Kona Kings & Queens is a collaboration project with sports photographer James Mitchell to highlight some of the Pros racing in Kona. James supplies his awesome pictures (for more check his Instagram account), I add some data and commentary.
Imo made the female race in Frankfurt very interesting: After swimming with Sarah True at the front, she took the lead on the bike and no one wanted or was able to follow her. After the first bike loop she was more than five minutes ahead, and it took the chasers all of the second loop to catch up to her. Imo also ran a solid marathon in the Frankfurt heat and finished in second place, earning a Kona slot in her first full-distance race. (For more on the race in Frankfurt, check out my post on the “Female Podium at IM Frankfurt“.)
Even though Imo is one of the youngest female Pros in the field, she has already had some good results at big races, finishing 6th at 70.3 Worlds in 2018 and even a 3rd place podium at 70.3 Worlds in Nice this year. It’s unlikely that the atmosphere in Kona is going to have much of an impact on her.
As a good swimmer, Imo is likely to be close to the front at the start of the bike. Will she go with the strong bikers when they ride by or will she take a more conservative approach to her first race in Kona? I think it’s likely that she’s going to get her fair share of camera time on the bike. Maybe she’s also made a step forward in her marathon? Then a Top 10 is in the cards in her Kona debut.
This is an excerpt from my “Kona 2019 Rating Report”. You can download your copy here.