The Americans brought out the brooms to sweep the Age Group Standard Duathlon Monday in Penticton.
Albert Harrison (25 to 29) busted through the finish line ribbon to win the five-kilometre run, 40-km bike and 5-km run in one hour 51 minutes eight seconds. Taking the female side was Kirsten Sass (35 to 39) in 2:02:17.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 pretty good. This has been my goal for a year or more,乌鸦传媒� said Harrison. 乌鸦传媒淭o come here and do it, 乌鸦传媒� you never really know what the competition is going to be. It乌鸦传媒檚 really sweet. I would like to be in the elite division, but I didn乌鸦传媒檛 make that this year. It乌鸦传媒檚 pretty sweet to come here and win and running away with it.乌鸦传媒�
Great Britain乌鸦传媒檚 Lee Piercy was second overall in 1:52:04, while Canadian Matt Straatman took third, but won his age group of 20 to 24.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 unbelievable. My race couldn乌鸦传媒檛 have gone better for myself,乌鸦传媒� said Straatman. 乌鸦传媒淚 knew what my limits were. I pushed them as hard as I could. This is the best result I could expect here.乌鸦传媒�
Canadian Melissa Paauwe won the 30 to 34 age group and was second overall in 2:04:47, in what she described as a strong field.
乌鸦传媒淵ou don乌鸦传媒檛 always get that in duathlon. That乌鸦传媒檚 what I was really excited about with this event,乌鸦传媒� said Paauwe. 乌鸦传媒淔ast runners right out of the gate. I relied on my bike. I went hard on the bike. This is where it landed me.乌鸦传媒�
Finishing second overall was surreal for her as she found the course mentally challenging.
乌鸦传媒淵ou are constantly battling with emotions,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淧ull harder, pull back. You don乌鸦传媒檛 really know. I just stay within my own head.乌鸦传媒�
Mexico乌鸦传媒檚 Jose Aureliano Valenzuela Roman captured the Paratriathletes Sprint title. Valenzuela crossed the finish line after completing the 5-km run, 20-km bike and 2.5-km run in 1:05:23. Valenzuela乌鸦传媒檚 objective was to better his performance in Avila, Spain last year.
乌鸦传媒淭he route was comfortable. I was relaxed and the last part of the race, while I was cycling, I felt really under pressure, but I finally did it,乌鸦传媒� Valenzuela said through a translator.
Valenzuela became a para athlete after he was part of an accident during a race nearly 30 years ago in which a vehicle crashed into 20 cyclists. He had a broken left arm. Winning this world championship was about doing it for young athletes and kids.
Fiona Southern of New Zealand won the women乌鸦传媒檚 championship in 1:10:29. She was followed by Australia;s John Domandl and Jessica Toumela of Canada. Canadian Jon Dunkerley wasn乌鸦传媒檛 able to finish the race as he encountered bike problems, which trouble him in the past.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 an unbelievable experience. It really is,乌鸦传媒� said Domandl. 乌鸦传媒淲e (he and his guide) perservered. We stuck with it. We knew we could do it.乌鸦传媒�
The event is only a warmup as he also intends to the Aquathlon and the Long Course distance.
乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e too old to do the short stuff,乌鸦传媒� he joked.
Tuomela completed the course in 1:20:45.
乌鸦传媒淚 have never done duathlon before. It was pretty hard,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淚 was very happy with it. Running is something I have been working on for the last three months. This was a little bit intimidating.乌鸦传媒�
Toumela enjoyed the course, which she felt was fair and a perfect challenge.
Penticton has athletes competing on home turf. On opening day in the sprint duathlon, Ian Ross (70-74), who competed in the ITU worlds in Avila, Spain, finished in 1:36:15. He placed 509th out of 681 athletes and 11 of 17 in his category. In today乌鸦传媒檚 event, Sybilla Bartram placed eighth in the 60 to 64 age category finishing in 2:41:07. Deborah Chadwick, 55 to 59, placed 10th in her category after clocking in at 2:40:37. Doug Howard, 55 to 59, was 29th finishing in 2:24:44 and Murray MacPherson, 65 to 69, was second in his group, finishing in 2:20:06. S. Paul Varga placed 41st in the 50 to 54 age group. He finished in 3:15:57.
