Six up-and-coming triathletes battled high heat and strong competition to earn national titles at The Great Colorado Triathlon in Longmont, Colo. on Sunday.
The event at Union Lake Reservoir featured the USA Triathlon Elite National Championships for Youth (age 13-15), Juniors (age 16-19), and Under-23 triathletes. The day also showcased the top American elites in the fourth race of the USAT Haul to the Great Wall Series, an ITU Pan American Cup intermediate distance event.
But it was the younger athletes that took center stage early in the day. For the youth girls, Canadian Christine Ridenour won the 400m swim, 8.4 mile bike, 2.5k run race in 42:51.6, but the national title went to Jennifer Howland (Elburn, Ill.) as the first American across the line, in 43:12.9. It was Howland’s second-straight national crown. High school classmates Bryn Morales (Golden, Colo.) and Ryan Russ (Golden, Colo.) finished third and fourth overall, respectively.
For the boys, Ben Kanute (Geneva, Ill.), who finished 8th overall in 2006, earned the title in 38:24.7, followed by Multisport Madness Kids teammate Kevin McDowell (Geneva, Ill.). Interestingly, it marked the third time Kanute and McDowell finished 1-2 in elite youth races this season. Linley Wendt (Golden, Colo.) finished third.
On the junior side, it was Canadians in the first two positions as Sarah Anne-Brault (1:05:14.3) and Rachael Edwards (1:05:33.3) outshined the American girls. However, as the first American across the line, Natalie Russell (Batavia, Ill.) was crowned the U.S. champion. Russell finished second in last year’s youth national championship. She was followed by Lauren Goldstein-Kral (Shaker Heights, Ohio) and Meghan Lapeta (Downers Grove, Ill.).
Greg Billington (Spokane, Wash.) improved on his second-place performance from 2006 to grab his first national title in the junior elite boys division in 56:52.3. He was followed by two international athletes, Ryan Sissons of New Zealand and Jeffrey Phillips of Canada. The U.S. runner-up position went to last year’s champion, Willy Pickhardt (Fayetteville, Ark.), while Ben Steavenson (Ann Arbor, Mich.) was the third American and sixth overall.
In the 1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run elite race, which also included the U23 athletes battling for their national crown, it was two-time Olympian Hunter Kemper (Colorado Springs, Colo.) taking the win in 1:44:28, followed by 2007 Pan Ams gold medalist Andy Potts (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Brian Fleischmann (Colorado Springs, Colo.).
The U23 national title went to Ethan Brown (Lowell, Mass.), who finished fifth overall in the elite race in 1:48:37. Kevin Collington (Gainesville, Fla.) and John Dahlz (San Francisco, Calif.) finished second and third, respectively.
For the women, it was a two-person race as Sarah Haskins (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Sarah Groff (Boulder, Colo.) got out to an early lead on the bike and pulled away from the chasers. Haskins was able to edge ahead early on the run and earned the win in 1:57:52. Groff followed her in second, just 20 seconds back. Mary Beth Ellis (Boulder, Colo.) was more than six minutes back in third.
Justine Whipple (Duxbury, Mass.) earned the U23 national title, finishing 7th overall in 2:08:14. It marks the third major win of her 2007 season, as she had previously claimed titles at the USAT Collegiate National Championship and the U.S. Armed Forces Triathlon. Rebecca Witinok-Huber (Iowa City, Iowa) and Amanda Hahn (Gainesville, Fla.) were the second and third finishers in the U23 category.
Athletes Quotes:
Greg Billington, Junior Elite Boys National Champion
The competition was really tough. The course was great, though. I liked it. It’s great. I raced well at the beginning of the year, but with the strength of the competition, I didn’t know what would happen today, and I was really happy to win. I am really excited for worlds. I hope to do really well there. My running is going well, even though today it didn’t feel real good.”
Willy Pickhardt, Junior Elite Boys National Runner up
I’ve been working on my run. It helped me today, but with all the foreign competition here, it didn’t really suit my cycling skills. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to break away and get enough of a gap. Basically all I could do was hope there weren’t very many fast runners up in the main group. I knew Ryan Sissons was a really quick runner. The hillier the course, the better I’ll race. The smaller the front pack, the better chance I’ll have of getting away. So, today, it didn’t work out that way, but I’m really pleased with my run because I’m using this as kind of a Hamburg (Worlds) simulation. I know I won’t be able to get away there, so I’ll just have to run as fast as I can.
Natalie Russell, Junior Elite Girls National Champion
My whole team and I worked so hard all year. They’ve actually been training more than I have. It feels great. Canada is really fast. It means we still have a little work to do, but it’s good.
Ethan Brown, U23 Men’s National Champion
I got off to a rough start. I got tripped up on the swim start and didn’t get out as fast as I would have liked. But luckily I was able to catch the tail end of the big pack that was forming. I stayed with that and really hammered the first few minutes on the bike, then I worked on sitting in, drinking, hydrating and trying to be as comfortable as I could to get ready for the run; I knew it was going to be hot out there. The run was just incredibly painful. I knew it would be, but I was mentally prepared for it. I think I had the race of my life today and I couldn’t be more happy. This was definitely a goal. Now the focus is on worlds.
