麻豆社区

One hundred and forty-four athletes were bursting through the water, pounding the pavement and spinning their tires in the annual Whitehorse Triathlon this past Sunday.

Greeted by perfect weather, the athletes competed in two divisions: Olympic and Sprint.

On the Olympic side, participants were required to swim 1,500-metres, cycle 40-km and run 10-km.

In the sprint category, the distances were shortened to 500-m of swimming, 20-km of cycling and 5-km of running.

"It went really, really well,鈥� said Mia Lee, Leisure Program Coordinator. "It was the best event that I've done in the last four years in terms of how smooth it went.鈥�

Kerrie Paterson led the way in the Olympic individual female category, completing the event in 2:32:22.

On the men's side, Karl Blattmann set the pace, burning through the course in 2:16:09.

Both the Sprint and Olympic divisions also featured team categories.

Five teams competed in the Olympic female division and were a force of their own as no male teams took part.

The trio of Vannessa Brault, Nadele Fylnn and Piia Kukka made up team Fireweed and put together a string of impressive performances, winning their division by more than 30 minutes with a total time of 2:29:32.

"They were very fast,鈥� said Lee. "They did extremely well.鈥�

Rounding out the Olympic division were The Warriors, composed of Luke Bakica and Geof Harries, who led the way in the Family category with a time 2:31:56.

Team Zipline enjoyed a comfortable lead in the Mixed Team category, finishing the race in 2:06:13. The Zipline trio of Martina Knopp, Stephen Ball and Mike Richards were more than 25 minutes faster then second place finishers, the PHP Protocol.

The event was put on with the help of dedicated staff and 30 volunteers, who began the planning stages in March. Usually the process begins in February but it was delayed this year due to the city hosting the Arctic Winter Games.

"It's a very technical race to organize,鈥� said Lee. "We're grateful to everybody that helped make it a success.鈥�

The triathlon truly is a citywide event, requiring cooperation and assistance between Sport Yukon staff, the Canada Games Centre, leisure services and public works, to name a few.

"We had extra staff just in case and if you're on top of it, things go well,鈥� said Lee.

The event also drew some Outside athletes, with six participants from Juneau entering the race.

Alaskan Scott May led the individual male Sprint category, finishing the race with a time of 1:22:43.

"We just love that they come and participate,鈥� Lee said of the American athletes.

"They were grateful to be here and we were happy to have them.鈥�

The field of 144 athletes was almost max capacity for the event.

The minimum age for participants was 12 years old, but there were a few exceptions this year as well as two youth teams, Ham and Eggs and L.I.D, competing in a youth Sprint category.

L.I.D, composed of Tomas Tokic and Jakov Tokic finished just four minutes ahead of Ham and Eggs, which featured Emily Crist, Dave Brook and Hannah Shier.

Lee said the influx of youth talent might result in future changes to the triathlon.

"We just love that they come and participate and we're looking at making it a more child friendly event,鈥� she said.

"We think that there is definitely a demand and we're looking to get the local swim, clubs, run clubs and bike clubs into this event so it doesn't just fall off the radar.鈥�

On the other end of the spectrum, the triathlon also boasts a very competitive senior division.

The Sizzlin' Seniors led the way in that category, with Sheila Senger, Dennis Senger and Richard Zral posting a time of 1:48:36.

"I would love to put something on for the seniors,鈥� said Lee. "There's definitely a group that wants to do something a little more competitive and active.鈥�

Lee said the city will be handing the reigns over to a new hosting committee next year and are currently in the process of looking for a group to take control.

Other top finishers included Naomi Gladish in the individual Sprint female category.

Ella Parker in the individual female youth and Lorne Semenowich in the individual Sprint male senior category.

In the Sprint team categories, Stephanie Dixon and Jennifer Platz won in the female division. Simon Lapointe and Dahlia Lapointe took home top honours in the family category.

The mixed division was won by Team O and M, composed Heather O'Carroll, Cory Marting and Nicholas Carroll.