Colorado Runner

2012 U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team qualifier Laura Bennett was victorious in a tune-up for London, and Lukas Verzbicas claimed his first professional win to highlight Saturday’s Dallas ITU Triathlon Pan American Cup. Bennett (Boulder, Colo.) covered the 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run course in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 22 seconds to record her second ITU podium finish of the season. She also placed third at the ITU World Triathlon San Diego on May 11 to lock up a spot on her second consecutive U.S. Olympic Team. Canada’s Joanna Brown was second in 2:10:50, and Manon Letourneau took third to [...]

USA Triathlon today announced that Barry Siff (Boulder, Colo.) was named Vice President of the USA Triathlon Board of Directors. Prior to accepting this officer position, Siff was initially elected to the Board of Directors in January 2012 while representing the Rocky Mountain, Pacific Northwest and Midwest Regions. He previously served as Chair of USA Triathlon’s Race Director Committee, and is currently a member of USA Triathlon’s History Project team and serves on the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame Committee, an event he has emceed for the past four years. “Barry provides the Board and USA Triathlon with an extensive background and [...]

Americans combined for 18 off-road triathlon world championship titles — and 50 overall medals — Saturday at the second ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships, held in conjunction with the XTERRA Southeast Championships, at Oak Mountain State Park. Craig Evans (Hendersonville, Tenn.) was the top U.S. elite finisher, placing second to earn silver on the men’s side in 2 hours, 12 minutes, 58 seconds on the 1,500-meter swim, 30-kilometer mountain bike, 10-kilometer trail run course. South Africa’s Conrad Stoltz repeated as men’s champion in 2:12:11. Evans, who was 10th a year ago at Cross Worlds in Extremadura, Spain, had the lead out [...]

In an emotional and dramatic finish, Hunter Kemper and Manuel Huerta ran to spots on the 2012 U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team with fifth- and ninth-place finishes, respectively, Saturday at the ITU World Triathlon San Diego. Kemper (Colorado Springs, Colo.) earned his fourth consecutive Olympic berth with a time of 1 hour, 49 minutes, 17 seconds on the 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run course. The Cuban-born Huerta (Miami, Fla.) crossed the line ninth in 1:49:31 to lock up his first Olympic Games appearance. Great Britain’s Jonathan Brownlee claimed the win in 1:48:46, with Sven Riederer of Switzerland (1:48:52) and [...]

Laura Bennett claimed the third and final spot on the 2012 U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team with a third-place finish Friday at the inaugural ITU World Triathlon San Diego. Bennett (Boulder, Colo.) will head to her second straight Olympic Games in August thanks to a time of 2 hours, 11 seconds on the 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run course throughout Mission Beach. She was fourth in Beijing in 2008. Great Britain’s Helen Jenkins, the ITU World Triathlon Series leader, lifted the tape in 1:58:20, with Australia’s Erin Densham taking second in 1:59:25. Sarah Haskins (Colorado Springs, Colo.) placed eighth today [...]

With Olympic dreams on the line, 14 of the United States’ top triathletes will square off against a top-notch international field May 11-12 at the inaugural ITU World Triathlon San Diego, which serves as the second and final automatic qualifier for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team. The women’s race will be held Friday, May 11 at 2 p.m., followed by the men Saturday, May 12 at 2:30 p.m. The Olympic-distance (1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run) elite race fields are comprised of 70 athletes per gender. 2012 U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team qualifiers Sarah Groff (Hanover, N.H.) and Gwen Jorgensen [...]

Nearly 600 athletes chased age group titles Saturday in standard- and sprint-distance events. Patrick Parish and Gail Kattouf clinched overall national titles in the standard-distance event, while Greg McNeil and Patty Peoples won the sprint-distance race Saturday at USA Triathlon’s 2012 Duathlon National Championship, presented by TriSports.com. “I knew a few people would take it out hard,” said Parish, who ran at Duke University in college. “I just wanted to relax through the first run, and catch everybody on the bike and see if I could close.” Parish also claimed the 25-29 age group title and posted a 49:03 bike split, [...]

Colorado convincingly claims third straight team championship. Stanford sophomore Marissa Ferrante and UC Irvine graduate student Dustin McLarty outlasted nearly 1,300 competitors to take the overall titles at Saturday’s USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater. A standout runner, Ferrante put together a complete race to cruise to victory on the women’s side. She lifted the tape in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 28 seconds - more than five minutes clear of the field on the 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run course. Colorado claimed the overall team championship for the third consecutive year and also swept the men’s and [...]

2012 U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team qualifier Gwen Jorgensen and Beijing Olympian Jarrod Shoemaker closed strong on the run to record top-10 finishes in the opener of the 2012 ITU World Triathlon Series on Saturday morning in Sydney. Jorgensen (Milwaukee, Wis.) placed fourth in the women’s race, covering the Olympic-distance course in 2 hours, 2 minutes, 12 seconds to post the second-best World Triathlon Series finish of her career. Shoemaker (Clermont, Fla.) finished 10th on the men’s side for his top World Triathlon Series finish since 2010 in 1:51:51. Laura Bennett (Boulder, Colo.) notched a solid 15th-place showing in 2:03:02 for [...]

