FEATURES
Diane, Kortney, Cathy & Becky...
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Wednesday, 23 October 2019 23:10
2019 MINNESOTA MULTISPORT HONORS - An unprecendented number of elite 40-plus women rocked the Minnesota tri scene last season, and at least four of those women, and perhaps five or six, will earn Team Minnesota berths.
Cool, right?
In alpha order, here are the four finalists for 2019 MINNESOTA FEMALE MASTER OF THE YEAR:
KORTNEY HAAG, 40, Maple Grove (photo L)
In four starts, Kort won twice, both in record times, an placed 2nd twice, each time to MMH-nominated athletes. She rocked a PR Chisago (4:32:52), and posted a 2:10 at Maple Grove Olympic. Her MOY nomination and placement on Team Minnesota are richly deserved....
DIANE HANKEE, 42, LAKE ELMO (photo R)
Diane won four of the nine races she did in 2019, and demostrated great versatility, winning at the 70.3 distance, as well as Sprint triathlon and run-bike-run. On Minnesota soil, Hankee never finished lower than 3rd.
Hankee won the MOY in 2017.
CATHY YNDESTAD, 40, Mendota Heights (photo L)
Gosh, it's great to have CY, Minnesota's all-time most decorated female triathlete, back on the state scene. We sure hope she sticks around. In five tri starts in 2019, she posted two wins, including her POY-nominated course record (2:05:33!) at Minneapolis Olympic, our state's most competitive triathlon. (She has now won that race EIGHT times!).
She also excelled at half IM. She was first Master / 4th overall woman at Victoria (BC), and 14th overall / 2nd AG at the World 70.3 Championships in Nice, France.
BECKY YOUNGBERG, 44, Eden Prairie (photo top R)
With five victories in 2019, Becky was our state's winningest female multisport athlete. She also earned Sprint and Olympic AG titles at Nationals. Her fastest Olympic performance was 2:06:06, and her best 70.3 was 4:37:28.
Several of her efforts are being considered for POY nominations.
Youngberg won the MOY in 2018.