On one of the biggest days in sports with the 141st running of the Kentucky Derby and boxing’s “fight of the century” between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, along the Kohala Coast it was the Cinco de Mayo swim race kicking off Saturday with a splash.
The 1-mile open water swim event at beautiful Anaehoomalu Bay was the season opener for Big Island’s Triple Crown swim series that includes the Hapuna Rough Water swim on June 13 and the King’s Swim on July 4.
As participants gathered along the beach listening to last minute swim instructions from race organizers, hall of fame swimming coach Steve Borowski made a prerace prediction as he strolled along the water’s edge.
“I think today we are going to see Daniel Kniseley, one of my master’s swimmers, have a pretty good shot at winning,” Borowski said. “He’s been training really hard and I think he’s in really great shape for today. Others in contention would probably be Danny Manzo, Nolan (Grossman), Thomas Hoyt and Aye Chan (San Tun).”
Breezy trade winds typical of the Waikoloa area began to kick up right at the start of the race, creating choppy conditions for 212 eager participants preparing to splash their way out and back on the 1-mile course.
Within a few minutes, the masses quickly dissipated into a small lead pack, and by the halfway turn buoy, it became apparent to those straining their eyes from the beach that there was a lone swim leader.
Many wondered if that person was Manzo, the West Hawaii Explorations Academy senior who won last month’s Inaugural Aloha Kai open water swim race and also the Triple Crown defending champion.
“I can see Daniel,” said Manzo’s mother, Janet-Lynne. “He’s the one wearing the white swim cap, but there’s someone in front of him.”
As the swim leader continued to approach the shoreline, excitement and cheers grew among awaiting spectators and Borowski couldn’t have been happier as his early prediction rang true.
“You never know whose going to show up, but I know the kids and the adults that I coach,” he said. “This is Daniel Kniseley’s first open water swim race. He’s 54- years old, a retired lifeguard from Florida, and he trains like a wild man in the pool and in open water swims.”
Kniseley ran up the beach in a winning time of 21 minutes and 27 seconds.
“I had no thoughts going into this but to just have a good time and to represent my swim team,” Kniseley said. “There was no strategy, I just wanted to see how it goes.”
Kniseley, who grew up in Gainesville, Florida and swam for Temple University in Philadelphia, said he moved to the Big Island last year after retiring as a lifeguard for 22-years and wanting to live a more laid-back lifestyle.
“I’ve been coming here since the 80s and just fell in love,” he said. “I realized that life is about being happy and having fun. My biggest inspiration is little Duke Becker because he says he’s always happy and wants to have a good time. So I want to be like Duke. And of course Coach Steve always grabs me aside to tell me it only matters if you are happy.”
And just as Borowski predicted, following Kniseley were some of our state’s fastest teen swimmers — Manzo in second at 22:00, followed by Grossman in 22:05, and San Tun hitting the fourth spot at 22:09.
Right after the men’s lead pack was the women’s overall leader, Hawaii professional triathlete, Bree Wee, in an amazing time of 22:14.
“This is my first win at an open swim race,” Wee said. “We had a goal among the high schoolers to take down the older Danny so we kind of tried to gang up on him but it didn’t work as he humbled us by winning — so good job to him.”
Wee said that she felt Saturday’s race offered the rare opportunity for a shot at the win as with both Leahi Camacho and Madison Hauanio away at college, and Madeline Foo not racing due to SAT testing, the doors were left wide open.
“I got lucky as I knew this was my one and only time I would ever win for the girls,” she said. “I love this race, I think it’s a great opportunity for people wanting to do Lavaman to get used to this area and get used to swimming here. I did this race last year so it’s a good judge of my swim fitness heading into IRONMAN Texas on May 16.”
Following Wee in the women’s division were Kailua-Kona’s Hanna Tomlinson in 22:35, and Kealakekua’s Tori Oshiro in third at 22:52.
The fundraising event raised $4,000 for the Daniel Sayre Memorial Foundation and $1,000 for ALS TDI in honor of Karen O’Riordan.
Henderson Claims C2 Mauna Kea
From the sea of Anaehoomalu Bay to the slopes of one of the tallest volcanoes in the world, Sunday’s C2 Mauna Kea kicked off yet another season opener, but this time it was for the Triple Crown of Cycling.
The epic quad-busting challenge had cyclists start their clocks from the intersection of Waikoloa Road at sea level, and grind their gears to the Mauna Kea Visitor Center — a total distance of 50 miles with an elevation gain of over 10,000 feet.
Race organizer of the C2Cycling Triple Crown Series was Hilo’s Robert Patey, who decided to make the competitive event also serve as an awareness ride for all cyclists and the community at large.
