{"id":17952,"date":"2022-10-04T12:23:36","date_gmt":"2022-10-04T10:23:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.220triathlon.com\/?p=114569"},"modified":"2022-10-04T12:31:10","modified_gmt":"2022-10-04T10:31:10","slug":"chelsea-sodaro-you-get-a-free-pass-when-its-your-first-kona","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/rss_feed\/chelsea-sodaro-you-get-a-free-pass-when-its-your-first-kona\/","title":{"rendered":"Chelsea Sodaro: \u2018You get a free pass when it\u2019s your first Kona\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Tim Heming\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 04 October 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Chelsea Sodaro<\/a> can boast to have beaten Daniel Ryf<\/a>, Lucy Charles-Barclay<\/a> and Anne Haug<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

To that list you can also add Chrissie Wellington, Natascha Badmann and Paula Newby-Fraser.<\/span><\/p>\n

It might not have been in head-to-head competition, but the US triathlete \u2013 with her 8:36:41 set in Hamburg in June<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 holds a faster Ironman debut than any of those leading lights of the sport.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, the only woman who has gone quicker than Sodaro at first attempt is the triathlete who beat her in Hamburg, Laura Philipp<\/a>, <\/strong>with a\u00a0a spectacular 8:34:57 in Barcelona in 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alongside Ryf, Charles-Barclay and Haug \u2013 and with the unfortunate withdrawal of GB\u2019s Kat Matthews after a bike crash<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 Philipp is one of the Big Four favourites for Thursday\u2019s Ironman World Championship.<\/span><\/p>\n

Far fewer are tipping Sodaro to make the podium, but it\u2019s a situation the 33-year-old who trains in the San Francisco Bay Area doesn\u2019t mind one bit.<\/span><\/p>\n

The road to Kona<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s very little external pressure,\u201d she explained when <\/span>220 <\/span><\/i>caught up with her before the race. \u201cMy team is excited for what I can do out there, but you get a free pass when it\u2019s your first Kona.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sodaro\u2019s tight-knit ensemble in Hawaii includes her parents, husband Steve, and 18-month-old daughter Skye, who is keeping everyone entertained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But she\u2019s also a member of BMC Triathlon Team, is coached by New Zealand-based Brit Dan Plews and is thankful for all the support she\u2019s had over the past few years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a project to get me back to fitness and health after giving birth. I\u2019ve got amazing physiotherapists and chiropractors and Team BMC, who signed me for my first pro season, have supported me through the pandemic and childbirth, and here we are.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While it\u2019s Sodaro\u2019s first Ironman World Championship she has trained on the course on numerous occasions with training partner Sarah Piampiano, who has raced here six times with a best-placed seventh from 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n

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