Sarah Haskins won Sunday’s St. Anthony’s Triathlon, her fifth win at St. Anthony’s and fourth victory in a row since returning from maternity leave this year, while Ruedi Wild took the top spot for men, easily outdistancing the large pro field.
Since giving birth about nine months ago, Haskins of Clermont, Fla., has now won all four of the races she has entered this year. Her daughter Caroline and husband Nathan Korteum were waiting for her at the finish line.
“I was really going out for the win and to do my best,” said Haskins, who set a course record for women, at 1:56:44. “Racing and having a family brings so much balance. It centers me. I love being a mom – it’s my favorite job. And I love racing. I love that I get to do both.”
Haskins, 33, beat her old course record by 11 seconds that she set in 2012. She also won St. Anthony’s in 2008, 2010 and 2011.
Coming in second place just behind Haskins was Helle Frederiksen of Denmark, with a time of 1:57:06, while Radka Vodickova of the Czech Republic finished third at 1:59:17.
Wild, 32, of Switzerland finished at 1:46:46, just off a record at the 31st annual race. “On the run, I was quite confident so I didn’t push too hard at the beginning and saved some energy,” said Wild, who competed at the 2012 London Summer Olympics. “I never gave up, I stayed positive.”
In second place among the pro men was Brad Kahlefeldt of Australia with a time of 1:47:09. Hunter Kemper of Colorado Springs finished third with 1:47:19.
The strong professional field included world champions, past winners and Olympians who came from around the world and from around Tampa Bay. The professional field represented a variety of distances from the sport including Ironman and 70.3 racing, to the non-drafting Olympics distance and the ITU.
A little later in the day Ken Corigliano of Bradenton and Ciara Hopkins crossed the finish line first in the inaugural running of the St. Anthony’s Sprint Triathlon. The race was added this year.
Corigliano, 34, easily distanced himself from the field with a time of 1:01:15. Coming in second was Rodolfo Galvao of Celebration with a time of 1:04:04, while Joshua Servi of Longwood finished third at 1:04:14.
In the women’s Sprint race, Hopkins, 17, of Clermont, won with a time of 1:06:54. She came in ahead of Celia Dubey, 42, of Tarpon Springs who had a time of 1:08:27 and Stephanie Liles-Weyant, 42, of Tallahassee, who finished third at 1:09:58.
The 2014 Sprint Triathlon was selected as the 2014 Paratriathlon Florida Regional Championship event by USA Triathlon (USAT). The Florida Regional Championship race hosted several Paralympic hopefuls looking to join Team USA as the sport of paratriathlon makes its debut at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games in Brazil.
The sprint race followed the same course as the Olympic-distance event but with shorter distances – a 750-meter swim, 20K bike and a 5K run.
The St. Anthony’s Triathlon race attracts high-caliber athletes from all over the world including Olympic athletes and Ironman world champions and this was its fourth year as part of the World Triathlon Corporation’s (WTC) 5150 Triathlon Series. In addition to serving as a qualifier for the Hy- Vee 5150 U.S. Championship, the race also serves as the USA Triathlon Florida Regional Championship to qualify athletes for USAT Nationals.
For more information about the 2014 races, athletes and fans can also visit St. Anthony’s Triathlon’s Facebook page: facebook.com/stanthonystriathlon. Registration for the 2015 races will begin Dec. 1, 2014.