“Being a cyclist, we put ourselves out on the road and we are taking a chance when we are out there that the drivers will see us and move at a safe distance that doesn’t cause us to get pushed off the road,” Patey said. “Unfortunately we do not have the best shoulders but we have some great roads out here. And if you can be safe by riding and driving with aloha then hopefully we won’t have anymore accidents like what happened on March 1 when a cyclist died on Waikoloa road.”
Patey was referring to 63-year old Jeffrey Surnow, a visiting cyclist who died in a vehicle-bicycle crash that involved an on-duty police officer on Waikoloa Road.
“So this event recognizes his passing and there is an angel bike out at that site near the first aid station, a white bicycle chained to a tree to recognize and remind us all that a cyclist died there.”
Immediately from the start, a lead pack of our island’s strongest climbers – Waikoloa’s Maxfield LaFortune, Keauhou’s Penn Henderson, Hilo’s Patey, and 16-year-old Malik Mariano separated themselves from the rest of the field while ascending up Waikoloa Road.
Once at the top, Patey dropped off the back leaving LaFortune, Henderson, and Mariano to navigate their way alongside expansive ranch lands filled with grazing cattle, yellow-green prairie grass and old volcanic cinder cones of the Old Saddle Road.
Shortly after, at 20 miles into the grueling challenge, LaFortune and Mariano backed off the relentless pace, while Henderson continued to forge ahead in a solo effort with brutal headwinds, slanting rain and eerie fog mists.
“Penn just started hammering it on Old Saddle,” Mariano said. “Then Max and I both started slowing down as we both had a hard time trying to keep up. Then Max told me that he was getting sore and that he won’t be going to the top.”
With LaFortune deciding to make a U-turn to ride back down the new Daniel K. Inouye Highway, Henderson continued to extend his lead with the toughest part of the 10,000 feet climb still ahead.
“The last six miles to the visitor center is always brutal with the steepness and effects of altitude,” Henderson said. “I literally felt my heart pounding in my head. At that point, the battle shifts from the legs to the mind. I just focused on the basics and kept telling myself to keep pedaling, keep pedaling, keep pedaling. Before I knew it, the finish was there.”
Henderson crossed in a winning time of 3 hours, 32 minutes and 45 seconds.
“The biggest accomplishment for me was being able to finish strong without any problems,” he said. “The race up Mauna Kea is a world-renowned cycling challenge, and we’re fortunate enough to have it right in our own backyard. It’s an experience that truly sticks with you – something you’ll always remember.”
In second place was the amazing 16-year-old cycling phenom, Mariano, who gritted out a superb time of 4:12:31. Race director Patey followed in third at 4:18:29.
“It feels so awesome to reach the top. It’s such an accomplishment,” Mariano exclaimed. “This is way harder than climbing up Mauna Loa. I had to push myself through some cramping and (this race) was worse than I expected. It felt a lot longer than I thought and the headwinds were a huge factor for me.”
Patey said that he felt really proud of this event as everything ran smoothly from prerace registration, set-up of the aid stations, the timing, to the postrace awards ceremony.
“I was really happy on how this event came together,” he said. “We had the volunteers from Hilo and Kona and close friends to come out, and instead of doing the ride they supported it so it allowed all of us to have a good time out on the course. It was about putting on a solid event no matter how many people come. I wanted people to walk away feeling good about it and knowing that the event was a success. Today we accomplished that with flying colors.”
Coming up
Saturday: The 2015 Visitor Industry Charity Walk will begin at 6:45 a.m. at Mauna Lani Resort. The scenic 3.1-mile fun run/walk will begin and end at the Shops at Mauna Lani. Race morning registration will be in front of the Tommy Bahama store from 5:45-6:30 a.m. Proceeds of the event will benefit several charities on the island. For more info and registration details visit charitywalkhawaii.org, or contact Kerstin Busse at 331-6347, email Kbusse@konabeachhotel.com.
Sunday: Frozen Pea Productions presents Polar Bear’s Pinto Bean and Pinata Biathlon featuring a ¾-mile swim and 3.1-mile run at Kaiakeakua Beach. A short Pea Wee course of 200-yard swim and 1-mile run is also available for everyone. Start time for this free event is 8:08 a.m., no registration needed, just sign-out at the finish. For more info contact Peaman at 938-2296.
Sunday: Waverider Triathlon Club presents the K9-9K fun run with your beloved dogs at the Walua Trailhead on Lako Street. Start time is 7:30 AM with onsite registration happening until 7:10 a.m. For registration details visit active.com or for more information contact Kristin Old at waveridertriathlonclub@gmail.com.