Posted: July 9, 2006

Triathlon: Junior National Championships in Edmonton on Sunday

When it’s time to talk about the future stars of triathlon one name comes to mind for most of the top coaches in the country – Kirsten Sweetland. Sweetland, from Victoria, is already a house-hold name in the Canadian triathlon community and this weekend she’ll be attempting to win her second straight Canadian National Junior Championship.

Kids of Steel Chairman, Norbert Hollman, says “Kirsten is very definitely the favourite to repeat as National Champion. At this point Sweetland is almost unbeatable; she has dominated the Junior Series events for the past three years.”

Sweetland has not lost a race in over 10 months dating back to last year’s World Championships. Sweetland had great success in North America last year winning both the Canadian Junior championships in Caledon, Ontario and the U.S. Junior National Championships in Bellingham, Washington. Sweetland is also the reigning National Duathlon Champion – Sweetland won this prestigious event in Hamilton in late May. Kirsten continued her winning streak 11 days ago in St. Malo when she won the Under 23 event. Kirsten is firing on all cylinders at the right time of the season and looks to be unstoppable.

National Training Centre coach Joel Filliol, a Victoria native, regards Sweetland as “one of the best juniors to come along in the last 10 years.” Filliol went on to say he expects even greater things from Sweetland who is looking to become the first Canadian female to win the Junior World Championships in Lausanne later in September. “She is a talented athlete who I believe has a chance to win the Junior Worlds.”

Other names to look out for include Paula Findlay, from Edmonton, a newcomer to the sport. Findlay won the Alberta Junior Championship in May and followed this up with a victory in the first Junior Series race in St. Malo. Rachel O’Reilly, from Toronto, was on the World Junior Team in 2005 and was 6th overall in the Development Series last season. Veronique Bilodeau, from Longueuil, Quebec, was also on the World Junior Team in 2005 as a 16-year-old and was 5th overall in the Development Series in 2005.

Sarah-Anne Brault, from Winnipeg, is another athlete who has a chance to win on Sunday. Brault finished a few seconds behind Sweetland at the National Duathlon Championships and is known for her running ability. Brault won a silver medal at the Canada Games in the 5,000 metre run with a time of 17:23. “From a junior female triathlete perspective Sarah-Anne Brault is an international level runner,” says Triathlon Canada’s High Performance Director, Tom Patrick.

Brault’s coach, Gary Pallet, who serves as the Director of the Regional Training Centre in Manitoba says it’s unlikely anyone will beat Sweetland but added, “Sara-Anne is the only one in the field who has a chance to out-run Kirsten if they’re off the bike together.”

Hollman believes the race for the silver and bronze medals is wide open. “The battle for the other podium spots should be very exciting. Many of these girls raced ‘head on’ less than 2 weeks ago in St. Malo and large draft packs formed. They now know each other. Edmonton’s hills should break things up; however, I still expect a tight race.”

Several American females will be on hand in Edmonton this weekend including Yasmine White, from Arcata, California. White, who participated in the World Championships last season, will lead the US female team in 2006.

The junior male division is similar to the female category – there is a heavy favourite to win the race, the only difference is the dominant racer is American. Although it is our Junior National Championship, the overall male favourite is Steven Duplinsky from Kensington, Maryland, who is the reigning World Junior Champion. Hollman who has seen most of these junior races believes Duplinsky is at a different level when it comes to the run. “If Duplinsky comes off the bike within a minute of the lead, he’ll run everyone down with his 15 minute run over 5km. Less than two weeks ago in Long Beach he had a 15:04 run.”

For the title of Canadian Junior Male Champion, Hollman thinks it could come down to a battle of the Andrew’s - Andrew McCartney, from Victoria, and Andrew Woegeger, from Caledon, Ontario. McCartney is the 2004 Junior National Champion. Last year McCartney finished third at the Canadian Championships while Woegeger was the silver medallist at the same event. “Both are experienced juniors. However, young Blair Peters from Winnipeg recently upset them both at St. Malo with his strong running abilities. Since Duplinsky is only eligible for Development Series awards, the race for the Male Junior National Champion is completely wide open between McCartney, Woegeger and Peters but many others with an outside chance include Willie Bell (Manitoba), Jeffrey Phillips (BC) and Philippe Renaud (Quebec) who finished 4th, 5th and 6th in a tight race in St. Malo a couple of weeks ago.”

An additional feature to the Edmonton event is the Canadian/USA Junior Challenge where the top three finishes from each country will determine winner of the male and the female challenge. Last year, Canada won the female challenge but the USA males upset Canada on the strength of Steven Duplinsky, who won the race. This event should be loaded with talent as the USA will be bringing their top junior triathletes to Edmonton.

According to Hollman the competition will probably come down to the wire. “Canada appears to have the stronger female team, but the challenge on the male side should be very close once again.”

Triathlon Canada is the National Federation for the Sport of Triathlon and Duathlon in Canada.

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