Posted: May 23, 2007

Triathlon Canada Announces its 2006 Award Winners

Triathlon Canada is pleased to announce the award recipients for the 2006 season. For a full list of the award winners please click on the link below. The awards will be presented in Drummondville, Quebec, later this summer at the 2007 National Championships. Highlighting the winners from 2006 was Simon Whitfield, the overall male athlete of the year and Lauren Groves, the overall female athlete of the year. Whitfield had another terrific year in ’06 winning his 6th National Championship and finishing second in a World Cup race in Corner Brook. Unfortunately, Whitfield, who was hoping to add a World Championship to his lengthy list of accomplishments, was unable to finish the race in Lausanne due to injury. Whitfield did recover in time for a 6th place finish at the Cancun World Cup and finished the year ranked 24th on the World Cup Rankings – one spot better than he did in 2005. Groves was Canada’s most dominating Olympic Distance senior athlete in 2006. Lauren was flirting with a top 5 World Cup Ranking for most of the season before a late season injury pushed her back to 7th. With five top 10 finishes at World Cup events, Lauren’s most noteworthy achievement was a 4th place finish at the World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland. Groves had an amazing streak going for most of the season in 2006. In her first 10 events of the season including the World Championships, Groves placed no worse than 8th in any race. Groves’ breakout year included her first ever National Championship in July. Victoria’s Kirsten Sweetland also had a year to remember and was recognized as the top Olympic distance junior racer. Sweetland became the first Canadian female to ever win the junior World Championships. Sweetland was almost unbeatable in 2006. Sweetland won both the Triathlon National Junior Championships and the Duathlon National Junior Championships – her only defeat in the junior ranks came at the Duathlon World Championships when she finished second. Kirsten also proved she can compete against the best athletes in the world. In her first World Cup event, Kirsten finished 15th at the New Plymouth World Cup last November. Lisa Bentley, from Caledon, Ontario and Jasper Blake from Victoria were the female and male winners respectively in the elite Long Distance Triathlon category. Bentley took home her first ever bronze medal in the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. Blake took advantage of his strength on the run to outlast 2,500 competitors and capture his first ever Ironman victory in Penticton, BC, last August. Victoria’s Melanie Mcquaid, won the Off Road Triathlon elite category with her 2006 XTerra World Championship, her third in the last 4 years, and becomes the first woman to win back-to-back championships in the sports 11-year history. Lucy Smith also from Victoria won the Duathlon elite category with relative ease. Smith, the 2006 Duathlon National Champion, finished 2nd at the World Championships in Corner Brook and was one of Canada’s top performers in 2006. Triathlon Canada 2006 National Award Winners Category Male Female Overall Athlete of the Year Simon Whitfield Lauren Groves Olympic Distance Elite Simon Whitfield Lauren Groves U23 Colin Jenkins Alicia Kaye Junior Andrew McCartney Kirsten Sweetland Age Group 20-39 Chris Van Beurden Chantell Widney Master Hans J. Porten Nancy Burden Long Distance Triathlon Elite Jasper Blake Lisa Bentley Age Group 20-39 Luke Way Heather Danforth Master Milos Kostic Louise McGonigal Duathlon Elite Graham Cocksedge Lucy Smith U23 Chris Van Beurden Catherine Hogan Junior Andrew Woegerer & Willie Bell Kirsten Sweetland Age Group 20-39 Dan Morwood Lisa Balerna Master Jim Burrows Carolyn Silvey Off-Road Triathlon Elite Brent McMahon Melanie McQuaid Age Group 20-39 Calvin Zaryski no award Master no award no award AWAD   no award no award Coach of the Year Elite Glen Playfair Age Group / Junior Barrie Shepley Significant Contributor/Volunteer   Larry McMahon Hall of Fame Athlete no inductions Builder no inductions