Bloomsday veterans Josh George, Susannah Scaroni are wheelchair victors

The 41st Bloomsday was the culmination of a strenuous stretch for elite wheelchair athlete Josh George.

After three marathons on consecutive weekends in Boston, London and Seoul, South Korea, George, who turned 33 in March, had to believe that the 12K Spokane course would be like a walk in the park.

But 18-year-old Daniel Romanchuk didn’t allow it. George ultimately prevailed by literally a wheel, holding off Romanchuk in a sprint finish. George’s time was 29 minutes, .04 seconds – a hundredth of a second ahead of Romanchuk.

“His front wheel was on my back wheel,” George said of the finish.

It was George’s third Bloomsday victory following wins in 2015 and 2014. He didn’t compete last year because he was training for his fourth Paralympics.

“After the last three weekends I was hoping it would be an easier weekend but Daniel made me work my butt off,” George said. “He’s going to be a helluva racer.”

George splits his time between Champaign, Illinois, and Sydney, Australia, where his girlfriend lives. Romanchuk is from Mount Airy, Maryland.

It was expected that 2016 champ James Senbeta, 30, of Savoy, Illinois, George and Romanchuk would have a highly competitive duel. But that never materialized after Senbeta suffered a mishap a little more than a mile into the start.

The early leader by about 75 meters through the first mile, Senbeta reached the first downhill stretch where he was making a 90-degree turn along Riverside Avenue and wiped out, wheeling onto a grassy embankment and running into a spectator on a lawn chair. Senbeta said he suffered a minor cut near his right eye. The spectator wasn’t injured, Senbeta said.

Senbeta damaged his wheelchair and couldn’t return to the race.

“When Daniel and I saw that happen, we tapped our breaks a little bit and took the corner a little more controlled,” George said.

Senbeta’s speed was about 42 mph when he tried to turn. George said he took the corner at 37 mph.

“Under normal circumstances that would have been the perfect speeed,” Senbeta said. “The ground was still wet (from earlier rain) and with the type of tires I had on, I hydroplaned. I was disappointed.”

Senbeta was trying to put a gap between himself and the field because he’s not a strong climber.

“It was a smart move. Unfortunately it didn’t work out for him,” said George, who made his eighth start at Bloomsday.

At the top of Doomsday Hill, Romanchuk built the biggest lead, George said.

“He surged and had 20 to 30 meters on me,” George said. “I put a little kick in to catch up and we were together again the last three miles.”

The savvy veteran got the rookie at the end.

“I was lucky today,” George said. “I took advantage of my experience. At this point I’m a better racer and today was all about racing.”

Women’s wheelchair open

Susannah Scaroni always looks forward to the next time she can bring her wheelchair onto the Bloomsday course. Mostly because she can’t wait to take on Doomsday Hill.

“I love Doomsday because it caters to my strengths,” Scaroni said. “That’s always the place I can catch a lot of people.”

The defending champion overpowered her opponents on Bloomsday’s steep course to win her fourth women’s wheelchair open crown on Sunday.

The 25-year-old clocked in at 32 minutes, 40 seconds, which beat out Arielle Rausin’s second-place finish by more than six minutes.

Scaroni said her strengths in climbing hills generally serves her well, especially on road courses.

The Tekoa, Washington, native says her knowledge of the course has also helped to give her an edge over her competition in recent years. Sunday was Scaroni’s 13th year at Bloomsday. Her first time on the course was in 2003 when she was 12 years old.

“I definitely consider this my home race,” Scaroni said. “It was the first road race I’d ever done, and it was the first time I’d ever seen adult wheelchair racers. So this race kind of showed me what my future could hold.”

Scaroni heads out to Indianapolis and Switzerland for three more races before she flies to Los Angeles to compete in the U.S. Paralympic Trials in June. Scaroni will be looking for a top-three finish, which will earn her a spot on the U.S. team.

The top Washington female finisher was Christine Babcock of Seattle (42:29). The top Washington male finisher was Gregory Leak of Tacoma (26:58).