Findlay and Whitfield Take Honours

Picture courtesy of Digital Wonders

Findlay and Whitfield take honours at the 2010 Canadian National Triathlon Championships and ITU Kelowna Pan American Cup


Pre-race favourites, Paula Findlay and Simon Whitfield were crowned Canada’s 2010 National triathlon and ITU Pan American Cup champions in Kelowna this weekend.  The Pushor Mitchell Apple Triathlon hosts both the Canadian National Triathlon Championships and the ITU Kelowna Pan American Cup, so two races in one.

It was by no means an easy win for Whitfield, coming in just twenty hundredths of a second ahead of teammate Kyle Jones. Marcus Fernandus of Brazil followed Whitfield and Jones in third position in the ITU Kelowna Pan American Cup, which featured 72 athletes from eight countries.  A split second seems to be the way it goes with the Elite Men’s race. In 2009 Jones finished behind Whitfield, just ten hundredths of a second ahead of Paul Tichelaar.

Since only Canadians can place in the National Championships, Andrew Russell’s sixth place overall, placed him in third place for Elite Male in the National Championships.

The young women proved their mettle this weekend.  The first three places overall in the ITU Kelowna Pan American Cup were taken by U23’s. 21-year old Findlay was followed by Kirsten Sweetland of Canada and Flora Duffy of Bermuda. The race included 26 women from six countries. 

Chantal Widney, fourth overall, placed as third Elite Woman in the Canadian Championships.

Within the U23 category of the Male Elite event of the Canadian National Championships, Yanik Leduc placed first, with Jean-Phillipe ThiBodeau second and Tyler Bredschneider third.  The female U23 category was taken by Paula Findlay, Kirsten Sweetland in second and Sarah-Anne Brault third.

The Canadian Triathlon Championships include the Age Group Sprint and Olympic distance, with the same distances for paratriathletes.  For detailed results please consult the Race Headquarters website, the official timekeepers for this event on http://www.raceheadquarters.com/results/multi_2010.htm.

With more than 1,800 event entries for the three-day event and close to 1,200 volunteers, the Pushor Mitchell Kelowna Apple Triathlon is not only the largest Canadian triathlon, but also one of the best organized events in Canada, comparing favourably with several leading world triathlon events. It offers races for all ages and stages, from Kids of Steel to the Try-a-Tri, the business challenge relay, competitive age-groupers, and of course, peaking with the Male and Female Elites.

The Pushor Mitchell Apple Triathlon was the final preparation for Canada’s Elite and Age group athletes who will be participating in the ITU Triathlon World Championships in Budapest this September.

Triathlon Canada is the governing body for triathlon in the country. 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 us at www.triathloncanada.com on the Internet.

Results from Sunday

Canadian National Championships: Elite Men

1)      Simon Whitfield 1.55.40.40; 2) Kyle Jones 1.55.40.60; 3) Andrew Russell 1.58.19.70

Canadian National Championships: Elite Women

1)      Paula Findlay 2.02.37;  2) Kirsten Sweetland 2.03.25; 3) Chantal Widney 2.07.02

Canadian National Championships: U23 Men

1)      Yanik Leduc 2.01.29;  2) Jean-Philippe Thibodeau; 2.01.54  3) Tyler Bredschneider 2.02.21

Canadian National Championships: U23 Women

1)      Paula Findlay 2.02.37;  2) Kirsten Sweetland 2.03.25;  3) Sarah-Anne Brault 2.09.28

ITU Kelowna Pan American Cup: Elite Men

1)      Simon Findlay (CAN)  1.55.40.40; 2) Kyle Jones (CAN) 1.55.40.60;  3) Marcus Fernandus (BRA) 1.56.26.40

ITU Kelowna Pan American Cup: Elite Women

1)      Paula Findlay (CAN) 2.02.37  2) Kirsten Sweetland (CAN) 2.03.25  3) Flora Duffy (BER) 2.04.47

Jeanette Hoft

Media and Communications Director

Pushor Mitchell Apple Triathlon

Cell 1-250-215-3623    jeanette@hoft.ca

http://www.appletriathlon.com/