Hunter Kemper breaks streak, wins Hy-Vee Triathlon

Finally.

Hunter Kemper can now say he is a Hy-Vee Triathlon champion.

The American from Colorado Springs, Colo., savored every last second of his win Sunday morning at Gray's Lake Park. He stopped before the finish line, circled around and shook his fists. He grabbed the finish line banner and tossed it to the ground, as if to exorcise the frustration from three straight runner-up finishes in the $500,000 event.

"This is very emotional for me," Kemper said. "This is a big deal for me. Des Moines is like my second home, being a Hy-Vee guy.

"Ultimately, it was my turn."

The women's Elite Cup champion also was a first-time winner. Denmark's Helle Frederiksen pulled away from Florida training partner Alicia Kaye early on the 10-kilometer run to win the top prize of $100,000 in 1 hour, 54 minutes, 44 seconds.

"We take turns beating each other," said Frederiksen, a 2012 Olympian who said the payout was easily the biggest of her career. "We are very happy for each other. Usually I'm not able to stay with it on the bike. Today, yes."

Kemper seemed equally in disbelief after claiming the win in 1:44:43. He is a four-time Olympian, a 2005 International Triathlon Union series champion and a past Pan American Games champion.

The Hy-Vee Triathlon title, a championship he desperately wanted to win, continued to elude him. Kemper couldn't run down Australian Greg Bennett in the 2011 event at the Iowa State Capitol. Then, Kemper watched the past two years as Spain's Javier Gomez proved he was the strongest competitor on the 10k run.

Kemper began to wonder if, at age 38, he was running out of time. He didn't have a single win this season.

"This year has been a little tough for him with motivation," Kemper's wife, Val, said. "But he knew he had Hy-Vee waiting."

And no Gomez. The ITU points leader competed in that series' finale Sunday in Edmonton, Alberta.

"Javier Gomez wasn't here, and I was able to take advantage of it," Kemper said.

For most of the swim-bike-run event, a former University of Iowa swimmer was the athlete rising to the occasion. Cameron Dye, 30, dropped the hammer on the 40k bike, posting the fastest time of 54:40. Dye, 30, opened a lead of 1:20 over a large group that included Kemper, the Czech Republic's Ruedi Wild, Australia's Brad Kahlefeldt and Bennett.

"I rode as fast as I could," said Dye, of Boulder, Colo. "I gave it all I had. Hunter was all class. He was hands down the best runner today."

"I felt good," Kemper said. "(A gap of) 90 seconds is in my wheelhouse."

Dye was caught about mile 3 by Kemper, Wild and Kahlefeldt. Kemper and Wild eventually dropped Kahlefeldt and the two were side by side going over the Gray's Lake bridge in the final mile.

Kemper then surged to open a gap of 5 to 10 seconds that slowly grew. Kemper glanced over his shoulder several times heading to the finish line.

"You just don't know," he said. "You've got to make sure."

Wild picked up $40,000 for finishing second in 1:45:01. Kahlefeldt was another 15 seconds back in third and took home $20,000.

The women's race also became a three-person duel after American Kaye and Jodie Swallow, 33, of Great Britain caught Frederiksen, 33, about halfway through the bike leg.

"Once she (Kaye) caught up to me I thought, 'This is like training,' " Frederiksen said. "If we are riding strong, no one can ride with us."

The two soon shrugged off Swallow, who is pointing toward the Ironman World Championships in October.

"I haven't done a 5150 (race) this year," Swallow said. "I only knew I was doing this race seven days ago."

Kaye, sixth last year, was the last to drop. She lost 7-8 seconds per mile to her friend on the run.

"My run was just a bit off," Kaye, 31, said. "She just had that one more gear. She had one of those special days. My No. 1 goal was to get on the podium. I have to be satisfied with that."

Kaye finished second in 1:55:52 and claimed $40,000. Swallow ended up third in 1:56:09 in the field of 30 professionals.