2019 report
At Parsley Bay, sixty-six swimmers stand on the water’s edge ready to accelerate into the bay on a wave of adrenalin and endorphins. The excitement is palpable in those seconds before Sara and Stella (Martin’s granddaughter) call the start of the race. “Ready, set, go” echoes across this natural amphitheatre. Swimmers react instantly. At the front, it’s a frenzy of wading, diving and splashing through the shallows until the water deepens and freestyle becomes the most efficient technique to propel oneself through the watercourse. Passing under the bay’s suspension footbridge, the swimmers are spurred on by cheers from friends, family and teammates who watch the contest unfold with a bird’s eye perspective. The 2019 edition of the Martin Chimes Maccabi Tri is well and truly underway.
This year, 118 men and women take part in this memorial charity event. Thirty-four individuals conquer all three disciplines while the rest tackle at least one of the swim, cycle and/or run in teams of two or three. And, together we raise more than $6000 for worthwhile research into asbestos-related diseases. Whether first or last across the finish line, this must be one of the most important achievements of the day.
Swimmers advance through the open water. By the second lap, surf lifesaver Kiva Galgut leads the charge, hastened by a shiver of sharks snapping at his heels who are also vying for swim-win bragging rights. Managing to keep them at bay he is first to enter Transition (11:59) followed by three other team entrants – Charlie Kospetas, Shaun Greenblo and Vaughan Blank – before the first individual entrant, Anthony Biggs, completes the swim just 41 seconds later. The next four swimmers, all team entrants, conclude the swim in under 13 minutes. In the Masters category, Roy Cohen records a solid swim (14:42), while Veteran Norman Abel crosses into Transition at 15:27. By this stage, Transition is busy with participants calling out names to timekeepers Adam and Jake Chimes, who diligently record splits.
Within 21 minutes the swim is over for another year and the race shifts to the cycle where collectively there’s enough wattage being cranked out to power a small suburb.
In the Team category, Tony Rubenstein clips into his pedals first followed by Ian Abrams (+4s), Jarred Shein (+32s), Sean Bloch (+38s) and Brayden Bloch (+1:47) with the young gun hunting down his prey with professional precision to conclude the bike leg first in a mind-blowing 33:06 that earns him a collection of Strava KOMs in the process. Brayden launches his runner, Mark Kopelowitz, onto the course with Gary Naidel (+6s), Greenblo (+7s) and Seb Ruiz (+36s) in hot pursuit. On the run, Shaun takes hold of first place and doesn’t let it go until the finish line (18:54) taking his two-man team (of Greenblo-Shein) to victory proving that ‘two is company and three’s a crowd’ in a new team record of 1:06:25 (-1s). In rapid succession, second and third place teams stop the clock at under 1:07:00, namely trios Galgut-Rubenstein-Ruiz and May-Bloch-Kopelowitz with Ruiz and Kopelowitz running sub 4min/km (18:53 and 19:33 respectively), while Eitan Cher delivers the only other sub 20-minute run. Finally, in the Team classification, it is great to see four family entries – Teams Chimes, Green, Katz and Wahlhaus – with some now calling for a new family-only category!
In the Open Male category, on the bicycle Brendan Krone chases down Biggs, reclaiming most of the 1-minute deficit endured in the swim. But mighty marathoner Biggs starts pounding the pavement 13 seconds ahead of Krone and settles into his comfort zone where he extends the lead by a further 19 seconds, flying into the finish in an epic 1:11:04. Behind him, Krone (+32s) and Ed Picherit (+2:16) take out second and third place honours both having completed the 2019 Western Sydney Half Ironman in awesome times.
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A similar story plays out for the Masters. Roy Cohen’s strong swim gives him an advantage of 1:25 that puts him on a winning trajectory from start to finish. Not even the experienced Alan Kaplan is able to close the gap, with Cohen outperforming by 3s on the bike (40:12) and 16s on the run (24:07) to take this year’s title in an enviable 1:19:01. Silver and bronze go to Kaplan (1:20:45) and Alan Rubinstein (1:24:47), who hammered out the fastest Masters run at 23:18.
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For the Veterans, it’s a tug-of-war with the lead changing hands several times. Round one goes to Norman Abel but his 1:50 and 2:30 advantage over Joel Bloom and John Cohen turns out to be just a body-blow and not the knock-out punch he was hoping to land. On the bike, Joel (43:47) and John (43:37) fight back to reclaim the earlier lost time. When the run starts, only 30 seconds separate these Veterans – first Joel, second Norman (+4s), third John (+30s). Stride by stride, John reins in and then overtakes his rivals with a run performance of 27:19, triumphant at 1:28:53. After a well-fought bout, Joel and Norman must be content with second and third place at 1:30:48 and 1:31:11. And Malcolm Kofsky, while not a podium-finisher, pulls off the fastest bike time (43:25) against his peers.
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This year, Yaeli Liebowitz and Jana Greenblo are the only two female competitors to undertake the full course and surely inspiring more women to get involved and follow in their lead. While Jana (17:47) keeps Yaeli in her wake during the swim, the 21-second benefit heading into the bike is not enough to deter her counterpart. By the time the cycle is over, Yaeli has gained a 4:41 advantage, which she builds on during the run to guarantee her name on this year’s trophy at 1:28:29. On the run, Jana dishes out plenty of high fives to other runners and somehow manages to smile during the entire triathlon. She finishes with an endorphin-charged grin at 1:34:58.
The Predicted Time winner goes to Team Green (Michael Green, Rodney Green, Kerri Green) who, with pinpoint accuracy, register a time just 1 second below their estimate. The Passion and Persistence award passes from Marty Knespal to Alan Kaplan for his long-term dedication and commitment to Maccabi triathlon. Stefan Levandovski lays claim to ‘Most Improved’ by shaving 1:47 off his time to 1:16:38. Only one other individual, Guy Klamer (-11s) and one team, Greenblo-Shein (-31s) also better their 2018 times, which is especially commendable because of this year’s longer high-tide swim. Finally, Leonard Gentin deserves special mention for his legendary ‘finish-no-matter-what’ attitude and creativity by commandeering a Lime Bike when faced with an unfixable mechanical and in doing so epitomises the spirit and sportsmanship of the day!
Floating on a rising tide of post-exercise endorphins and lactic acid buzz, about 150 people transition from Parsley Bay to the Shein’s house where Colleen and David so kindly host a delicious breakfast and much-needed caffeine hit. Before the trophies are presented, Sara and Adam both bring Martin into the room with their beautiful, heartfelt words and I know how humbled he would be to have this event held in his honour.
Thank you everyone for participating, spectating and volunteering. I look forward to seeing you again at the 2020 edition of the Martin Chimes Maccabi Tri.
Daniel Bos
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