British Columbia Sweeps Gold in Triathlon Team Competition at Canada Summer Games
August 21, 2009
SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I.—British Columbia owned the podium by winning gold in both the men’s and women’s triathlon team competitions at the 2009 Canada Summer Games in Summerside, P.E.I. on Friday.
British Columbia’s Alison Hooper, Christine Ridenhour and Kyla Coates teamed up to clock a winning time of one hour nine minutes 35 seconds in the relay where each athlete completes a 300-metre swim, seven-kilometre bike course, and two-kilometre run. Athletes tag off to their teammate at the completion of all three disciplines.
Alison Hooper, who is completing her first season in triathlon, set the tone early for the powerful B.C. trio. But while the 17-year-old opened a gap on the field with Manitoba’s Sarah-Anne Brault, it was Christine Ridenhour who took control of the race for the B.C. women, and handed off to Kyla Coates to complete the anchor leg and secure the gold.
“That was a tough race today. We all brought different tactics to the race and they came together perfectly,” said 19-year-old Kyla Coates. “We all pulled our weight today and did a great job together.”
Alison Hooper made history earlier in the weak by winning the first-ever triathlon gold medal at the Canada Summer Games.
“Of course it was amazing to win the individual race, but it is so much better to be able to share a victory with your teammates,” said Hooper. “These are the guys I train with each day and they are the one’s that pushed me to win earlier this week so I’m very happy to win this with them today.”
Manitoba’s Sarah-Anne Brault, Rachael Edwards and Stevie Moore celebrated the silver medal with a time of 1:10:12. Ontario’s Joanna Brown, Dorelle Hinton and Dominika Jamnicky locked up the bronze medal at 1:11:00.
After a short break, the top women’s triathletes under 20 years old took to the sidelines to cheer on the men’s teams competing in the relay on Summerside’s picturesque waterfront.
British Columbia wasted little time asserting their authority in the men’s competition also as Matt Sharpe climbed out of the water first after a dominant swim. While Sharpe continued to set the pace in the bike, Nova Scotia and Ontario closed the gap in the two-kilometre run. B.C. regained the lead after Sharpe handed off to Cole Stewart who opened a commanding gap on the field, setting up the anchor leg for Jeff Phillips. The B.C. trio clocked a golden time of 1:04:09.
“This was an absolutely great race today,” said the 20-year-old Phillips, who also won the gold medal in the individual event on Tuesday. “The guys set me up perfectly today. We put it all on the line and left nothing out there.”
Ontario’s Ian Donald, Connor Hammond and Tristan Woodfine combined to post a silver-medal winning time of 1:05:20. Manitoba’s Josh Drad, Riley MacCharles and Mark Okany rounded out the men’s podium in third at 1:06:25.
The team competition is a new, exciting format that is being introduced by the International Triathlon Union at the elite level in hopes of it being selected into the lineup of competitions at the 2012 Olympic Summer Games. The new format is aimed at introducing a new generation of participants to the sport with shorter, more spectator friendly courses and intense action.
“I think the team competition is so fun and adds a whole new dimension to our sport,” said Phillips at the finish line. “We train as a team everyday and to be able to come out and race together makes it very exciting.”
The team competition also wrapped up a successful debut for the sport of triathlon at the Canada Summer Games. Hundreds of spectators lined Summerside’s waterfront and downtown streets to catch the high-paced action, and one of the nation’s fastest growing sports.
Led by coach Pat Kelly, British Columbia athletes dominated the inaugural triathlon events winning all four gold medals on the table.
“Our goal this week was to sweep and we did that,” said Jeff Phillips. “I said earlier this week British Columbia is the triathlon capital of Canada and I think we did a good job in proving that.”
Triathlon Canada is the governing body for triathlon in the country. Recognized as an Olympic medal sport since 2000, Triathlon Canada’s mandate is to promote, foster, organize and develop the sport of triathlon, and its related disciplines, in Canada. For more information on Triathlon Canada, please visit us at www.triathloncanada.com on the Internet.
Complete Canada Summer Games Triathlon Results : www.2009canadagames.ca
(3 x 300-metre swim, 7-kilometre bike, 2-kilometre run)
Top-Five Junior Women’s Results:
1. British Columbia, 1:09:35; 2. Manitoba, 1:10:12; 3. Ontario, 1:11:00; 4. Quebec, 1:13:42; 5. Alberta, 1:14:09.
Top-Five Junior Men’s Results
1. British Columbia, 1:04:09; 2. Ontario, 1:05:20; 3. Manitoba, 1:06:25; 4. Nova Scotia, 1:07:08; 5. Alberta, 1:08:23
