Chrissie Wellington taking a break from Ironman in 2012

married? starting family?....could be the Anika Sorenstam sp? situation...or not.  I heard that Ironman little thingy takes a little out of ya!

Mirinda Carfrae must be overjoyed with that news.

Whatever Chrissie is doing, I wish her well. Got the chance to meet her at a charity event a few weeks ago and she is a very classy person.

Ummm....

WOW!

Could be the reverse

I doubt Rinny is happy with the news.  Would you be happy winning a race, knowing that its only because your main competition wasn't there?  If Rinny won Kona again this year without Chrissie there, I would bet that it would be a bit of a hollow victory.  Kind of like Ullrich winning if Lance didn't show up to the Tour one of those years.

I know what you're saying, but have to think that winning whether or not Crissie is in the field is still pretty satisfying.  For whomever the winner is this year, I hope the media doesn't use that line of questions i.e "do you think you would have won if Chrissie was in the field"...

They did in 2010.  No doubt they would say the same again with Chrissie out, probably even more so.

Depends I think if Chrissie is just sitting a year out or she changes her plans entirely. It does make it interesting.

I'm a Chrissie fan!

(Me and chrisse small.jpg)

I disagree with much of that.  World class athletes race whoever shows up.  We speculate much more than they do about "what might have been".  The fact is, if someone gets injured, or needs a break, or whatever, they are not "good enough" (for lack of a better term) to be there that year, or at that race.  People at the top end of their sport have been competing against any and all comers their whole lives....nobody stays on top forever...even if they go out on top.  While I agree that Wellington is an amazing athlete (and I'm a fan), another better then her will come along.  And while she is not there, whoever wins is better.  It's the nature of athletics.

Sorry Fred, I didn't mean to imply that Rinny didn't want to race without her. I was trying to be humorous and slightly sarcastic but I guess it was stupid. Last thing I'd want to do is knock Rinny, she is fierce and fun to watch and runs like a cheetah. Yes, I am sure some of them aren't shedding any tears that Chrissie is out, but if you're at the very top you need that competition to drive you harder.

What I was more or less trying to say is that I think Chrissie is close to unbeatable. Rinny set a PR but didn't win, so I don't know how much that PR really meant to her. Even so, with her disappointment and tears she still was able to say something nice about Chrissie after the race. She too is a class act.

I think he did care.... difference is he went back to Kona and set a new course record! That is the one way that Rinny can silence the critics