BOULDER — Julie Dibens did a finish-line interview with the public address announcer at Sunday’s Ironman 70.3 triathlon before she crossed the line.
She frittered away a good five minutes, in fact, before stepping over the line as the women’s winner of the half-Ironman event at the Boulder Reservoir.
A British pro who has lived in Boulder the past 18 months, Dibens wasn’t showing up her fellow competitors. On the contrary, she wanted to make sure her closest pursuers got paid.
Ironman pays prize money for the top five men and women ($6,000, $4,000, $2,500, $1,500, $1,000), but they have to finish within 8 percent of the total time of the winner. Dibens was so far ahead, she was afraid some of those chasing her would wind up empty-handed.
Dibens finished in 4 hours, 19 minutes, 46 seconds. Canadian Angela Naeth was second in 4:22:27.
“The sport is hard enough as it is,” said Dibens, a three-time Xterra off-road triathlon world champion. “If I can drag it out a little bit, some of the girls finishing lower down will still have a chance to get some money.”
As it turned out, her delaying tactics were unnecessary — the next four women were well within the 8 percent margin of 20 minutes, 47 seconds — but Dibens had no way of knowing that.
She just knew she was way ahead.
“It’s easy when you’re winning, but further down the line it’s definitely hard to make some money,” Dibens said. “If I can help out in a small little way like that, then I’m happy to do that.”
Sunday’s race consisted of a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a half-marathon run (13.1 miles). Nearly 1,300 were entered in the final event of the Boulder Triathlon Series, completing its first season owned and managed by Ironman.
Andy Potts of Colorado Springs was the men’s winner in 3:46:50. Tyler Butterfield, a Bermudan who lives in Boulder, was second in 3:49:18.
“I wanted to hit the swim hard and then bike really honestly,” said Potts, who is focused on October’s Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. “Didn’t want to let up on the bike, didn’t want to take a respite at all, because that’s not what’s going to be demanded two months from now.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
Rohto Ironman 70.3 Boulder Triathlon
TOP FINISHERS
MEN
1. Andy Potts, United States, 3:46:50; 2. Tyler Butterfield, Bermuda, 3:49:18; 3. Stephen Hackett, Australia, 3:51:27; 4. Richie Cunningham, Australia, 3:54:11; 5. Paul Ambrose, Great Britan, 3:54:12.
WOMEN
1. Julie Dibens, Great Britan, 4:19:46; 2. Angela Naeth, Canada, 4:22:27; 3. Jessica Meyers, United States, 4:25:09; 4. Uli Broome, United States, 4:26:58; 5. Rebecca Witinok-Huber, United States, 4:30:37.
