Draft Legal Provincial Championship Recap and Youth Cup Series Update
August 5, 2014 – Triathlon Ontario, the recognized Provincial Governing Body of Multisport in Ontario, crowned six new Provincial Champions this past weekend in Ottawa at the 2014 Draft Legal Provincial Championships. This was also the third stop in the Ontario Youth Cup Series, where an additional ~25% more points were up for grabs in the 14-15 age category.
Weather conditions were perfect on the day for Ontario’s premier triathletes. Through programs such as the RTC Guelph, Quest for Gold Athlete Assistance Program or the Provincial Development Program, a total of 16 Triathlon Ontario supported athletes took the start line in the Elite/U23 & Junior divisions.
The Elite/U23 & Junior men were the first wave of the morning. A lead pack of four Elites/U23s and five Juniors finished the 750m swim all within about 10 seconds of Myles Zagar (11:01). The fastest 20km bike splits of the day belonged to Ancaster’s David Hopton (29:56) in the Elite/U23 and Kanata’s Alec Jarvis (30:05) in the Junior categories. However it was Taylor Forbes putting down the fastest 5km run time (16:07) that took the Elite/U23 title and the $400 first place prize over his twin Austen by about 15 seconds. John Rasmussen took third place to round out the podium. Myles Zagar book-ended the race with the fastest swim and run splits (17:00) amongst the Junior men to take the Provincial title. Oliver Blecher and Ian Mackinnon took second and third respectively.
In the Women’s Elite/U23 race, defending champion Dominika “the Dominator” Jamnicky went wire to wire to win back-to-back championships by nearly four minutes over the field. Guelph’s Meghan Lamers and Ottawa’s Catherine Desmarais took second and third place respectively. In the Junior women’s race, Kirsten Vergara and Samantha Klus were neck and neck for most of the race until Vergara pulled away on the run, finishing about 40 seconds ahead of Klus to take the championship. Quebec’s Annie-Kim Labarre took third place.
This was an important stop on the Youth Cup circuit for the 14-15 age group, as an additional 25% points were available for the Provincial Championship. Liam Donnelly cemented his lead in the series by taking first place and a maximum of 80 points after three events. James Cooke and Spencer Allen took second and third place on the day. Kyle Caie is in second place overall with 61 points followed closely by Nathan Gurrin-Smith with 57 points and Spencer Allen with 54 points.
On the Girl’s side, Erika Rankin made back-to-back wins on the Series by taking the Provincial title over Haley Sturrock and Sara Borrens. Borrens, however, has the overall lead after three consecutive podium finishes with 69 points. Ella Kubas is just eight points away in second at 61 points followed closely by Emilie Tremblay with 60 points and Erika Rankin with a maximum of 55 points after just two events.
The next stop in the Youth Cup Series is on August 24th, at the Dunrobin KOS, where the 12-13 ages will rejoin the Series. Will anyone be able to catch Liam Donnelly? Will Sara Borrens be able to put some distance between her and the rest of the field? Stay tuned to find out!
About Triathlon Ontario
Triathlon Ontario is a non-profit organization that is the recognized Provincial Governing Body for Multisport in the province of Ontario. Our mission is to provide leadership and governance for the development of a safe and fair environment for Multisport in Ontario. Triathlon Ontario oversees the sanctioning of races and clubs and undertakes a number of duties and responsibilities on behalf of athletes at every level, coaches, clubs, officials and race directors to ensure the growth and development of the sport in a fun and safe way. For more information please visit: www.triathlonontario.com.
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