August 18, 2002

 

Warming up to winning

 

Slovenia’s Macjen secures A.C. marathon title in back bays

 

By BILL LeCONEY Staff Writer, (609) 272-7187, E-Mail

ATLANTIC CITY - The unique and variable conditions of the Atlantic City Around the Island Swim worked in Igor Macjen's favor on Saturday.

Macjen doesn't care much for the colder ocean waters, so he turned his internal thermostat up a notch - just in time to fuel a winning move past local swimmer John Kenny.

Macjen, of Slovenia, held off Kenny to win the annual 221/2-mile race around Absecon Island in 7 hours, 18 minutes and 24 seconds.

"After 21/2 hours, I felt very cold in the ocean," Macjen said. "I thought maybe I should pick up the pace, and I started to feel better."

Majcen crept closer to Kenny as they swam past the swanky homes of Longport. He made a passing move just beyond the Longport jetty, then maintained a six-minute lead on Kenny through the warmer back-bay channels and into the strong tides at Absecon Inlet. He finished well off the course record (6:54) but more than five minutes ahead of Kenny (7:23:33).

"I managed to catch John, and when I passed him I just swam my own race, and tried not to let him get too close to me," Majcen said.

"At the finish I was a little tired. He was catching up on me, but I was lucky to win the race."

Macjen finished third in this race to David Meca in 1999. The marathon is not on the FINA World Cup circuit this year, so there were only seven professional swimmers vying for a share of the $18,000 purse.

"It means a lot," Macjen said. "If you just look at the type of winners here the last five years - guys like Meca and Stephane Lecat - it's all of the great swimmers. I'm very proud to be on the list of the winners."

Shelley Clark of Australia was the first of three professional females to finish the race, completing the marathon in 8:12:47.

Majcen and Clark each won $4,500 for their first-place finishes. Kenny and second-place female Gail Rice of Florida each won $2,500.

Clark, ranked third among females in the World Cup, said the conditions for this year's race were favorable - except for the jellyfish. "I got stung quite a bit," she said. "I got a massive one right on my face at the Margate Bridge. It killed me."

Clark, who won a World Cup Race at Canada's Lake St.-Jean earlier this month, said this race is more of an individual challenge. She was trying to beat her second-place effort in Atlantic City last year, when she finished in less than eight hours.

"In other races, people swim as a pack," she said. "Here, you stay behind your boat. In other races, where you've got other women to compete against, it's more tactical. Here, it's just a swim. It's not World Cup, but there's still money in it."

Kenny, a local lifeguard champion and member of the Atlantic City Beach Patrol, took the early lead out of Gardner's Basin but could not pull more than 200 yards away during the seven-mile ocean leg.

"I think it was a strong swim for me," said Kenny, who had his best finish in his fourth attempt. "We had a little bit of a southerly wind blowing at us in the ocean, and that wasn't helping.

"In the back bays from the Atlantic City point on, it was pretty rough. Right around the Brigantine Bridge it was really ripping. I felt like I really wasn't going anywhere for awhile, even though I was still swimming hard.

"I would have liked to win, but I think I swam a pretty strong race," said Kenny, who was trained by former Atlantic City mayor James Whelan. "I tried to keep it steady the whole way. I've got to give Igor a lot of credit."

Rafael Perez of Argentina was the third male finisher at 8:04:50. Rice, a 46-year-old mother of two from Florida, finished in 8:33:03. Enrique Alvarado of Mexico was next at 8:35:57.

Yuko Matsuzaki of Japan and Cara Malandrano of Wildwood also completed the race. Malandrano made her second trek around the island as an amateur.

The Brigantone Beacj Patrol won the marathon relay in 8:15:49.

Majcen said he will take a few days off before getting ready for the FINA Open-Water Swimming World Championships next month in Egypt. He said it might take awhile before he can get a full night's sleep.

"The shoulders and arms are sore," he said. "The first night, you just roll around in the bed. You move and something hurts and you wake up. I have to wait for the second day to sleep good."

At least he will have some winning thoughts to occupy his time.

To e-mail Bill LeConey at The Press:

WLeconey@pressofac.com