USA Triathlon Weekend Notebook Busy Weekend of Racing with Ultra Champions to Cyclone Cancellations
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by USA Triathlon
2021 USA Triathlon Ultra-Distance National Championships
J.P. Dowd (Charlestown, Mass.) and Holly Smith (Marathon, Fla.) were crowned overall champions, and 12 other athletes earned age-group national titles at the 2021 USA Triathlon Ultra-Distance National Championships in Clermont, Florida, on Saturday, Oct. 23.
Dowd crossed the finish line in 10 hours, 33 minutes and 58 seconds after leading in both the swim and bike, to win the men’s overall title and first in his age group (M45-49), earning his first Ultra-Distance National Championship.
On the women’s side, Smith finished fifth overall among women and men, clocking a time of 11:08:17 to claim the women’s national title and F35-39 age group win.
This year’s race was held in conjunction with the Great Floridian Triathlon Multisport Festival, known as the longest running independent Ultra-distance triathlon in the country, with this year marking its 30th competition year.
The course, which consists of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run, centered around the Clermont Waterfront Park. Athletes toeing the line on Saturday competed to qualify to represent Team USA at the 2022 World Triathlon Multisport Festival.
Herbalife24 Triathlon Los Angeles
The Herbalife24 Triathlon took place on Sunday, serving as the 2021 USA Triathlon West Regional Championship.
A stacked roster of elites showed up to compete in the famous city of Los Angeles, and take on the open water swim in the Pacific Ocean at Venice Beach.
France’s Vincent Luis claimed gold in the men’s race. The former World Triathlon World Champion finished in 1 hour, 46 minutes and 43 seconds.
The silver then went to USA Olympian Ben Kanute (Phoenix, Ariz.), claiming the only podium for the U.S. in the men’s event. Kanute had a strong performance on the day, exiting the swim in fifth place and climbing his way on the bike and run to finish in 1:47:55 and earn second place. Third place went to Miki Taagholt of Denmark with a time of 1:48:14.
In the women’s elite race, Great Britain’s Emma Pallant-Brown seized the title, with a time of 2:02:42 and finishing 17th overall. USA’s Amy Sloan (Lafayette, Colo.) and Heather Jackson (Bend, Ore.) then completed the women’s podium, with Sloan clocking in at 2:04:07 and Jackson following just 13 second after for a finish time of 2:04:20.
IRONMAN California
IRONMAN California was set to take place on Sunday, October 24 with a high-profile international start list of pros looking to take on the city of Sacramento. With the race being a pro men only event, an international showdown between Jan Froderno of Germany, Lionel Sanders of Canada and Gustav Iden of Norway had the triathlon community ready for excitement.
However, the excitement came from the weather forecast instead and an unprecedented bomb cyclone caused the event to be cancelled for the safety of the participants.
IRONMAN 70.3 Waco
Over 1800 people headed to Waco, Texas for the IRONMAN 70.3 Waco event.
Martin Gallardo (San Rafael, Maine) won the overall race, crossing the line with a time of 4:13:36 and earning the top spot in the M25-29 age group.
The overall woman was Beni Gras-Thompson (Roanoke, Va.), who finished 16h for both men and women in a time of 4:50:10 and claimed the title in her F50-54 age group.
2021 World Triathlon Cup Haeundae
The South Korean city of Busan welcomed triathletes across the globe to the debut World Triathlon Cup Haeundae on Saturday.
The sprint-distance course featured the beautiful white sand of Haeundae Beach, one of the most famous beaches in the coastline region of Busan.
A sole American competed for Team USA on the day. Michael Arishita (Boerne, Texas) lined up in the men’s event, to race in his first World Triathlon Cup since 2019. He placed 33rd with a time of 53:46.
2021 Americas Triathlon Cup La Paz
La Paz, Mexico hosted the 2021 Americas Triathlon Cup, the final Continental cup before the Continental Championships in St. George, Utah next weekend.
Mexico swept the podium in the men’s race, with Irving Perez claiming gold. The top male performance for the U.S. was Brent Demarest (Charleston, S.C.), who finished seventh and the only American in the top ten.
No American women raced.
