Orange County Performing Arts Center Triathlon : This Morning After, Molina Has Even Better Success

In retrospect, Scott Molina of Boulder, Colo., didn’t think it was a good decision for him to compete Sunday in the Orange County Performing Arts Center Triathlon at Mission Viejo.

Molina flew in from Dallas Saturday night, where he had just finished fourth in a triathlon that morning and was attempting his second race in 24 hours, a rare occurence for triathletes.

Of course, after winning the men’s competition by 19 seconds, he wasn’t about to complain over the results.

“It was pretty stupid, actually,” Molina said of his decision to race on consecutive days. “But sometimes you wake up in the morning feeling great and this was one of those days. I felt I would do well.”

Showing no signs of fatigue, Molina generally did what is expected of the No. 1-ranked triathlete in the world, finishing first in 1 hour 40 minutes 21 seconds.

After holding second place through the 1.5-kilometer swim and 32-kilometer bike ride, Molina made his move at the start of the 10-kilometer run. He caught leader Tom Gallagher of Long Beach about one mile into the run and passed him for good about three miles in.

By the four-mile mark, Molina opened up a comfortable 10-second lead.

While Molina showed his prowess during the triathlon’s final leg, the swimming and bicycle portions offered the most excitement. Brett Marshall of Encinitas was first after the swimming competition with an unusually fast pace that surprised some of the competitors.

“Marshall was going so fast, everybody was hanging on for dear life,” Molina said.

Defending champion Scott Tinley of La Jolla was one of those victimized by Marshall’s fast start. He fell well behind the leaders during the swim, moved up to sixth in the bike competition and wound up fourth overall.

“I had to swim by myself, I was so far behind the main group,” Tinley said. “There was no way I could bridge that gap.”

Gallagher was in first place following the bike race, before succumbing to Molina during the run.

In the women’s competition, there was little excitement as defending champion Colleen Cannon easily won again. Cannon finished in 1:50:37, 3:18 ahead of Janet Greenleaf from Laguna Hills. Cannon finished 20th overall.

Cannon and Molina each won $2,000.

What the women’s race lacked in excitement, it made up for in drama as former Olympic swimmer Cynthia (Sippy) Woodhead switched from the professional to the amateur field before the start of the race.

It had previously been announced by Women’s International Management, a firm based in Santa Monica, that Woodhead would make her professional debut Sunday. That was news to Woodhead, who said she has not considered turning pro and probably wouldn’t until she showed more improvement.

A press release had been sent out to triathlon organizers and the firm was handling requests to speak to Woodhead.

“This really got out of hand,” Woodhead said. “They said I was being represented by them and told the newspapers I was turning pro. I didn’t sign anything with them and I said I’d like to be left alone.

“I’m only doing this for fun right now and I’m not making any money. And If I was, I don’t want to give them (WIN management) 30%.”

Said Cheryl Ellison, president of WIN management: “Basically, we had a verbal commitment with Sippy. It was our intention, including Sippy’s, that she turn professional at this race. But her attitude has changed dramatically the last month with the media exposure, and she may have felt too much pressure.”

Woodhead finished second in the under-24 age group and 18th overall in the women’s competition with a time of 2:08:15.