AVILES, Spain -- Amateur duathletes from the United States picked up three world titles and 18 total medals on Sunday at the 2016 ITU Duathlon World Championships, held at the Oscar Niemeyer International Cultural Centre.
Kirsten Sass posted the fastest overall time among all amateur women in the standard event at Duathlon Worlds. (Bruce Kluckhohn/USA Triathlon)
More than 150 Americans competed in the run-bike-run world championship event, which covered a standard 10-kilometer run, 41.38-kilometer bike and 5-kilometer run, as well as a sprint-distance 5k run, 20.55k bike and 2.5k run. For the first time, the bike leg of the sprint event was draft-legal, allowing athletes to ride close together and potentially use the group ride to their advantage rather than riding solo.
Kirsten Sass (McKenzie, Tenn.) led the U.S. with the sole world title in the standard event, posting a time of 2 hours, 12 minutes, 19 seconds for the fastest overall amateur time among the women. In addition to posting the day's fastest time, Sass won the women's 35-39 age group by a margin of more than 6 minutes.
James Hannon (55-59, Rochester, Minn.), Colleen Rebant (60-64, Ovilla, Texas) and Ruth King (65-69, Ambler, Pa.) picked up silver medals at the standard distance, and Vanessa Cook (45-49, East Lansing, Mich.), Suzanne Cordes (55-59, Alamo, Calif.), and Vicki McCloskey (65-69, Henniker, N.H.) picked up bronze medals in their respective age groups.
In the sprint event, Kristen Allyne (Chapel Hill, N.C.) won the women's 55-59 age group for the second straight year, and Graciela Val (Evanston, Ill.) won the women's 75-79 age group. Silver medals were won by Kaytlynn Welsch (16-19, Alvin, Texas), Valerie Eipper (55-59, Longmont, Colo.), Heysoon Lee (70-74, Morristown, N.J.), Frank Nicolosi (75-79, Port Charlotte, Fla.) and Edward Maruna (85-89, Arvada, Colo.). Lauren Garriques (16-19, Lake Forest, Ill.), Judy Carbary (San Diego, Calif.), Josephine Nicolosi (70-74, Port Charlotte, Fla.) and Harold L. Hering (80-84, Indianapolis, Ind.) earned bronze medals.
Elite duathlete Seth Totten (Santa Clarita, Calif.) was the lone American who competed in Saturday's elite race, finishing fourth in 1:42:55. Totten, a rookie elite, missed the podium by 14 seconds in his first world championship appearance. South Africa's Richard Murray won the elite men's race in 1:42:18.
Age-groupers competing in Aviles qualified for Team USA through top finishes at the 2015 USA Triathlon Duathlon National Championships, as well as the Duathlon Draft-Legal Worlds Qualifier. USA Triathlon's Team USA is comprised of amateur athletes who represent the U.S. at each ITU World Championship event. Visit usatriathlon.org for more on USA Triathlon's Team USA program.
2016 Aviles ITU Duathlon World Championships
Complete results
United States Medalists
Standard: 10k run, 41.38k bike, 5k run
F35-39
1. Kirsten Sass (McKenzie, Tenn.), 2:12:19
F45-49
3. Vanessa Cook (East Lansing, Mich.), 2:23:01
F55-59
3. Suzanne Cordes (Alamo, Calif.), 2:36:48
M55-59
2. James Hannon (Rochester, Minn.), 2:12:36
F60-64
2. Colleen Rebant (Ovilla, Texas), 2:53:08
F65-69
2. Ruth King (Ambler, Pa.), 3:13:59
3. Vicki McCloskey (Henniker, N.H.), 3:18:10
]
Sprint: 5k run, 20.55k bike, 2.5k run
F16-19
2. Kaytlynn Welsch (Alvin, Texas), 1:12:54
3. Lauren Garriques (Lake Forest, Ill.), 1:14:06
F55-59
1. Kristen Allyne (Chapel Hill, N.C.), 1:14:53
2. Valerie Eipper (Longmont, Colo.), 1:16:47
F65-69
3. Judy Carbary (San Diego, Calif.), 1:42:43
F70-74
2. Heysoon Lee (Morristown, N.J.), 1:44:35
3. Josephine Nicolosi (Port Charlotte, Fla.), 2:16:23
F75-79
1. Graciela Val (Evanston, Ill.), 2:05:08
M75-79
2. Frank Nicolosi (Port Charlotte, Fla.), 1:36:55
M80-84
3. Harold L. Hering (Indianapolis, Ind.), 2:33:55
M85-89
2. Edward Maruna (Arvada, Colo.), 2:44:22
| About USA Triathlon
USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon and paratriathlon in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 4,300 races and connects with nearly 500,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work with athletes, coaches and race directors on the grassroots level, USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of the ITU and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).
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