Posted: August 22, 2005

Triathlon: McGlone, Whitfield Win National Championships

2005-08-22 -- Kelowna, BC

The Apple Triathlon in Kelowna BC was the site of this year’s National Triathlon Championships. An ideal climate greeted triathletes to the 2005 Kelowna Apple Triathlon Junior Elite Race on Saturday. Junior Elite Triathletes swam 750M, biked 20K and then ran 5K.

Canada’s 2004 Junior National Champion, Andrew McCartney of Victoria, BC, led through all three disciplines and crossed the finish line first with a time of 59:04. American Zachary Paris of Solana Beach, CA was second in 59:59 with the podium rounded out by American Aaron Bachman of Saline, MI at 1:13.

The Junior Elite female race saw Kirsten Sweetland of Victoria, the 2005 Canadian Junior Elite Champion, overwhelm the field with a time of 1:05. With a time of 1:08, local Elspeth McGregor of Vernon placed second and Gillian Carleton of Victoria was third in 1:09.

Triathlon weekend continued on Sunday with Age Groupers who had the opportunity to qualify for the 2005 World Championships in Hawaii, as well as the Elite race. This was one of the strongest fields ever gathered for a triathlon in Canada, and rewarded spectators with a very exciting race.

The Elite Canadian Triathletes were not concerned about the intense heat on Sunday (peaking at 35C), while on the course, as Simon Whitfield claimed the 2005 Canadian National title in a time of 1:51:19.

Although Brent McMahon, the current number one ranked Canadian triathlete was ahead of Whitfield through the first two stages he could not hold off Simon through the run and placed second in 1:51:28. Placing third, Paul Tichelaar was in the hunt as he kept pace with a time of 1:52:21. All three athletes live and train out of Victoria.

Samantha McGlone, who trains out of Ottenburn Park, Quebec has shown why she is ranked number one in Canada by placing first, 1:22 ahead of Lauren Groves of Victoria. McGlone finished at 2:02:46 and Groves at 2:04:08. Rounding out the podium was Kathy Tremblay from Montreak at 2:04:34. Up until today’s race, Groves’ Canadian ranking was number two and Tremblay number 14.

The 2006 Canadian National Championships will be held in Caledon, Ontario.

For complete race results and up to date rankings please go to: TriathlonCanada.com or AppleTriathlon.com.