Record Field Takes Center Stage at Paratriathlon Nationals
USA Triathlon July 18, 2010
Photo: Carlos Cunha/USA Triathlon
Mark Barr was one of 12 national champions crowned in New York City on Sunday.
NEW YORK, N.Y. – A record field of paratriathletes took to the Hudson River, the West Side Highway and Central Park on Sunday at the 2010 Accenture USA Paratriathlon National Championship, which was held in conjunction with the Nautica New York City Triathlon. Twelve athletes claimed individual national titles, and each competitor that bested the 4-hour mark qualified to compete at September’s ITU Paratriathlon World Championship in Budapest, Hungary.
Racing for the first time in two years due to injury, veteran Willie Stewart (Boise, Idaho) posted the top overall finish in the Olympic-distance event in 2 hours, 16 minutes, 14 seconds to take home the TRI-4 category. Robin Caruso (Ridgefield, Conn.) repeated as women’s TRI-4 champion in 2:54:24 and logged the top women’s time of the day. A total of eight national champions were repeat winners from a year ago.
Joining Caruso as repeat champions were: men’s TRI-1 winner Oscar Sanchez (La Mesa, Calif.), women’s TRI-2 victor Sandy Dukat (Denver, Colo.), women’s TRI-3 champ Beth Price (Spanish Fort, Ala.), TRI-5 winners Megan Fisher (Missoula, Mont.) and J.P. Theberge (Carlsbad, Calif.) and TRI-6 champions Ivonne Mosquera (Midland, Mich.) and Aaron Scheidies (Seattle, Wash.).
Also claiming national titles Sunday were women’s TRI-1 champion Carly Waugh (Knoxville, Tenn.), men’s TRI-2 winner Mark Barr (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) and men’s TRI-3 winner Craig Vogtsberger (Highlands Ranch, Colo.). Barr was competing in just his second triathlon.
Theberge posted the second-fastest men’s time in 2:19:04, while Fisher logged a time of 3:05:48 to rank second among all female paratriathletes.
In addition to the athletes in the national championship wave, a number of paratriathletes competed in the new, open Physically Challenged Division, which helps meet the needs of emerging populations of paratriathletes. Ryan Van Praet and Patricia Walsh had the fastest times in this division Sunday.
“It’s unprecedented in the world to have (70) paratriathletes in one race, so we’re really, really happy,” said Jon Beeson, co-chairman of USA Triathlon’s paratriathlon committee.
Leading the way in the championship division was Stewart, who credited his victory to a strong swim. “Being an old guy and a veteran, you do get some advantages. You’re a little more experienced; you’ve got more races under your belt, and I knew how to stay relaxed,” said Stewart. “Because I pulled off such a good swim today, it put me in a spot where I could kind of chill out. Not that I went slow, but I knew if I could see those guys then I had a shot at winning it. T1, I was in first, and T2, I was only down by maybe 20 seconds, so I thought that was going to be it. It was up to me to just not fall apart.”
Caruso won her third straight title after losing the use of her arm when she was in an accident on a training ride in July 2007. "It's our national championship, so it's kind of a must win. It's such a big race. It's home for me; I live in Connecticut, so my family's here," said Caruso. "This was the first race that I did after my crash that made me lose my arm, so it's kind of sentimental to me. It's always the anniversary of my crash, so it's kind of a 'fight back' sort of thing."
The enthusiastic New York crowd also served as a motivating factor for a number of the athletes. “As I was running down 72nd Street, I just had a grin on my face, ear to ear,” said Fisher, who is the defending TRI-5 world champion. “I’ve never had this much crowd support. I feel like I’ve raced some big-name races before, but this was astronomical in its support.”
Melissa Stockwell, who was second in the TRI-2 category in her first nationals appearance agreed. “It’s hot, but the crowds and the scenery and running through Central Park – you can’t really beat that. Crossing that finish line, the cheers kind of keep you going all the way until the end,” said Stockwell, who recorded a personal-best time. “It’s awesome.”
Mosquera, who grew up in New York, also treasures this race experience. “It’s an amazing feeling to be racing back here at home on the oh-so-familiar roads with the wonderful crowd that New York has put out there to cheer us on. It’s a great feeling to be able to represent the visually impaired community as a totally blind athlete and to really give it all we have, working with my guide.”
