A first for many Tri-Diva triathlon racers

By Brad Everett Times Contributor

The 16th annual Tri-Diva Tri Women’s Triathlon drew 145 racers to compete in one of three different events on Sept. 14 in Strathmore.
“I believe that for over 60 per cent of the racers it was their first ever triathlon experience and everyone had fun,” said event organizer Deanne Jabs.
Charlie Yorston, 10, of Strathmore was the youngest racer but age wasn’t a factor in her winning the Tri-A-Tri event which consisted of a 250 metre (m) pool swim, a 10 km bike ride and 2.5 km run with a time of 48:14. Elizabeth Shortt and Susan Lee took second and third in the event, respectively, in a field of 36 racers.
“The race director made an exception to allow a 10-year-old to race; she had proven she could do the distance as she had done the longer distance sprint race in the Tri-Smore event in June,” said Jabs.
The sprint saw 92 racers tackling the 500 m pool swim, 20 km bike ride and 5 km run. Rachel Lee placed first with a time of 1:17:15 followed closely by second place finisher Lisa Guest who clocked in at 1:17:42. Meghan Balment took third with a time of 1:18:16.
Three teams competed in the relay (each member taking one of the events). Team Shanelley placed first with a time of 1:31:42 while the Late Bloomers came in second at 1:50:28 and Wine Not third with a time of 1:53:28.
New this year was the sprint distance duathlon which consisted of a 2.5 km run, a 20 km bike ride and another run of 5 km. Of the nine competitors in this event, Jacqueline Moore took first with a time of 1:31:03, followed by Cheryl Reiss whose 1:32:32 time was good for second place. Tracy Osaka took third with a time of 1:32:53.
An event like this doesn’t succeed without the help of volunteers and sponsors.
“We were super short of volunteer help, so the roughly 35 volunteers who were there doubled and tripled up to cover some of the duties,” said Jabs. “A huge thank you to the Strathmore Municipal Police for overseeing the intersection of Brent Blvd. and Wheatland Trail for the bike ride.”
Tri-Diva Tri sponsors included Strides Running Store, Cadance Sports Therapy and Lynx Triathlon, along with the Tri-Smore triathlon which loaned their bike racks for the event.