praised the race:
– Despite having lived for 15 years in Warsaw, it’s just my first start here at 5150 Warsaw Triathlon. The course is really fast and overall I am happy with my performance today – he said.
Photo: © Sport Evolution / IRONMAN 5150 Warsaw
TOP-5 Men | Triathlon IRONMAN 5150 Warsaw 2019
1,5 km swim + 40 km bike + 10 km run
1. KUROCHKIN Sergiy (UKR) – 01:51:28
2. RUEDI Wild (SUI) – 01:54:18
3. JAMES Cunnama (RSA) – 01:55:00
4. TOMASZ Brembor (POL) – 01:56:05
5. MIŁOSZ Sowiński (POL) – 01:56:26
Photo: © Kseniya Vashkevich / Triathlon IRONMAN 5150 Warsaw
Contrary to the international male podium, Polish triathletes dominated the women’s competition, although it was Saskia Kaes of Germany who led the race after swim, 4 seconds Ahead of Małgorzata Otworowska (POL). Kaes couldn’t keep the pace of fast-riding Polish PRO women, falling to the 5th place on the bike. Meanwhile, Otworowska checked in T2 after 1:28:35 with Paulina Klimas (POL) on the second place and Ewa Komander (POL) on the third thanks to the best bike split of the day. Paulina Kotfica (POL) was 4th after bike with Saskia Kaes already far behind her back.
Photo: © Kseniya Vashkevich / Triathlon IRONMAN 5150 Warsaw
Komander and Klimas continued kept together for the most part of the run while Kotfica tried to cut the deficit of 36 seconds after exiting T2. Her effort was finally rewarded. She closed the gap on the final kilometers and eventually finished second, 1’18” behind Małgorzata Otworowska who safely took her first victory in Warsaw in 2:11:27. Ewa Komander saved more energy for the final part of the race, which gave her an edge of 29 seconds over Paulina Klimas who finished fourth.
Photo: © Andrzej Waszkewicz / Triathlon IRONMAN 5150 Warsaw
– I did not expect to win since I felt bad after the swim. On the run, I was struggling with cramps. However, I am happy to win despite all of this – said Małgorzata Otworowska.
Photo: © Kseniya Vashkevich / Triathlon IRONMAN 5150 Warsaw
TOP-5 Women | Triathlon IRONMAN 5150 Warsaw 2019
1,5 km swim + 40 km bike + 10 km run
1. OTWOROWSKA Małgorzata (POL) – 02:11:27
2. PAULINA Kotfica (POL) – 02:12:45
3. KOMANDER Ewa (POL) – 02:13:19
4. PAULINA Klimas (POL) – 02:13:48
5. WOŁOS Ewelina (POL) – 02:17:44
Photo: © Kseniya Vashkevich / Triathlon IRONMAN 5150 Warsaw
All in all, nearly 1200 athletes took on the olympic distance competition in Warsaw, supplemented by over 70 relay teams and more than 100 young participants of Wiśniowski IRONKIDS Warsaw.
Photos: © Andrzej Waszkewicz / IRONMAN 5150 Warsaw
© Piotr Jakóbik / Sport Evolution / IRONMAN 5150 Warsaw
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