Posted: September 10, 2005

Triathlon: USA's Shoemaker Wins U23 World Title

GAMAGORI, Japan (Sept. 10, 2005) - Jarrod Shoemaker of Sudbury, Mass., ushered in a new era for USA Triathlon as he won the men's under-23 title at the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Triathlon Championship on Saturday in Gamagori, Japan.

It was the first medal that the United States has won in the U23 category and the first world medal for a U.S. male triathlete since 1991.

In the other races Saturday, Sara McLarty (Deland, Fla.) placed fifth in the women's U23 race and Jennifer Spieldenner (Findlay, Ohio) finished 15th in the girls junior race.

Shoemaker's victory didn't come easy as he survived a crowded swim, avoided crashes on the bike and held off a final surge on the run from Kazahkstan's Daniil Sapunov.

"Sapunov made it fun," Shoemaker said. "I knew he was going to make his move on the third lap. I just had to run my race and hold him off."

Shoemaker had the fastest run of the day in 32 minutes, 19 seconds and his winning time was 1:52:42. Sapunov finished second in 1:53:06 and France's Bertrand Boulch was third in 1:53:24.

Shoemaker watched teammate Matt Seymour crash on the bike and was aware of at least two other crashes on the flat but technical course. Seymour went on to finish 34th. Brendan O'Brien was 44th and Manuel Huerta, who was also involved in a crash, finished 48th.

"I tried to stay at the front of the pack to avoid crashes," Shoemaker said. "When I did get in the middle of the pack, I was scared."

As the day went on, heat and humidity started to take its toll on the athletes as well.

In the women's U23 race, McLarty had the fastest swim of the day - male or female - in 18:50 and held the lead on the bike before falling behind on the run.

Michelle Lindsay used a strong run to finish 16th. U.S. athlete Jasmine Oeinck had to pull out due to a bike crash and Jenna Shoemaker, Jarrod's sister, did not finish due to dehydration.

New Zealand's Andrea Hewitt won the women's U23 race in 2:03:08. Vendula Frintova of the Czech Republic was second (2:03:42) and Switzerland's Nicola Spirig was third (2:05:39).

In the girls junior race, Jennifer Spieldenner (Findlay, Ohio) also led out of the swim 7500m swim (10:13 minutes) and had a strong bike leg, but fell behind on the run and finished 15th in 1:03:51. Jenna Yeakel (Canton, Ohio) was 35th, Alexandria Lechner (Clearwater, Fla.) was 42nd and Yasmine White (Arcata, Fla.) finished 44th.

Complete results are available at www.triathlon.org.

ITU World Triathlon Championships - Sept. 10, 2005; Gamagori, Japan

U23 Men

1.5K swim; 40K bike; 10K run

1. Jarrod Shoemaker ( Sudbury , Mass. ) 1:52:42; 2. Daniil Sapunov ( Kazakhstan ) 1:53:06; 3. Bertrand Boulch ( France ) 1:53:24; 4. Ruedi Wild ( Switzerland ) 1:53:48; 5. David Hauss ( France ) 1:54:09; 6. Jose Tovar ( Spain ) 1:54:41; 7. Emilio D’Aquino ( Italy ) 1:54:45; 8. Clark Ellice ( New Zealand ) 1:54:50; 9. Kyle Jones ( Canada ) 1:55:20; 10. Balazs Pocsai ( Hungary )
Other U.S. Finishers
34. Matt Seymour ( Honolulu , Hawaii ); 44. Brendan O’Brien ( Escondido , Calif. ); 48. Manuel Huerta ( Miami , Fla. )

U23 Women

1.5K swim; 40K bike; 10K run

1. Andrea Hewitt (New Zealand) 2:03:08; 2. Vendula Frintova (Czech Republic) 2:03:42; 3. Nicola Spirig (Switzerland) 2:05:39; 4. Emma Moffat (Australia) 2:05:41; 5. Kathy Tremblay (Canada) 2:06:26; 6. Anina Stampfli (Switzerland) 2:06:35; 7. Nicky Samuels (New Zealand) 2:06:45; 8. Zurine Rodriguez (Spain) 2:06:47; 9. Sara McLarty (Deland, Fla.) 2:07:17; 10. Lisa Norden (Sweden) 2:07:24
Other U.S. Finishers
16. Michelle Lindsay (Arcata, Calif.)

Junior Girls

7500m swim; 20k bike; 5k run

1. Anis Moniz (Portugal) 1:01:18; 2. Rebecca Spence (New Zealand) 1:01:39; 3. Melanie Sexton (Australia) 1:01:44; 4. Annamaria Mazzetti (Italy) 1:02:19; 5. Daniela Ryf (Switzerland) 1:02:29; 6. Marie Rabie (Russia) 1:02:41; 7. Brittany Orr (Australia) 1:02:45; 8. Rebecca Robisch (Germany) 1:03:19; 9. Barbara Reveros (Chile) 1:03:23; 10. Anastasiya Yatsenko (Ukraine) 1:04:23
U.S. Finishers
15. Jennifer Spieldenner (Findlay, Ohio); 35. Jenna Yeakel (Canton, Ohio); 42. Anlexandria Lechner (Clearwater, Fla.); 44. Yasmine White (Arcata, Calif.)