WAIKOLOA — It was a sweep for the home team at Lavaman Waikoloa, which was just one of many firsts at the storied Olympic distance triathlon on Sunday.
Big Island athletes David Wild and Rani Henderson were the top overall finishers at the event, making it the first time two local athletes were on top of their respective podiums in Waikoloa.
Wild finished the 1.5K swim, 40K bike and 10K run in 1 hour, 56 minutes and 30 seconds to capture his first — and seemingly long overdue — Lavaman Waikoloa title.
The same could be said for Henderson, who had finished third four times. The mother of two used the fastest female run of the day to cruise to her first victory in a time of 2:16:04.
Since moving to the island in 2014, Wild — a math teach at Konawaena High School — has been a consistent force at the front of the pack at just about every race on the Big Island.
But Lavaman had been his bugaboo.
Wild finished in the top 10 in his first two tries in Waikoloa, but appeared to break through in 2017 for his first victory. However, although he was the first to Anaehoomalu Bay and the one to break the tape to loud cheers, age-grouper Jason Lamoreaux — who had started in a later wave — took the top overall honors, finishing 48 seconds better than Wild when it was all added up.
Last year, looking to rebound from the heartbreak, Wild was hit with a flat on the bike, relegating him to eighth.
After a strong swim and a mechanically-sound bike, fate would have it that Lamoreaux would be the person Wild had to track down on Sunday. He caught him on the first mile of the run and never looked back.
“It’s amazing,” Wild said. “There was a lot of pressure. Friends and family were telling me this was my year, but I’d have to stop myself. If I didn’t win, it would have been OK. I just wanted to give 110 percent. If I knew I did that and got third, I would have been OK with it.”
Wild left no doubt this time around. Propelled by adrenaline and energy gel, he jogged down the final stretch, no one with a bib number near on the white sand behind him. He clenched his fist and slapped hands with the fans at the finish line before holding the finishing line tape up high.
It did, however, take some convincing that it all wasn’t just one elaborate early April Fool’s joke.
“It’s still sinking in,” Wild said. “All the support from this community has been so awesome.”
Lamoreaux finished second with a time of 1:57:41 and Jose Graca, last year’s runner-up and another Big Islander, rounded out the podium in third at 2:00:37. Defending champion Ben Williams finished seventh with a time of 2:03:20.
The men’s side has seen some big names take home the top overall honors. Ironman champs Chris Lieto and Chris McCormack both have their names on the list, as well as Simon Whitfield, a gold medal winning Olympian for Canada. Oahu standout triathletes Williams and Tim Marr are also multiple-time winners at the event.
While some have been close, Wild is believed to be the first Big Islander to take home the men’s title in the 22 years of the race.
“To be included in that is epic,” Wild said.
When it comes to the women’s race at Lavaman, the conversation usually starts and ends with Bree Brown, who has eight Lavaman Waikoloa titles to her name and was on the start line Sunday to defend her crown.
However, this year was a little different, with Brown still recovering from a broken leg that happened just four months ago — although it didn’t seem to matter early on.
Brown was the first into the bike-to-run transition, riding a stellar swim time of 21:20 and keeping a solid gap through the bike. That was all part of the plan, and it was no surprise to Lavaman’s winningest woman when Henderson caught her around Mile 4 of the run.
“Rani is one of my dearest friends, but we are competitors,” Brown said. “I told her that I was going to swim and bike as hard as I could, knowing I couldn’t keep up on the run.”
Both athletes shared a moment before Henderson zoomed ahead, putting down a 40:04 time on the technical 10K run, living up to her Roadrunner nickname.
“It was bittersweet,” Henderson said. “We joked about it before the event. She killed it on the swim and the bike and was going to do her best to hold me off. When I passed her it was a bit emotional because of all the years I have been chasing her at this race.”
Brown, who battled just to be at the start line, wouldn’t have wanted this edition of the race to end any other way.
“There’s no one I’d rather have take my crown at this race than Rani, but I didn’t want to make it easy for her,” Brown said. “There are a lot of emotions when it comes to this race. I know I wasn’t supposed to be here.”
With the win, Henderson completed the Lavaman Slam, having won the now-defunct Lavaman Keauhou back in 2010.
It was at that same race nearly a decade ago that two Big Islanders last topped both the male and female podiums at a Lavaman event. On the men’s side, it was Penn Henderson, who is now Rani Henderson’s husband.
In more ways than one, the victory brought things full circle for Henderson, who started her transition from pure runner to triathlete back in 2009 at Lavaman Waikoloa.
“It’s a feeling I can’t describe,” she said. “I never expected something like this for myself at this race, but I couldn’t have done it without my cheer squad — my husband and our two kids (Cole and Raen). And I want to thank (race director) Gerry Rott. Every year she puts on an amazing event.”
Henderson received additional motivation from her son, Cole, who recently celebrated his sixth birthday. Appropriately, Henderson’s bib number was “6” on Sunday.
“I felt a little extra pressure,” Rani said. “I had to do it for him.”
Phaelen French was the third overall woman, clocking a time of 2:20:10.