Justine Whipple, U23 Women’s National Champion
I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to train in Colorado Springs for the past three weeks. And the altitude, at first, kicked my butt. But I can really tell, with stroke work, with [U.S. Resident Coach] Sharon Donneley, and the altitude, my swimming has come along. Though I’m still at the back of the pack, it’s coming along for me. The bike was so tough today. I’m a little off-fitted on my bike, so my back was acting up a little bit. It was nice to have a pack of three girls to alternate with. We worked well together. And then the run was like a desert out there, and it hurt every step but it was great. I loved the run. It was a great race. I’m really happy. I didn’t really expect it. It’s such a thrill, a pleasant surprise. The girls I’m out here with, it’s a honor to be able to race with them.
Hunter Kemper
On dealing with his injury…
It’s been very difficult for me to deal with. It’s hard when you job is to make a living doing triathlon and you can’t really do that. I haven’t really raced very much. I was excited to come up here. It’s not a very far drive. It’s only the second draft-legal race I’ve done this year, so I was excited about racing today.
On motivation to strive for third Olympics…
A three-time Olympian sounds a lot better than two-time Olympian, so that kind of gets you motivated, and the fact that I finished 17th at the first Olympic Games in Sydney and then 9th in Athens. That keeps you motivated too. Maybe if I had gotten a medal in Athens or the prior Olympics, the motivation would have been more hard to come by. The fact that I really haven’t had a great race at the Olympic Games, keeps me well motivated. First you want to make the team, and hopefully I can do that. We’ll see.
On how this race fits in his schedule…
This race was a training race and that’s how I wanted to use it. Just a hard training day. And it worked out that way. Andy [Potts] let it out in the swim like we knew he would. He kind of kept the pace high. We had a strong group of four guys on the bike, working well together. It was kind of like a combination workout that I would do back in the Springs, but just do it up here and try to race for some money. And it just happened to be part of the Haul to the Great Wall series. I didn’t really taper too much for this race. For me, I’m not doing Worlds. I will be racing in Beijing. I can’t really do Worlds, for that fact that I need more training. I hope my training is on the incline, as far as my fitness getting better. With this injury, I’ve been trying to get over it, so my fitness level isn’t still where I want it to be. But it’s coming around.
Scott Schnitzspahn, USAT Sport Performance Director
On the elites…
It was great to see Hunter have a great day and make it look easy again. Although it was an off day for some of the other guys, he made a statement going into Beijing next month, the first USA Olympic Team selection event. From a team standpoint, I was really happy with the performance of Brian Fleischmann and Andy Potts who, along with Matt Reed [who is having a great build up for Worlds in Europe right now], will head up a great team for World Championships in three weeks time.
Sarah Haskins showed her consistency and Coach Siri Lindley should be proud of her two athletes, Sarah Groff and Mary Beth Ellis, who also had great days and shared the podium with Haskins.
On the U23 National Champions…
Ethan Brown had the breakout race that we have seen coming for two years with a 5th overall and U23 National Championship title.
What an outstanding season for Justine Whipple who caps off her military and collegiate championships with the U23 National Championship. She is one to watch for the future.
On the junior races…
Greg, Willy and Ben backed up their consistent performances from the rest of the season and showed they are ready for their trip to the Junior World Championships.
Natalie Russell was a pleasant surprise in the junior girls and showed she knows how to prepare for the big race, a skill that bodes well for her future in the sport.
On the youth races…
Ben Kanute, Jennifer Howland and their Multisport Madness Team proved who the best young athletes are in the U.S. today. The strength of our young athletes and their local team support will keep USA at the top of the sport in years to come.
Visit the event website for complete results.
About the Haul to the Great Wall Series
Now in its third year, the Haul to the Great Wall Series allows triathletes and spectators to get their first look at who might be competing at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Each race is sanctioned by USAT. The ITU world rankings system is used as part of the qualification process for the Olympic Games.
The 2007 series includes five great race destinations with more than $800,000 in prize money up for grabs. After opening at the Honolulu Triathlon in May, the series moved on to Des Moines, Iowa and the Hy-Vee Triathlon on June 17. That race alone featured a prize purse of $700,000, and served as the only ITU World Cup on U.S. soil in 2007. The series continued with the Musselman Triathlon in Geneva, N.Y. on July 14.The San Francisco Triathlon at Treasure Island (Series Championship) will wrap up the series on November 10.
The overall series men’s and women's champions will each receive $6,000. Athletes must compete in a minimum of three events to be eligible for the overall series title. If athletes compete in more than three events, the top-three results will be included in the points total.
Swimwear and sports apparel giant Speedo is also providing $5,000 in bonus money for each race on the five-city tour. American men and women who finish in the top-three in their respective races are eligible for the bonuses, with $1,500 going to the top finisher, $750 to second, and $250 to third.
In addition to the individual race bonus pool, Speedo is providing a $15,000 end-of-the-season bonus to be split if U.S. athletes finish first or second in the series. First place will receive $5,000 and second place will take home $2,500 in both the men’s and women’s categories.
Find out more about the Haul to the Great Wall and see current standings.