Sanchez, the TRI-1 men’s champion, said an improved performance on the run led to another victory. “I had a phenomenal run leg, because last year I slowed down quite a bit on the climbs and even stopped on a couple of them,” he said. “This year, not a single runner passed me, and last year I got passed by a lot of runners on the climbs and caught them again on the downhill, so it went real smooth.”
In Sunday’s elite race, Rebeccah Wassner (New Paltz, N.Y.) was the repeat winner in 2:00:25, and her twin sister Laurel Wassner (New York, N.Y.) edged Nicole Kelleher (Mercer Island, Wash.) for second. Filip Ospaly of the Czech Republic was the men’s winner in 1:46:28, ahead of runner-up David Thompson (Minneapolis, Minn.) and third-place finisher Kyle Leto (Walnut Creek, Calif.). Additionally, more than 3,000 age group athletes were in action.
Fisher summed up the attitude of all competitors, who battled steamy conditions to cover 31.9 miles Sunday. “I think completing a triathlon is proof of just how able you are, whether you’re an able-bodied athlete or a challenged athlete. It’s just proof that we are all capable of greatness of more than we give ourselves credit.”
2010 Accenture USA Partriathlon National Championship, New York, N.Y.
National champions by category
Female TRI-1: Carly Waugh (Knoxville, Tenn.), 3:11:47
Male TRI-1: Oscar Sanchez (La Mesa, Calif.), 2:29:06
Female TRI-2: Sandy Dukat (Denver, Colo.), 3:11:54
Male TRI-2: Mark Barr (San Luis Obispo, Calif.), 2:55:03
Female TRI-3: Beth Price (Spanish Fort, Ala.), 3:23:44
Male TRI-3: Craig Vogtsberger (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), 2:44:27
Female TRI-4: Robin Caruso (Ridgefield, Conn.), 2:54:24
Male TRI-4: Willie Stewart (Boise, Idaho), 2:16:14
Female TRI-5: Megan Fisher (Missoula, Mont.), 3:05:48
Male TRI-5: J.P. Theberge (Carlsbad, Calif.), 2:19:04
Female TRI-6: Ivonne Mosquera (Midland, Mich.), 3:07:51
Male TRI-6: Aaron Scheidies (Seattle, Wash.), 2:54:01
Click here for full results.
About USA Triathlon
USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon – one of the fastest growing sports in the world – as well as duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United States. USAT sanctions 3,100 races and connects with more than 133,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work with athletes, coaches, and race directors on the grassroots level, USAT provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including World Championships, Pan American Games and the Summer Olympic Games.
Racing for the first time in two years due to injury, veteran Willie Stewart (Boise, Idaho) posted the top overall finish in the Olympic-distance event in 2 hours, 16 minutes, 14 seconds to take home the TRI-4 category. Robin Caruso (Ridgefield, Conn.) repeated as women’s TRI-4 champion in 2:54:24 and logged the top women’s time of the day. A total of eight national champions were repeat winners from a year ago.
Joining Caruso as repeat champions were: men’s TRI-1 winner Oscar Sanchez (La Mesa, Calif.), women’s TRI-2 victor Sandy Dukat (Denver, Colo.), women’s TRI-3 champ Beth Price (Spanish Fort, Ala.), TRI-5 winners Megan Fisher (Missoula, Mont.) and J.P. Theberge (Carlsbad, Calif.) and TRI-6 champions Ivonne Mosquera (Midland, Mich.) and Aaron Scheidies (Seattle, Wash.).
Also claiming national titles Sunday were women’s TRI-1 champion Carly Waugh (Knoxville, Tenn.), men’s TRI-2 winner Mark Barr (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) and men’s TRI-3 winner Craig Vogtsberger (Highlands Ranch, Colo.). Barr was competing in just his second triathlon.
Theberge posted the second-fastest men’s time in 2:19:04, while Fisher logged a time of 3:05:48 to rank second among all female paratriathletes.
In addition to the athletes in the national championship wave, a number of paratriathletes competed in the new, open Physically Challenged Division, which helps meet the needs of emerging populations of paratriathletes. Ryan Van Praet and Patricia Walsh had the fastest times in this division Sunday.
“It’s unprecedented in the world to have (70) paratriathletes in one race, so we’re really, really happy,” said Jon Beeson, co-chairman of USA Triathlon’s paratriathlon committee.
