The Americans brought out the brooms to sweep the Age Group Standard Duathlon Monday in Penticton.
Albert Harrison (25 to 29) busted through the finish line ribbon to win the five-kilometre run, 40-km bike and 5-km run in one hour 51 minutes eight seconds. Taking the female side was Kirsten Sass (35 to 39) in 2:02:17.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty good. This has been my goal for a year or more,鈥� said Harrison. 鈥淭o come here and do it, 鈥� you never really know what the competition is going to be. It鈥檚 really sweet. I would like to be in the elite division, but I didn鈥檛 make that this year. It鈥檚 pretty sweet to come here and win and running away with it.鈥�
Great Britain鈥檚 Lee Piercy was second overall in 1:52:04, while Canadian Matt Straatman took third, but won his age group of 20 to 24.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unbelievable. My race couldn鈥檛 have gone better for myself,鈥� said Straatman. 鈥淚 knew what my limits were. I pushed them as hard as I could. This is the best result I could expect here.鈥�
Canadian Melissa Paauwe won the 30 to 34 age group and was second overall in 2:04:47, in what she described as a strong field.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 always get that in duathlon. That鈥檚 what I was really excited about with this event,鈥� said Paauwe. 鈥淔ast runners right out of the gate. I relied on my bike. I went hard on the bike. This is where it landed me.鈥�
Finishing second overall was surreal for her as she found the course mentally challenging.
鈥淵ou are constantly battling with emotions,鈥� she said. 鈥淧ull harder, pull back. You don鈥檛 really know. I just stay within my own head.鈥�
Mexico鈥檚 Jose Aureliano Valenzuela Roman captured the Paratriathletes Sprint title. Valenzuela crossed the finish line after completing the 5-km run, 20-km bike and 2.5-km run in 1:05:23. Valenzuela鈥檚 objective was to better his performance in Avila, Spain last year.
鈥淭he route was comfortable. I was relaxed and the last part of the race, while I was cycling, I felt really under pressure, but I finally did it,鈥� Valenzuela said through a translator.
Valenzuela became a para athlete after he was part of an accident during a race nearly 30 years ago in which a vehicle crashed into 20 cyclists. He had a broken left arm. Winning this world championship was about doing it for young athletes and kids.
Fiona Southern of New Zealand won the women鈥檚 championship in 1:10:29. She was followed by Australia;s John Domandl and Jessica Toumela of Canada. Canadian Jon Dunkerley wasn鈥檛 able to finish the race as he encountered bike problems, which trouble him in the past.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an unbelievable experience. It really is,鈥� said Domandl. 鈥淲e (he and his guide) perservered. We stuck with it. We knew we could do it.鈥�
The event is only a warmup as he also intends to the Aquathlon and the Long Course distance.
鈥淲e鈥檙e too old to do the short stuff,鈥� he joked.
Tuomela completed the course in 1:20:45.
鈥淚 have never done duathlon before. It was pretty hard,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was very happy with it. Running is something I have been working on for the last three months. This was a little bit intimidating.鈥�
Toumela enjoyed the course, which she felt was fair and a perfect challenge.
Penticton has athletes competing on home turf. On opening day in the sprint duathlon, Ian Ross (70-74), who competed in the ITU worlds in Avila, Spain, finished in 1:36:15. He placed 509th out of 681 athletes and 11 of 17 in his category. In today鈥檚 event, Sybilla Bartram placed eighth in the 60 to 64 age category finishing in 2:41:07. Deborah Chadwick, 55 to 59, placed 10th in her category after clocking in at 2:40:37. Doug Howard, 55 to 59, was 29th finishing in 2:24:44 and Murray MacPherson, 65 to 69, was second in his group, finishing in 2:20:06. S. Paul Varga placed 41st in the 50 to 54 age group. He finished in 3:15:57.
