HURRICANE, Utah — U.S. triathletes won seven medals in the Elite, U23 and Juniors races at the 2021 Americas Triathlon Championships St. George on Oct. 30-31.

Organized by USA Triathlon, PATCO and Intermountain Tri in conjunction with Super Sprint Weekend in Hurricane, Utah, the 2021 Americas Triathlon Championships welcomed top Elite, U23 and Junior athletes from national federations of Americas Triathlon, a continental division of World Triathlon. Athletes from North, Central and South America raced on Oct. 30-31 to earn points toward their World Triathlon ranking.

Held at Quail Creek State Park in Hurricane, Utah, just outside of St. George, Utah, the Elite/U23 standard-distance event featured a 1500-meter swim in the 600-acre Quail Creek Reservoir, followed by a 40-kilometer bike (6.67k loops) and 10-kilometer (2.5k loops) run courses along red rock cliffs on either side of the park.

In addition to the Elite/U23 standard-distance race, Super Sprint Weekend included:

Americas Triathlon Junior Championships (sprint)
Elite Mixed Relay (non-championship event with mixed-country teams allowed)
NCAA St. George National Qualifier (draft-legal sprint)
Elite Development Race 1 (draft-legal super sprint)
Elite Development Race 2 (draft-legal sprint)

All races were held with COVID-19 safety measures in place in accordance with guidelines from local health departments and USA Triathlon’s Safe Return to Multisport initiative. This includes self-screening and temperature checks; face coverings recommended except when actively racing; contact reduction for athletes, staff and volunteers; and increased cleaning and disinfecting practices onsite.

Up-and-coming U.S. triathlete Gina Sereno (Madison, Wis.) won the Elite women's championship, completing the Olympic-distance course in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 51 seconds, capping an impressive 2021 season that also saw her earn her first elite-level win at the 2021 Sarasota-Bradenton Elite Cup in March. In Saturday's race, she was among a lead group on the bike with Canada's Dominika Jamnicky and Mexico's Cecilia Sayuri Ramirez Alavez and Sara Roel. A former All-American runner at the University of Michigan, Sereno used her running speed to take home the win.

"It was a cool experience and just a good way to end the season," said Sereno, who got her start in triathlon through the USA Triathlon Collegiate Recruitment Program, which identifies and recruits top NCAA runners and swimmers for elite triathlon. Many of USA Triathlon’s most successful triathletes, both past and present, are CRP recruits — including Tokyo 2020 medalist Katie Zaferes; fellow Tokyo 2020 Olympians Morgan Pearson and Summer Rappaport and 2016 U.S. Olympic gold medalist Gwen Jorgensen.

"The race had a good, competitive field and it was fun to race on home soil. There aren't a ton of opportunities to race with competition like this in the U.S. and getting to race here in Utah was special — it's so pretty, all the rocks and the water, it's an awesome course," Sereno said.

Jamnicky finished second in 2:06:57, Ramirez Alavez took third overall in 2:07:07, but as a U23 athlete, she earned the U23 championship title, and thus her countrywoman Roel earned the Elite overall bronze podium spot.

In the men's Elite race, U.S. triathlete Brent Demarest (Charleston, S.C.) earned bronze behind two-time Olympian Irving Perez, of Mexico, and Canada's Charles Paquet. A three-time All-American runner at the University of Virginia, Demarest competed in triathlon on the Junior Elite circuit, winning the 2014 USA Triathlon Junior national championship. He returned to elite-level triathlon competition in February of 2020 and completed Saturday's race in a time of 1:52:44, only his second Olympic-distance race of his career.

"I'm thankful for the opportunity to race and this weekend was a great way to cap the 2021 season and begin preparing for next year," Demarest said. "It was fun to race with and see all these good guys that I grew up racing with."

Perez finished in 1:52:02 and Paquet in 1:52:07.

In the U23 division, Project Podium athletes Chase McQueen (Columbus, Ind.) and Austin Hindman (Wildwood, Mo.) earned the silver and bronze medals, respectively. Racing together with the Elite field, the pair finished fifth and sixth overall, respectively.

Diego Moya, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian from Chile, won the U23 title, finishing the race in 1:53:01.

"It's been a good season; a lot of progress has been made and this was a great last race of the year," said McQueen, who made his World Triathlon Championship Series debut this season. "I'm just happy this race was able to happen and now I'm looking forward to offseason training and prepping for next year."

In the Women's U23 race, Arizona State University triathlete Liberty Ricca (Colorado Springs, Colo.) earned the bronze, finishing the race in a time of 2:12:17. She and her Arizona State team will compete in the Women's Collegiate Triathlon National Championships Nov. 13 in Tempe, Arizona.

In the Junior men's race, U.S. triathlete Nick Holmes (Glendale, Wis.) broke away on the bike and used a strong run to win gold, completing the sprint-distance race in 58:32.

Faith Dasso (New Braunfels, Texas), racing in the women's Junior race, took silver.

Both Holmes and Dasso will represent the U.S. Nov. 7 in Portugal at the 2021 World Triathlon Junior Championships Quarteira.

2021 Americas Triathlon Championships St. George

Elite

1500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run

Men — Compete Results

1. Irving Perez (MEX) 1:52:02

2. Charles Paquet (CAN) 1:52:07

3. Brent Demarest (Charleston, S.C.) 1:52:44

Top 10 U.S. Finishers

5. Chase McQueen (Columbus, Ind.) 1:53:14

6. Austin Hindman (Wildwood, Mo.) 1:53:23

7. Marc Dubrick (DeKalb, Ill.) 1:53:28

Women — Compete Results

1. Gina Sereno (Madison, Wis.) 2:06:51

2. Dominika Jamnicky (CAN) 2:06:57

3. Sara Roel (MEX) 2:07:14

Top 10 U.S. Finishers

6. Megan Foley (Beaverton, Ore.) 2:09:06

8. Liberty Ricca (Colorado Springs, Colo.) 2:12:17

9. Amy Sloan (Lafayette, Colo.) 2:13:05

U23

1500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run

Men — Complete Results

1. Diego Moya (CHI) 1:53:01

2. Chase McQueen (Columbus, Ind.) 1:53:14

3. Austin Hindman (Wildwood, Mo.) 1:53:23

Top 10 U.S. Finishers

6. Darr Smith (Atlanta, Ga.) 1:55:04

9. John Reed (Gibsonia, Pa.) 1:55:46

10. Ryan Lund (Los Altos, Calif.) 1:57:22

Women — Complete Results

1. Cecilia Sayuri Ramirez Alavez (MEX) 2:07:07

2. Raquel Solis Guerrero (CRC) 2:09:33

3. Liberty Ricca (Colorado Springs, Colo.) 2:12:17

Junior

750m swim, 22k bike, 5k run

Men — Compete Results

1. Nicholas Holmes (Glendale, Wis.) 58:32

2. Andree Buc (CHI) 58:41

3. Thomas Smans (NED) 59:09

Top 10 U.S. Finishers

10. Gabriel Shreve (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1:01:45

Women — Compete Results

1. Noemie Beaulieu (CAN) 1:02:48

2. Faith Dasso (New Braunfels, Texas) 1:03:32

3. Sophia Howell (CAN) 1:03:59

Top 10 U.S. Finishers

4. Naomi Ruff (West Chicago, Ill.) 1:05:02

7. Britney Brown (O'Fallon, Ill.) 1:05:58

U.S. Athletes Win 7 Medals at 2021 Americas Triathlon Championships St. George

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