Leading the way in the championship division was Stewart, who credited his victory to a strong swim. “Being an old guy and a veteran, you do get some advantages. You’re a little more experienced; you’ve got more races under your belt, and I knew how to stay relaxed,” said Stewart. “Because I pulled off such a good swim today, it put me in a spot where I could kind of chill out. Not that I went slow, but I knew if I could see those guys then I had a shot at winning it. T1, I was in first, and T2, I was only down by maybe 20 seconds, so I thought that was going to be it. It was up to me to just not fall apart.”
Caruso won her third straight title after losing the use of her arm when she was in an accident on a training ride in July 2007. "It's our national championship, so it's kind of a must win. It's such a big race. It's home for me; I live in Connecticut, so my family's here," said Caruso. "This was the first race that I did after my crash that made me lose my arm, so it's kind of sentimental to me. It's always the anniversary of my crash, so it's kind of a 'fight back' sort of thing."
The enthusiastic New York crowd also served as a motivating factor for a number of the athletes. “As I was running down 72nd Street, I just had a grin on my face, ear to ear,” said Fisher, who is the defending TRI-5 world champion. “I’ve never had this much crowd support. I feel like I’ve raced some big-name races before, but this was astronomical in its support.”
Melissa Stockwell, who was second in the TRI-2 category in her first nationals appearance agreed. “It’s hot, but the crowds and the scenery and running through Central Park – you can’t really beat that. Crossing that finish line, the cheers kind of keep you going all the way until the end,” said Stockwell, who recorded a personal-best time. “It’s awesome.”
Mosquera, who grew up in New York, also treasures this race experience. “It’s an amazing feeling to be racing back here at home on the oh-so-familiar roads with the wonderful crowd that New York has put out there to cheer us on. It’s a great feeling to be able to represent the visually impaired community as a totally blind athlete and to really give it all we have, working with my guide.”
Sanchez, the TRI-1 men’s champion, said an improved performance on the run led to another victory. “I had a phenomenal run leg, because last year I slowed down quite a bit on the climbs and even stopped on a couple of them,” he said. “This year, not a single runner passed me, and last year I got passed by a lot of runners on the climbs and caught them again on the downhill, so it went real smooth.”
In Sunday’s elite race, Rebeccah Wassner (New Paltz, N.Y.) was the repeat winner in 2:00:25, and her twin sister Laurel Wassner (New York, N.Y.) edged Nicole Kelleher (Mercer Island, Wash.) for second. Filip Ospaly of the Czech Republic was the men’s winner in 1:46:28, ahead of runner-up David Thompson (Minneapolis, Minn.) and third-place finisher Kyle Leto (Walnut Creek, Calif.). Additionally, more than 3,000 age group athletes were in action.
Fisher summed up the attitude of all competitors, who battled steamy conditions to cover 31.9 miles Sunday. “I think completing a triathlon is proof of just how able you are, whether you’re an able-bodied athlete or a challenged athlete. It’s just proof that we are all capable of greatness of more than we give ourselves credit.”
2010 Accenture USA Partriathlon National Championship, New York, N.Y.
National champions by category
Female TRI-1: Carly Waugh (Knoxville, Tenn.), 3:11:47
Male TRI-1: Oscar Sanchez (La Mesa, Calif.), 2:29:06
Female TRI-2: Sandy Dukat (Denver, Colo.), 3:11:54
Male TRI-2: Mark Barr (San Luis Obispo, Calif.), 2:55:03
Female TRI-3: Beth Price (Spanish Fort, Ala.), 3:23:44
Male TRI-3: Craig Vogtsberger (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), 2:44:27
Female TRI-4: Robin Caruso (Ridgefield, Conn.), 2:54:24
Male TRI-4: Willie Stewart (Boise, Idaho), 2:16:14
Female TRI-5: Megan Fisher (Missoula, Mont.), 3:05:48
Male TRI-5: J.P. Theberge (Carlsbad, Calif.), 2:19:04
Female TRI-6: Ivonne Mosquera (Midland, Mich.), 3:07:51
Male TRI-6: Aaron Scheidies (Seattle, Wash.), 2:54:01
Click here for full results.
About USA Triathlon
USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon – one of the fastest growing sports in the world – as well as duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United States. USAT sanctions 3,100 races and connects with more than 133,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work with athletes, coaches, and race directors on the grassroots level, USAT provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including World Championships, Pan American Games and the Summer Olympic Games.
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