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St. Cloud's Ultra-Triathlete...

 

By NScreen_Shot_2019-12-10_at_8.46.29_AM.pngora G. Hertel (sctimes.com - Dec. 9)

BOULDER, Colorado — Laura Knoblach says she's "super slow" in short races.

But the St. Cloud native has world-record-breaking endurance. 

Knoblach completed the equivalent of 20 Ironman triathlons in October, back to back to back.

In the span of about 26 days Knoblach swam 48 miles, biked 2,240 and ran 534. It's called a double deca triathlon, and Knoblach won the event held in Leon, Mexico.

The 24-year-old beat the women's double deca world record by more than 9 hours. And she beat the U.S. men's record by more than 44 hours, she said....

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Grinaker and Parish Are "Triathletes of the Year!" ...

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MINNESOTA MULTISPORT HONORS – Today we reveal our final honors category, arguably the most prestigious one: “2019 Triathlete of the Year.”

 

Female TOY Nominees: GABY BUNTEN, HANNA GRINAKER, CATHY YNDESTAD, BECKY YOUNGBERG

 

2019 Female Triathlete if the Year – HANNA GRINAKER

 

Hanna won all four of the multis she finished in 2019, though one of those was an aquabike, the performance standards of which are still unestablished. Two of her three triathlon efforts earned POY nominations, one of which won the honor. The non-nominated performance, her win at Ironman Canada 70.3, also received serious POY discussion.

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That Time I Almost Drown (Or How I Became a Triathlete)...

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By Binam Shrestha

The year was 2004. I had recently moved to the United States from Nepal, a developing nation with few swimming opportunities for lower and middle class families. Like most people, I never learned how to swim. Now in my new American apartment building was a small swimming pool. The weather was hot and the pool was cool. One thing lead to another and I tried my hand at “swimming”. I put that in quotation marks because what I was doing couldn’t really be called swimming. Eventually, I lost my momentum in the middle of the pool, away from any walls. My head slipped below the water at 9 feet deep and I had no way of getting back to the surface. My only saving grace was another person from the building who was also at the pool that day who dove in to pull me out. Needless to say, my relationship with water and swimming from then on was one of anxiety and fear.

Over the years, I tried – and failed – at swim lessons at my local gym because I couldn’t get over my fear of the water. In 2015, my 3 year old daughter started swimming lessons and was surprisingly good. Watching her learn and develop motivated me to try again. I observed her swimming, and some of the things the swim teachers told to timid preschoolers to get them in the water. I started personal lessons once again, and started to slowly improve. By early 2018 I could swim a few laps in a pool, but I was always exhausted after doing only a few lengths. Fortunately I met an amazing group of people, including Coach Luke and some great Triathletes from Gear West. They encouraged me to continue to develop my swimming, and even took me swimming in open water for the first time! ...

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Patrick, Becky and Hanna...

 

beckybridge.png2019 MINNESOTA MULTISPORT HONORS: Today we reveal the DUATHLETES OF THE YEAR and the LONG DISTANCE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR.

 

DOY Winners:  PATRICK PARISH and BECKY YOUNGBERG

 

These were slam-dunk choices. Here are their duathlon resumes:

Patrick Parish, 34, Minneapolis

- 1st @ Standard Distance Duathlon Nationals

- 1st @ Gear West Duathlon

- 2nd @ Apple Duathlon

COMMENT:  Is this resume good enough to earn him USAT DOY? We hope so. At the very least, he should receive a DOY HM.

 

Becky Youngberg, 44, Eden Prairie (photo)

- 1st @ Apple Duathlon

- 1st @ Gear West Duathlon

COMMENT: Her Resume speaks for itself....

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Hanna and Patrick...

hgkona2019 MINNESOTA MULTISPORT HONORS - Today we reveal the PERFORMANCES OF THE YEAR: 

 

Female POY Nominees: 

HANNA GRINAKER - 2nd US amateur @ Hawaii Ironman World Championships - 9:55:57 

HANNA GRINAKER - Win @ Buffalo Olympic - Course Record - 2:06:57

DANI VSETECKA - Win @ Texas 70.3 - 4:23:56 (fastest women's 70.3 time in 2019)

CATHY YNDESTAD - Win--her 8th!--@ Minneapolis Olympic - Course Record - 2:05:33

 

WINNER - HANNA GRINAKER's 2nd US amateur @ Kona - 9:55:57

Though Hanna received all five 1st place votes here, there were strong arguments for all the performances, plus a few of Becky Youngberg's, as well. In the end, it was 
Ironman's "Super Bowl" mystique that prevailed here.

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