It was a perfect September morning to dive in the chilly glacier water at Two Jack Lake as triathletes competed in the Subaru Banff Triathlon on Saturday (Sept. 12) under the glaring sun’s rays.
In three competitions – the Super Sprint, Sprint, and Standard – athletes plunge into Two Jack, biked the ups and downs roads of the Minnewanka loop, and ran through the Banff townsite in the annual race.
In the Standard, the longest competition is an 800-metre swim, 38-kilometre bike ride and 10-km dash to the finish at Banff Community High School.
Calgary’s Adrian Court, in the Men’s 40 to 44 category, was the first person to cross the mountain course’s finish line in 01:56:16. It marked a Calgary sweep for the three fastest times; 25 seconds after Court rushed in, Dan Seibel finished at 01:56:41, followed by Brian Kozak at 01:58:46.
Victoria, B.C.’s Lindsey Chamberlain was the first woman to finish the Standard at 02:03:34.0. Originally from Calgary, it was the fit 31 year old’s first Banff triathlon and the mountain race was “tougher” than she thought.
Chamberlain’s LifeSport teammate Janet Nielsen was the overall woman’s winner in last year’s triathlon and Chamberlain brought the triumphant banner back to B.C.
“I think the LifeSport ladies have a bit of a reputation for winning this race, so I kind of had it in the back of my mind,” said Chamberlain.
Finishing up second and third overall for the women were Calgary’s Jenny Rowe at 02:07:51 and Marie Cecile Coppelmans at 02:18:10.
Banff’s Jace Burgess was the top finisher from the Bow Valley in the Standard, placing 60th with a time of 2:20:55.
Canmore triathlete Andres Ambuehl, competing in the Men’s 60 to 64, was second in his category and crossed the line at 02:41:56. He said it was “one of the greatest” competitions he’s done, despite not being the strongest swimmer.
“I survived, I made it, that was my goal. I caught up a lot on biking and running … I’m very happy,” Ambuehl said. “Usually I do ultra marathon, so there’s no swimming involved.”
In the Super Sprint, Canmore’s Neo Gleason, in the U20 category, finished first in the pack with an overall time of 00:46:44.
First place in the Sprint was Cochrane’s Joel Wilkinson at 1:14:37 and Madi Serpico of Calgary was first overall in the women’s Sprint at 01:19:50.
A total of 533 triathletes made their way to Banff to compete in the national park course.