Qualified athletes for the 2012 USA Triathlon Olympic-distance National Championship should act quickly to secure their spot on the starting line for the Aug. 18 event in Burlington, Vt., as the field surpassed 50 percent of capacity earlier this week. More than four months in advance of the event, over 1,000 athletes are already registered for Olympic-distance Nationals, and another 600-plus competitors are signed on for the Aug. 19 USA Triathlon Sprint National Championship. Visit usatriathlon.org for registration information for the Olympic-distance and Sprint National Championships and for qualification information for the Olympic-distance event. In addition to racing for national titles, competing athletes are chasing spots [...]

Seven U.S. Olympic hopeful triathletes, including six members of the USA Triathlon National Team, will kick off the 2012 International Triathlon Union World Triathlon Series with the opener of the eight-race slate this weekend in Sydney, Australia. Action opens Friday at 5:30 p.m. Eastern with the women’s race, followed by the men at 8:25 p.m. Eastern. A live webcast of the Sydney opener and the entire eight-race series is available at triathlonlive.tv. London Games qualifiers Sarah Groff (Hanover, N.H.) and Gwen Jorgensen (Milwaukee, Wis.), as well as Laura Bennett (Boulder, Colo.) and Jillian Petersen (Colorado Springs, Colo.), are on the start [...]

The top teenage triathletes in the United States will face off this summer in a three-race series designed by USA Triathlon to develop draft-legal racing skills and identify top talent for selection to national and international championships. USA Triathlon has designated two Youth Elite & Junior Elite Cup events, which will complement its Youth & Junior National Championships scheduled for Aug. 11-12 in West Chester, Ohio. Together, these events will comprise the 2012 USA Triathlon Junior Elite Series. The first series event will take place in Monroe, Wash., on June 16. Hosted by the TriMonroe Triathlon, this event will award [...]

Kelly Whitley had a banner week last week after being named USA Triathlon’s Junior Triathlete of the Year and Rookie of the Year for 2011. She then went on to finish second in the women’s race at the Clermont ITU Sprint Triathlon Pan American Cup, edging out fellow U.S. standout Sarah Haskins by two seconds. Whitley, who is currently living in Colorado Springs and training with the Elite Triathlon Academy, shared what her past two weekends of racing have been like and what has changed for her now that she is in college. USA Triathlon: You just finished second against a [...]

Gatorade, a USA Triathlon gold-level partner, is seeking passionate, accomplished and committed triathletes who want to represent Gatorade in their community. Athletes should be involved in their local endurance communities, live for training and competing and have a record of performance success. If you think you have what it takes, email EndurAlliance@hawkeyeww.com for an application and more information. The early deadline for applications is March 12, and the final deadline is March 30. Athletes should be located in one of the following cities: New York, N.Y., Los Angeles, Calif., Chicago, Ill., Dallas, Texas, San Diego, Calif., San Francisco, Calif., Austin, Texas, Washington, [...]

With International Triathlon Union World Championship Series podium finisher Sarah Groff and Pan American Games silver medalist Manuel Huerta leading the way, USA Triathlon today announced its 2011 Elite Athletes of the Year as selected by the USA Triathlon Athlete Advisory Council (AAC). “2011 was a year filled with many incredible triathlon performances. The AAC carefully examined the résumés and results of all the nominees, and is proud to honor these exceptional athletes. With the quality of nominees, the selections were no easy task. The AAC congratulates all the 2011 winners,” said Barrett Brandon, chair of the USA Triathlon Athlete [...]

USA Triathlon National Team member and Olympian Jarrod Shoemaker posted a strong season-opening performance Saturday with a hometown victory at the Clermont ITU Sprint Triathlon Pan American Cup at Lake Louisa State Park. Shoemaker (Clermont, Fla.) ran away from the field to lift the tape in 56 minutes, 4 seconds in the 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike, 5-kilometer run event. Canada’s Kyle Jones was second in 56:11, while Tommy Zaferes (Soquel, Calif.) was third in 56:15. Canada’s Kathy Tremblay won a tightly contested women’s race in 1:01:01. Kelly Whitley (Colorado Springs, Colo.) edged Sarah Haskins (Colorado Springs, Colo.) for second in [...]

USA Triathlon Junior Elite national champions Lukas Verzbicas and Kelly Whitley have been honored for their remarkable 2011 seasons with USA Triathlon Junior Triathlete of the Year honors. USA Triathlon will announce its Elite Athletes of the Year later this week. Verzbicas (Colorado Springs, Colo.) made national headlines in September 2011 when he captured gold at the ITU Junior World Championships to honor friend and teammate Kevin McDowell, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in March 2011. Prior to winning the world title, Verzbicas was victorious at the USA Triathlon Junior Elite National Championship and the PATCO Junior Pan American [...]