Athletes complete Sprint Triathlon
Participants in the men’s category in the Summerland Sprint Triathlon begin their course on Sunday morning. The triathlon and the Kids of Steel competitions were held at Peach Orchard Beach and drew participants from Summerland and the rest of the Okanagan.
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Updated: September 09, 2009 4:37 PM
The clouds threatened and the winds started to whip the lake with whitecaps but 320 athletes huddled at Peach Orchard were not deterred as they anxiously waited for the start of the 10th annual Summerland Orca Sprint Triathlon.
First overall was Joel Johnson in the 16 to 19 age group.
Johnson, out of Vernon, came out of water after a close swim in choppy waters and never looked back as he extended his lead by almost 90 seconds after the bike segment.
His final time was 57:18 flat.
One competitor noted that Johnson was “a phenom. He’ll be in the Olympics someday.”
Taking the women’s race was Carmelle Guidi-Swan out of Kelowna with a time of 1:10.39. She took the lead early in the swim and never relinquished it.
Top local finished was Bob Isaak who was ninth overall and first in the 50-59 year old category.
Michelle Miller and Colette Shanner were separated by a mere five seconds in their quest for top spot among the local women.
A total of 14 Summerland residents challenged the adult race while 26 younger locals splashed, rode and ran in the Kids of Steel events which were held before the senior race.
Haley Berrisford led the local youngsters in taking the eight- and nine-year-old division.
There were several changes to the race course for the youngsters to make the course as safe as possible.
The swimming course was particularly safe with the addition of eight members of the South Okanagan Dive Rescue Team.
Steve King, the legendary race announcer, provided updates on the race progress. Tom Brickenden, one of the race directors, said that the King added to the excitement of the race with his anecdotes and background information.
Brickenden noted that the residents of Lakeshore Drive showed great cooperation with the event as there were the fewest cars on the road in the event’s history.
He also wanted to thank the many sponsors of the Sprint, especially the Summerland District Credit Union and the Kettle Valley Winery.
Geoff Goodman, along with Tom Brickenden and Darren Wilms, led the race director’s group.
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