Athletes Race for National Titles in Standard Duathlon and Standard Aquathlon at Multisport National Championships Festival Presented by Mutual of Omaha

Omaha, Neb. – Racing continued on Friday, June 7 at the 2024 USA Triathlon Multisport National Championships Festival Presented by Mutual of Omaha as age group athletes ranging in age from 13 to 90 years old raced in the Standard Duathlon and Standard Aquathlon National Championships.

The five-day Multisport National Championships Festival celebrates multisport’s diverse race formats, with athletes racing for titles in the following National Championships:

• Draft-legal Triathlon National Championships 

• Duathlon (run-bike-run) National Championships (standard and draft-legal sprint distances) 

• Aquathlon (run-swim-run) National Championships 

• Aquabike (swim-bike) National Championships (standard distance) 

• Super Sprint Triathlon Time Trial National Championships 

• Super Sprint Duathlon Time Trial National Championships 

• Mixed Relay Triathlon & Duathlon National Championships

Friday’s events kicked off with the Standard Duathlon National Championships, which featured a 10-kilometer run around Lake Cunningham, followed by a 40k bike on the rolling hills, and finishing with a 5k run. Alex Arman (Longmont, Colo.) won the race in a time of 1 hour, 59 minutes, 2 seconds, capturing his fifth overall national title in the Standard Duathlon National Championships. 

“Today was great. Number five for Standard. I really, really wanted that,” Arman said. “It was a great race the whole time. The first run, Chris (Hague, who finished fourth overall) and I were neck and neck. I knew if it came down to the second run I'd be in trouble. I pushed the second lap on the bike really hard and held steady on the run. It went better than I thought it would.” 

Arman leaves Omaha with two overall national titles, as he also won Thursday’s Super-Sprint Duathlon Time Trial National Championships. Thursday’s Multisport National Championships Festival recap is here.

Colorado residents swept the podium as Juan Cortes (Centennial, Colo., 2:00:49) finished second overall in the Standard Duathlon National Championships, winning the 40-44 age group national title. Gary Holt (Highlands Ranch, Colo., 2:01:05) took third overall, winning the 50-54 age group national title. 

Dominique Stasulli (Boulder, Colo.) won the overall Standard Duathlon title in the women’s race with a time of 2:17:17, edging out Rachel Crunk (Mt. Pleasant, S.C., 2:19:49) and Heather Camp (North Mankato, Minn., 2:22:32) who each won their respective age groups, 50-54 and 45-49. 

“I was pretty nervous for this one. I don't know why. It's kind of its own beast compared to other multisport races. The Super-Sprint yesterday, it's super fun, super fast. It's over so quickly. You know you can suffer for 20 minutes. But the standard du, you're out there on the course going as hard as possible for two-plus hours,” Stasulli said. 

A USA Triathlon Certified Coach, Stasulli set an example for her athletes of racing to your full potential.    

“I am always trying to get the most out of myself on any day that I am racing. I know where that line is. I know when I'm not bumping up against that line. I'm going to have a harder time of being proud of myself at the end of the day if I'm not bumping up against that line from start to finish,” Stasulli said. “I'm a coach and my athletes are all back home following me and the other athletes we have here and I'm thinking about them. I'm trying to set the example as their coach, showing how you get the most out of yourself on any day. You fight until the last stretch, which is where I ended up taking the lead. If I didn't fight all the way until the end I wouldn't have gotten it. You just never know. You just have to push as hard as you can. 

The Standard Aquathlon National Championships were in the afternoon, as athletes raced a 1000m swim and 5k run. The swim-run format is one of the fastest growing and most accessible multisport formats. 

Michael Phinney (Miami Beach, Fla.) earned the overall national title in the men’s race with a time of 33:06. He out-ran Samuel Wen (Houston, Texas), who won the 13-19 age group in a time of 33:12. Phinney and Wen fought to the finish, with Phinney catching Wen with less than a mile to go.

“Coming out of the water I could see people running up into transition, so I knew I was maybe fourth or fifth place. Then a mile into the run a volunteer said ‘there's someone ahead of you, but he’s running slower.’ So, thank you to that volunteer. They gave me that encouragement and extra push to finally catch him,” Phinney said. 

James Snyder (Statesville, N.C.) took home the bronze, winning the title for the 20-24 age group, in a time of 33:41.

Kennedy Rainwater (Brookfield, Wisc.) took home her first overall national title in the women’s category in a time of 35:52. Rainwater trains full-time as a swimmer and is committed to swim in college this fall at the NCAA Division I University of Illinois.

“I've been doing this for about three years now and there's always been someone faster than me at Nationals. It was really cool to get the chance to finish first and hold the tape. There were some really good competitors out there,” said Rainwater, who was introduced to multisport by her mom, who is a longtime triathlete. “She continues to race triathlons today and she is one of my biggest inspirations.” 

Rainwater was followed by Julie Demers (Campbell, Calif.) who edged out Kristen Doster (Green Bay, Wis.) by just five seconds in a time of 36:28. Demers won her age group, 35-39, and Doster also won hers, 30-34, in a time of 36:33.