Molina Goes for 12th Straight Triathlon Win

Scott Molina has no trouble explaining why he’s won the last 11 United States Triathlon Series races he’s entered.

“I work harder than everyone else,” he says. “And everyone knows it.”

Molina will go for his 12th straight USTS win today at Dana Point. The race starts at 7 a.m. at Doheny State Beach. It will begin with a 1.5-kilometer swim (.9 miles) followed by a 40-kilometer cycle (24.8 miles) and conclude with a 10-kilometer run (6.2 miles).

His success in the shorter USTS races has caused some people to categorize Molina as a short-course specialist. But the fact is he has a higher winning percentage in the longer, Ironman-type courses. He’s won the New Zealand Ironman this year, and finished second in Japan. Last year, he won the Ultraman in Hawaii, a race that takes three days to complete.

So why the label?

“I guess it’s because I can run a lot more of the shorter races,” Molina says. “People get used to me winning those type races and might think that’s all I do.”

Basically, all Molina does is train and run races. For the past few months, he has been working out in the high altitude of Boulder, Colo. A normal day begins with an hour swim followed by five or six hours on his bike and then an hour of running. In between come naps and meals to keep his strength up. He needs it. Molina competed in 25 triathlons last year and expects to do the same this year.

The only one able to keep even with Molina’s pace has been Scott Tinley, who will also compete in Dana Point today. Tinley, the winner of the 1982 Hawaiian Ironman, has won the two USTS events he’s entered this year, in San Francisco and Phoenix.

The pair met once this year, in a non-USTS event in Bakersfield. Molina won.

“I think there’s a rivalry between us,” Molina says. “But it’s not like we hate each other. We train together sometimes when I’m in San Diego. I think we make each other better. There’s an advantage to working by yourself because no one knows what you’re doing, but together we push each other.”

Last year, Molina won the USTS national championship with nine victories in the 11 races he entered.

Of the four dominant male triathlon competitors, only Molina and Tinley are able to keep up this pace. Four-time Hawaiian Ironman champion Dave Scott is cutting back his activities in the sport. He’ll be in Hawaii this year, but only as a commentator on ABC’s telecast. Mark Allen has been injury-prone.

“I think the reason Scott and myself are able to do so much is that we train so hard and our bodies are built a little sturdier,” Molina said.

Both men have said they want to compete in Ironman competitions in Lake Tahoe, Sept. 7; Nice, France, Oct. 13, and Hawaii, Oct. 26.

While Tinley and Molina are the clear favorites for the men’s title at Dana Point, the women’s competition seems a bit more balanced. The favorite is Joanne Ernst, who’s won USTS events in San Francisco, Phoenix and Baltimore. Her competition will come from Sylviane and Patricia Puntous, identical twins who tied for victories in four USTS events last year.