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USA Triathlon Weekend Notebook Aquathlon World Titles and St George Champions

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by USA Triathlon

triathlete gina sereno crosses the finish line first, holding the race tape banner at the americas triathlon championship in st. george utah

2021 Americas Triathlon Championships St. George 

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.

The seven U.S. medals included: 

  • Gold: Gina Sereno - Elite women
  • Bronze: Brent Demarest - Elite men
  • Silver: Chase McQueen - U23 men
  • Bronze: Austin Hindman - U23 men
  • Bronze: Liberty Ricca - U23 women
  • Gold: Nick Holmes - Junior men
  • Silver: Faith Dasso - Junior women

 


2021 World Triathlon Cup Tongyeong 
After the debut World Triathlon Cup in Haeundae last weekend, many athletes remained in South Korea to continue racing in the city of Tongyeong for the final World Cup event of the year on Saturday. Tongyeong has been on the World Cup scene since 2009, only having missed a year in 2020 due to the pandemic.  

This year’s event saw a sprint-distance course. Once again, Michael Arishita (Boerne, Texas) was the only United States athlete to compete in the field. He finished 35th overall, clocking a time of 57:18.  

2021 World Triathlon Cross Triathlon and Aquathlon Championships El Anillo - Extremadura 
Aquathon and Cross Triathlon World Titles were up for grabs in Spain over the weekend. Only one American toed the elite line in the Cross Triathlon event, contending in both the elite and U23 men’s field.  

Nathan F. Cohen (Oxnard, Calif.) placed 29th overall in the elite men’s division, finishing in 1:35:34 on the 500-meter swim, 10-kilometer bike and three-kilometer run course. His time put him in 11th place within the U23 men’s field.  

Seven athletes showed up to compete in Cross Triathlon age group events. However, the U.S. success of the weekend was found in Aquathlon, with 31 age group athletes competing across the board. Among the 31 who took on the 1000-meter swim and five-kilometer run course, the United States took home six age group aquathlon world titles. One world title went to Luise Easton (Westlake, Ohio), the eldest female racing on the day, who won the F80-84 age group title with a finish time of 1:21:55. 

IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside  
After crazy weather conditions cancelled IRONMAN California last weekend, the city of Oceanside was ready to welcome athletes and pros to the state for a 70.3 event.  

Former Olympian Ben Kanute (Phoenix, Ariz.) had a standout performance throughout the entire day after he was first out of the water and then carried the lead the whole way through to the finish line in the men’s pro field. He crossed the line at 3:46:32. Denmark’s Miki Taagholt followed shortly after with a time of 3:48:56 to take second place, while fellow American compatriot Sam Appleton (Boulder, Colo.) competed the podium in third place at 3:49:35.  

On the women’s side, Canadian Paula Findlay earned the top spot in the pro field. She put up a 4:14:05 overall time to earn the gold. Second place then went to Great Britain’s Emma Pallant with a time of 4:16:16. The top American of the day was awarded to Jeanni Metzler (Boulder, Colo.) who had the fastest split time in the swim for the women. She took the third position, finishing in 4:20:53.


2021 World Triathlon Para Cup Alhandra 
Amongst a sea of European contenders in Portugal, two Americans showed up to race in the Para Cup in the city of Alhandra.  

Both U.S. athletes had podium success.  

The U.S. dominated the podium in the men’s PTWC event, earning both the gold and bronze positions. Zachary Stinson (Chambersburg, Pa.) blazed past the competition out on the bike course to earn the win. His finishing time of 1:04:38 claimed victory and first World Triathlon Para Cup win of his career. In the same event, Howie Sanborn (Colorado Springs, Colo.) joined Stinson on the podium with a third-place after a time of 1:05:37 after a close finish behind Ireland’s Mark Millar who crossed the line only two seconds ahead of Sanborn. 


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