Mixed Relay Champions Crowned at 2023 Multisport National Championships Festival
by USA Triathlon
IRVING, Texas — The final day of the 2023 USA Triathlon Multisport National Championships Festival concluded with Mixed Relay Triathlon and Mixed Relay Duathlon National Championships.
The quartet of Todd Suttor (Boulder, Colo.), Alexandra Leandri (Nashville, Tenn.), Aaron Groff (Chicago, Ill.) and Jenna Haufler (Mill Valley, Calif.), won the team title in the Mixed Relay Triathlon as their USA Triathlon Club, Working Triathlete, broke the tape in a time of 1 hour, 10 minutes, 52 seconds.
In the Mixed Relay, teams of four (in the order of man-woman-man-woman) compete, with each team member completing a 250m swim, 5k bike, 1.2k run triathlon before tagging their teammate. The Mixed Relay made its Olympic debut at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, with the U.S. team earning the Olympic silver medal.
Sixty-one relay teams competed at Multisport National Championships, with national titles awarded to teams, broken down into different brackets based on teams' combined ages of each team’s four athletes. Spectators lined the race’s tag zone, cheering as athletes finished their leg to tag their teammate who ran from the grass near the shore to dive off the dock into Irving’s Lake Carolyn.
Leandri and Haufler were members of the Mixed Relay Triathlon team that won last year’s national title and they were eager to return to Texas to defend their title.
"We came here last year wanting to throw down and have some fun and over the last year we've worked really hard with the intention of coming back this year to win and bring other Working Triathlon teams that would also be competitive," Leandri said. "It means a lot to us to win and we had so much fun as a team together."
More than 50 individuals competed in the Triathlon Individual Medley, completing all four legs of the relay themselves.
USA Triathlon Junior Elite athlete Clare Anne Dasso (New Braunfels, Texas) won the women's and overall title in the individual medley, completing the four legs in 1:04:37.
Tobin Strom (Dallas, Texas) won the men's title in the individual medley in a time of 1:05:00.
Multisport National Championships Festival also included the debut of the Mixed Relay Duathlon National Championships. Athletes for each team completed a 1.2k run, 5k bike and 1.2k run.
Working Triathlete also won the title in the Mixed Relay Duathlon National Championships, as the team of Anthony Didion (Nashville, Tenn.), Aimee Marsh (Portland, Ore.), Chris Hague (Simsbury, Conn.) and Audrey Suttor (Boulder, Colo.) crossed the tape in a time of 1:13:06.
Club Championships
The 2023 Multisport National Championships Festival also served as the 2023 USA Triathlon Club Championships.
Working Triathlete won the Club Overall and Competitive awards, boosted by the individual performances of club members who won several titles during the Multisport National Championships Festival.
"Last year there were four, five of us competing and this year to bring all of our teammates to come race and cheer with us is amazing. It was so magical to have this many people out here, working hard, swimming, biking and running fast," Haufler said. "Todd said it really well - it feels really good to be doing this sport with others and caring about other people's performances as much as you care about your own."
Team Zoot won the Club Participation & Service Award due to its overall club member participants and members who volunteered during the event in Irving.
The Club Spirit Award was awarded to club Team Go Big, a USA Triathlon Club that advocates for body acceptance in sport and society.
2023 USA Triathlon Multisport National Championships
Mixed Relay Triathlon National Championships
4x 250m swim, 5k bike, 1.2k run
Overall Team Winner: Working Triathlete, 1:10:52
100 & Under: B. Slap, 1:15:31
101-130: Working Triathlete, 1:10:52
131-160: Working Triathlete 3, 1:19:13
161-190: Team 202, 1:18:17
191-220: Fast 4ward, 1:19:15
221-250: Relay Fun 2, 1:24:22
251-280: Ok Boomers, 1:27:36
281-310: F. Foursome, 1:48:50
Clydesdale & Athena: Can't Stop the Reign, 1:45:15
Triathlon Individual Medley
Women's Overall: Clare Anne Dasso, 1:04:37
Men's Overall: Tobin Strom (Dallas, Texas), 1:05:00
F15-39: Clare Anne Dasso (New Braunfels, Texas), 1:04:37
M15-39: Andrew Maxwell (Austin, Texas), 1:05:48
F40-59: Christine Houser (La Jolla, Calif.), 1:13:42
M40-59: Tobin Strom (Dallas, Texas), 1:05:00
F60+: Barbara Thomas (Broadview Heights, Ohio), 1:35:34
M60+: Eli Tepperberg (Sussex, N.J.), 1:23:43
Athena: Elizabeth Fanco (Alto, Mich.), 1:48:15
Mixed Relay Duathlon National Championships
1.2k run, 5k bike and 1.2k run
Overall Team Winner: Working Triathlete, 1:13:06
100 & Under: Working Triathlete, 1:13:06
101-130: Moody & Peters, 1:27:23
161-190: Team 202, 1:16:27
191-220: Team AARP, 1:16:02
221-250: Diamonds, 1:24:06
251-280: V. Duathlon, 1:34:42
281-310: Du Dogs, 2:05:43
USA Triathlon
USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon, paratriathlon, and indoor and virtual multisport events in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 4,000 races and connects with more than 400,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work at the grassroots level with athletes, coaches, and race directors — as well as the USA Triathlon Foundation — USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including World Triathlon Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of World Triathlon and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).