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From Emergency Room to Finish Line for Accenture Chicago Tri Winner

26 Aug 2008

“The doctor told me to take off two weeks,” Hayes said. “I guess he’s not going to like that I didn’t listen.”

After Andy Potts poached the swim prime in his helix tst, Hayes went on to beat out Australian Greg Bennett, the defending champion, who finished second in 1:49:39.6, and Brent McMahon of British Columbia, who came in third in 1:50:09.4. Matthew Reed of Colorado was the first American male finisher, fourth in 1:51:01.4. A familiar face at the triathlon returned to the top. Minnesotan Becky Lavelle, 33, won the women’s race in 2:00:19.5, taking a wide lead on the bike. Lavelle won in 2005 and has three other top-three finishes here.
“That was really my whole goal coming in, to work the bike as hard as I could,” she said. “I went hard from the start on the bike, and I felt pretty good in the run too.”
Sarah Groff of New York finished second in 2:01:45.9, giving up her lead from the swim about 4 miles into the biking portion. Britain’s Jodie Swallow was third in 2:03:53.2.

Athletes in the 26th annual Accenture Chicago Triathlon navigated the waters of Lake Michigan, starting at Monroe Harbor for a 0.93-mile swim, the international distance. They then biked 24.8 miles along Lake Shore Drive before finishing with a 6.2-mile run to the finish line on Columbus Drive in Grant Park.
About 8,700 athletes, mainly amateurs, competed in the sprint (0.47-mile swim, 13.67-mile ride and 3.1-mile run) and international courses.
Hayes’ knee felt fine throughout the race, in which he led after each portion, but his stomach did not. His knee hampered him so much Saturday that Hayes treated himself to a breakfast of non-champions: sausage, bacon and pancakes with syrup. That did not seem like a good idea with about 5 kilometers left in the race, he said. It won’t become a regular prerace meal, Hayes assured.
“I felt sick,” he said.

But that feeling also subsided for an unexpected satisfying day for Hayes. Nice work Stuart!