“The ironman in Hawaii? A cruel race” – Antonio Ruzzo’s blog

“You just have to die a little less than the others…. ” As Jan Frodenoa few weeks before the start, he had told Gregory Barnaby who was preparing to race his first Ironman World Final in Kona, Hawaii. And it’s not difficult to understand why certain phrases sometimes remain imprinted in your mind, almost as if they were a premonition. “It was the most difficult race I’ve ever done in 20 years of triathlon – says the Italian on his social media – A cruel challenge…I did a controlled swim, a bike at very high pace in wind and heat and at the start the marathon seemed to go well. Then, after turning onto Queen K, the rest stop suddenly seemed incredibly far away, I felt stranded in the desert, desperate for water. During those 5-10 kilometers I hit rock bottom, I started struggling with my demons as other athletes passed me. When we turned left towards the Energy Lab, a couple of cool water showers and a few familiar faces cheering me on gave me a boost. I reset my mind and, luckily, my legs started responding again…”. News from Hawaii. Chronicles of a challenge that brought the 33-year-old from Verona from Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella to the 707 Team Minini to color a final won by the German blue Patrick Lange who in 7 hours 35 minutes and 53 seconds took his third world crown. There is a lot of blue because, with a race to remember, Barnaby placed sixth overall in 7:48:22 thus signing the best Italian performance ever. The thirty-three year old from Verona always remained there among the best: tenth, eighth, seventh and finally sixth. He swam in front, cycled in front, ran in front while looking over his shoulder and recovered positions one step away from the Dutchman Menno Koolhaas who seemed within reach but who in the end defended his scant minute tooth and nail. But fifth or sixth doesn’t matter. It counts to be there at certain levels and the blue, in this magical year of his, has shown that he can compete with the best, improving last year’s eighth place in Nice, which was still a world championship, but it wasn’t Kona, it wasn’t Hawaii, it wasn’t the black earth of the Energy Lab where, between volcano and desert, absurd temperatures are reached, it wasn’t the endless straights that descend and ascend and where getting lost, stopping and giving up really takes a moment. Barnaby, trained for three years now by the coach Luca Zenti, He boasts over 55 appearances in the Italian national triathlon team over shorter distances and made his debut in the Ironman distance in November two years ago in Israel with a third place which earned him, even then, the best Italian performance in 7h47’02”. lowering the previous limit that belonged to a sacred monster of our triathlon such as Daniel Fontana (8h05’48”). Two years of hard work that brought the Veronese to Kona, a few days ago, to figure well among the greats. “I’m really happy with my result and proud of my performance – he explains on Facebook – It’s my fifth Ironman, and I feel privileged to have always ranked in the top 10, which gives me confidence and hunger for more. My ambitions on this island are not over, and I am sure that the best is yet to come. Now, I’m focused on recovering as quickly as possible, as the updated ProSeries rankings encourage me to race again in a few weeks at 70.3 in Western Australia. Hawaii, the thousands of volunteers, fellow competitors, all the participants and their supporters, and the entire Ironman organization made this an unforgettable experience. I can’t wait to come back.”