Triathletes beat the heat
Posted By Shawn Slaght/shawn@canmoreleader.com
Posted 6 months ago
Athletes survived the scorching heat in Canmore on Saturday to finish this year’s running of the Canmore Triathlon.
Simon Schaerz was the winner of the Olympic men’s 20-24 age category and he was followed by national cross country ski team member Alex Harvey.
“It was my first triathlon and I knew the bike was going to be my strength,” said Harvey. “So I went really hard on the bike, especially on the uphills. We didn’t have the nice triathlon bikes, we had normal road bikes. So on flats I was going as hard as I could, but uphill I could really crank it up.”
Jamie Whyte of New Zealand won the men’s 25-29 division as well as the overall Olympic men’s title.
“It is a beautiful part of the world here,” said Whyte. “It is great to do a race in such nice surroundings. (The race went) really good. I lost a little bit of time in the swim, so I had a bit of work to do on the bike and caught up midway through.”
Jon Bird placed second in the division followed by another national cross country ski team member, Devon Kershaw.
“It was as hard as I thought, actually,” said Kershaw. “I felt really good in the swim, but then all of my transitions were horrible. These were my first two transitions of my life.”
Kershaw and Harvey were in a group of three national team members that ran the race, that also included Canmore’s Ivan Babikov.
In the Olympic men’s 30-34 division, Mark Jessee edged out Bo Simpson for the win. Finishing in second place was Kyle McLaughlin.
Greg Nicholson beat out second place finisher Aaron Papps and third place finisher Heath McCoy to win the Olympic men’s 30-39 division.
Dave Carlson won the Olympic men’s 40-44 division, with Tim Ryan coming in second place and Matthew Hillhouse rounded out the podium.
Thomas Omstead brought home a gold medal in the 45-49 Olympic men’s division with Brian Kozak in second and Bernard Maillet in third.
Stan Stacliffe stood on the top of the podium for the Olympic men’s 50-54 division with Scott Fulton taking second and George Daniel in third.
In the Olympic men’s 55-59 division, Mark Dantzer picked up the win with Tom Docking in second and Earl Embertson in third.
Ted Traynor won the Olympic men’s 60 and over with Paul Poffenroth in second and Scott Clements in third.
In the Olympic women’s divisions, Tegan Owens won the 20-24 division with Megan Myers in second and Erin Kruschell in third.
Kelly Geisheimer won the 25-29 division followed by Kristin Baker in second and Jen Panteluk in third.
In the 30-34 division, Kate MacPherson found the top of the podium with Jessica Doody in second and Patti Thomas in third.
Jenny Rowe won the 35-39 division with Janet Jones in second and Sylvia Watson in third.
Catherine Liversidge won the 40-44 age division, but was followed by Banff’s Sarah Fabbri in second and Pam Hauk was third.
In the 45-49 division, Linda Graham was the winner with Ann Marie Reinson in second and Guylaine Lefebvre in third.
Margaret Ritchie won the 50-54 division with Sharisse Kyle in second and Deborah Di Giuseppe in third.
Patti Doody was the lone runner in the Olympic women’s 55-59 age category.
Laurie Murray reach the top of the podium in the 60 and over division with Margaret Hoover in second and Carol McGinn in third.
For the men’s sprint divisions, Stephen McIntyre was the winner of the 20-29 age category. Second place went to Jay Adams and third was Jerid Vanderwekken.
Bryan Clarke won the men’s 30-39 division with Andre Cartier in second and Justin Abel in third.
Drew Magill won the 40-49 division as well as the overall title. Second in the division went to Myron Tetreault and James Edwards was third.
Andrew Kyle was tops in the 50-59 division with Gord Baldwin shortly behind in second place and Paul McCreedy in third.
In the women’s sprint race, Brittany Webster was on top of the podium in the 20-29 division. Second place went to Jen Blackwood followed by Bridget Reichert in third.
In the women’s 30-39 division, Meara Palmer was the winner with Patricia Tsang in second and Claire Lakusta in third.
Elaine Lowry was the top athlete in the women’s 40-49 division. Coming in second was Tara Beattie and third was Catherine Tetreault.
Jane Holbrook beat out Liz Timleck as the only two athletes in the women’s 50-59 division.
Lynda Sandmoen placed first in the 60 and over division with Valerie Braiden in second place.
Finally, the Olympic relay race saw the Just for Fun team come across the finish line first with Val-JoDy in second and Powered by Rice in third.
