Canada's Finest Triathlete's Coming to Kelowna for the 2010 Canadian National Triathlon Championships

Some of Canada’s finest triathletes have confirmed their participation in the 28th Pushor Mitchell Kelowna Apple Triathlon taking place on August 20 to 22 in Kelowna. Amongst them are 35-year-old Olympic silver medal winner Simon Whitfield of Victoria and 21-year-old Edmonton native Paula Findlay. Findlay finished third at the 2009 Under-23 World Championships and won the gold medal in the World Championship Triathlon Series race held in London, England in July this year.

Both Whitfield and Findlay are well acquainted with the streets of Kelowna and pristine waters of Okanagan Lake. Whitfield attended his first national championships in Kelowna in 1992 and won the 2009 Senior title, ahead of Kyle Jones and Paul Tichelaar. Findlay achieved a first ever hat-trick in 2008 winning the Junior, Under-23 and the Senior Canadian Triathlon Championships. After placing third in the Senior Elite race in 2009, she will certainly be looking at regaining the Senior title in 2010. Last year’s winner, Lauren Campbell (Groves) is unfortunately still nursing an injury and won’t be competing.

Whitfield will be chased by World Cup teammate Kyle Jones of Oakville, Ontario and Findlay can certainly expect to be challenged by another rising star in the sport of triathlon, Kirsten Sweetland of Victoria.

The Pushor Mitchell Kelowna Apple Triathlon hosts the Canadian National Triathlon Championships for Sprint, Olympic, Paratriathlon and Elite, the ITU Pan American Cup, the Western Canadian Kids of Steel Youth Championships and the FINA Open Water Swims. It is also a qualifier for the 2011 Triathlon World Championships in Beijing.

The Apple has already attracted eight top Canadian paratriathletes. Amongst these are Meyrick Jones and Brian Cowie. This year's National Championships in Kelowna will be the fourth for Jones. He is a three-time National Champion paratriathlete and has competed at two World Championship races. As a below-knee amputee, Meyrick has trained and competed at the national and international level in Paratriathlon, Paracycling, and Paranordic Skiing. In 2010/2011 Meyrick will be acting as a guide for Brian Cowie, a visually impaired athlete, at various triathlons including the National Championships, Ironman Canada and the Ford Ironman World Championships. This weekend's race will mark the first time two paratriathletes have teamed up to compete at any level of triathlon.

Despite tougher economic times, the Pushor Mitchell Kelowna Apple Triathlon has attracted over 1500 entries so far and entries are still being accepted. Sunday entrants are encouraged to register soon, as almost 1100 of the 1200 spots have already been taken. The number of volunteer positions has been increased to 1200, of which over 800 have already been filled. Anybody wanting to fill those last positions should contact the Volunteer Director soon at volunteer@appletriathlon.com or call the KATS office at 250-763-5287.

For more information on the weekend’s events, participating or volunteering, visit us at www.appletriathlon.com.

The event is being organized by the Kelowna Apple Triathlon Society (KATS), a non-profit society. Triathlon Canada is the governing body for triathlon in Canada. Recognized as an Olympic medal sport since 2000, Triathlon Canada’s mandate is to promote, foster, organize and develop the sport of triathlon and its related disciplines in Canada. For more information on Triathlon Canada, please visit www.triathloncanada.com


Posted by Jeanette Hoft, Media Director