They noticed, I heard it on the life feed and never gave it two thoughts. As much as I don't think it should be, it sounds like it was a violation. It should also be known that I don't know jack when it comes to tri rules. I just like to swim, bike and run, the rules be damned.

I have been at Ironaman races where there is a dedicated crew that will help repair tires on the course. you have to be in the right place at the right time for them to get to you but I always thought it was wierd.

I gave a tube to a guy in a race one time. I didn't think anything about it at the time but after the race, I thought I had violated the rules. When I saw this post, I immediately thought she had violated the rules but I guess I am just misunderstanding the rules.

I can't remember where I saw it, but I thought I read once that a guy was DQ'd at Kona because his friends were giving him beer on the run from the sidelines.(I would have loved to have seen his race report)

I had the same thought as hipfan....how is giving someone a tube when they have a flat tire not outside assistance, but giving someone gatorade or even running alongside them for a few minutes to encourage them not outside assistance? Either way it is providing aid to an athlete to help them keep moving forward in a way that they might not have been able to do without that aid.

I'm not saying Chrissie or Rebekah should be DQ'd, more that I guess there's more gray area in this rule than I thought.

If you take a strict interpretation of "assistance," then yes, it should be construed as illegal. I suppose, however, the mitigating factor is that it involved pros who are sponsored by the same companies (cervelo, oakley, blue seventy) which are business partners of WTC (sponsors, advertisers, vendors, etc.). There is no way WTC is going to DQ the star athlete of a multi-million dollar bike manufacturer and at the same time, hype her bike brand as the most popular bike at Kona, and risk alienating the company that happily sponsors so many pros.

I think it was good sportmanship by another athlete. That is awesome to see.

The legality is up for interpretation, at least when considering the age-group rules. Bike rule 12 states, "Each athlete must be individually responsible for repair and maintenance of their own bike." It does not stipulate they are required to provide their own equipment for the repair, merely the work, i.e. another athlete is not allowed to fix a tire for you, but is allowed to hand you a pump to inflate it yourself. You are not, though, allowed to receive any form of assistance from outside the race course (see bike rule 9).

For the pros. Macca pulled out after being told a repair of his deraileur cable would take 15 minutes. He didn't have the equipment on him, wouldn't have been making the repair himself (done by the sag wagon mechanic), but wouldn't have been disqualified from the race. Chrissie would have been waiting for 20+ minutes to get the equipment necessary from the sag wagon, which would have put her at an even greater disadvantage, and one not befalling the pro men in a similar situation. Here, equal application of rules to men and women will prevent Chrissie from being DQ'd.

While i think it was great sportsmanship and I do applaud it, I do believe that technically it was in violation of the rule. I do not like the rule and think it should be cleaned up so as to be clearer but I do sadly think it was a violation, but in the best sort of way.

Jimmy Riccitello once flatted at St. Croix and he had no spare, no pump and begged his fellow racers on camera for assistance. I don't remember who exactly gave him the spare tubbie, but Jimmy knows the rules as he is now rules-chief for WTC.

Rules are necessary to give an event structure and to give the authorities the means to mediate without charges of tyranny.
But precedent law has shown us that it can get silly when you try to apply the letter of the law, so we try to enforce the "spirit of the law."
Maybe we can't define good sportsmanship, but we know it when we see it.
Kudos to 'bekah.
If the third place finisher had registered a protest, that would be a different scenario I would bet, a real headache for organizers and precedent setting too. They would then have a discussion and tighten up the rulebook as happens from time to time.
First place is now worth more than $100,000 plus endorsements so future protests could be imminent should this arise again.

Good sportsmanship has a price. How much are you willing to pay for it?

PoC

Awesome sportsmanship from Rebecca Keat.
CW broke the course record for the run. Who cares if she violated the rules? Haha, just sayin.

At least, according to ITU rules, it would not be illegal.

I checked when a similar situation happened to me at a race. When my first flat ocurred, I changed tube, inflated tire and went on. 10 minutes later I got my second flat but had no more spare tubes. A friend saw me, and after making fun of me, he gave me his spare tube.

The rules said that I would be DQF if I got any assistance from the technical crew. However, if a fellow competitor gives you a tube or a cartridge, it is not considered technical assistance and you can go on, repair your flat, and win the race. (Not my case, but for the record, I did get a PR on the run)

The rule also says "grounds for disqualificatipn" which is also "gray area" in that it does not say "immediate disqualification" or simply "disqualification"
Like I said, in our meeting they said you could receive the equipment, not the aide of another person and specifically mentioned co2.