The Pushor Mitchell Kelowna Apple Triathlon got off to an unexpected windy start on Friday late afternoon with the Aquathon and 1.5km Open Water Swim. The very choppy and wavy conditions at Tugboat Beach on Okanagan Lake led race organizers, Okanagan Masters Swim Club, to change the swim course. Instead of doing larger loops, competitors completed circuits of 200 metres along the beach front. The conditions resulted in overall slower times for both the Aquathon and 1.5km Open Water Swim this year.

The Aquathon consisted of a 2.5km run, 1km swim and another 2.5km run. Running only for the second time as part of the Apple Triathlon, there was a good increase in competitor numbers with 23 men participating and 20 women.

The top three men were all in the age group 30-39 with

Ynuk Bosse of Vancouver first in 33:21, Mike Coughlin of Sudbury in 35:12 and Joe Wessel of Kelowna

in 35:28. In the women’s event, top triathlete and swimmer,

Kari Bailey of Kelowna won in 38:02 (age group 40-49) with Karen Forsman (age group 20-29) 2nd in 39.35 and Jeanette Hoft (age group 40-49) of Kelowna 3rd in 40.10.

In the 1.5 Open Water swim, Kelowna sisters Kristina and Monique Kennedy had a tough battle not only against the waves but also amongst themselves. Kristina (age group 14-15) beat her younger sister Monique (age group -13) in a time of 23.16 with Monique coming 2nd with 23.43. Julie Veidt (age group 14-15) of Penticton was 3rd in 25.38.

In the last race of the day with the sun having gone down, the men faced even choppier conditions. Bryce Kananowicz (age group -13) of Liberty Lake conquered the men’s 1.5km Open Water Swim in a time of 21:14 with Mike McIntyre (age group 55-59) of Vernon 2nd in 25.56. Brendan Brooks (age group 18-19) came 3rd in 28.20. Mike is the father of

Anders McIntyre, one of Canada's youngest swimming stars. At the age of 16, the Vernon native was the youngest qualifier for Can

ada’s 2009 World Championship Team that competed in Rome earlier this month.

Saturday will see the Kids of Steel races for age groups 8 - 19 and Try-a-Tri, for those taking up the swim-bike-run challenge for the first time. This year introduces the Apple Corporate Cup Triathlon. Saturday’s events also include the 5km FINA Open Water Swim and the

Junior Elite Sprint for ages 16 - 19. The opening ceremony takes place at 7:00am with races starting at 7:15am at Tugboat Beach.