It was a gorgeous, calm Sunday morning as hundreds of Cyswog'n'Fun triathletes gathered on Lakeside Beach to participate in the annual event. And it only got sunnier as the day progressed.
“It seemed like everybody had smiles on their faces and was having fun,” said race director Kim Irving.
“There were people who were competing for the first time, others were just trying to finish, but then we also get pros like Dallas Cain at the other end of the spectrum,” said Irving.
“But everyone mixes together and cheers everyone on.”
Athletes competed as individuals or as teams, and completed Olympic or Sprint distances.
The former consisted of a 1.5 km swim, 39-kilometre cycle and 10km run and the latter saw athletes finishing a 500 meter swim, 22 kilometer cycle and a 5 km run.
Olympic Distance
Rossland’s Dallas Cain took the top spot in the Olympic Distance, beating his closest competitor by nearly eight minutes.
Cain competed in the Men 30-39 category and finished the course in 2:05:52 while Seth Bitting came in at 2:13:33.
Both are from Rossland.
This is the seventh time Cain has won the event, though last year he completed the course slightly faster with a time of 2:03:12.
Nelsonites Nelson Rocha, Kurt Beerens and Dave Harasym came in 6th, 8th and 12th respectively with times of 2:21:41, 2:28:17 and 2:34:38.
Nelson’s Con Diamond came third in his 60-69 age category at 2:50:37 and placed 25th overall.
Calgary’s Isabel Ramsay was the fastest woman in the event, coming in at 2:32:29. She was in the Women 20-29 category.
Nelson’s Catherine Lundstrom, who competed in the Women 50-59 category, finished fourth with a time of 2:41:47.
Nelson’s Kim Irving came in at 2:59:37, women 50-59, third in the age group and ninth overall for women.
Slocan Valley’s Bernie Clover competed in the Men 70+ category and completed the race in 3:58:55, placing 51st overall.
Sprint Distance
Jackson Konkin of Trail, 15, was the first past the finish line in the sprint distance, but was penalized for going off course and the top spot went to Bragg Creek’s Rob Roth, who competed in the Men 30-39 category.
Roth finished the sprint race with a time of 1:09:40.
It was Konkin’s first time competing in the triathlon, and though he was disappointed by he result he told the Star he was proud of his performance and plans to return next year.
The top Nelson male was Andrew Kyle, who competed in the 60-69 category and finished at 1:20:05.
The fastest female competitor was Kimberley’s Sierra Cooper, who competed in the Women 16-17 category.
She completed the race in 1:15:51.
She was followed by Sarah Berett at 1:19:27 and Nelson’s top female athlete, Louise Poole, competed in the 50-59 category and finished with a time of 1:25:23.
Poole finished 25th overall.
Teams
Shona Lindsay, Darin Lindsay and Nelson’s Leanne Kalabis took top spot in the team competition, coming in at 2:25:05.
They were five minutes ahead of both the second and third place teams, Tri Like A Girl and Fishryder Bailey, who finished at 2:30:51 and 2:30:56.
“Almost all the teams were Nelson teams, which was really cool,” said Irving. But she was most thrilled by how female-centric the podium was.
“In past years women have said they want it broken down to mixed women and men because the women never win medals, but this year the gold and silver went to almost all women,” she said.
Fourteen teams participated.
Spectator participation
Irving said one of the things that makes the Cyswog’n’Fun competition so unique is the spectator involvement. Families in lawn chairs sat along the North Shore portion of the race, lining up along Lower Six Mile and gathering on the bridge.
“People were out their with their hoses spraying you down. The spectators really embrace and support it.”
For more information and results visit the Cyswog'n'Fun website at trinelson.com.
Full results will appear in the Star’s print editions this week.
