FEATURES
Rookies of the Year. Where Are They Now...Part II...
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Wednesday, 12 February 2020 23:10
Continued from the previous post:
2009 – Suzie Finger - Suzie had a decade-long career that was upended by a serious bike accident. She claims to be retired, but we hope she changes her mind. She was named Female Triathlete of the Year in 2015, and was twice named Minnesota Duathlete of the Year (2011, 2013).
2008 - Kortney Haag - Kort is still an active and very successful triathlete. She has won more half IM races (9!) than any other Minnesota woman.
2007 - Jeanne Fleck - A back injury derailed Jeanne tri / du career after just a couple of years, a period during which she was named Rookie of the Year (2007), Most Improved (2008) and Master of the Year (2008). She is still an avid cyclist and nordic skier.
2006 - Marta Lewinski - Health issues cut Marta's tri career short.
2005 - Jeremy Sartain & Sarah Kolpin - Jeremy's tri career was curtailed by a nearly catastrophic motorcycle accident. Sarah moved to Pittsburgh, became a doctor and is now totally into fishing....
Rookies of the Year. Where Are They Now?
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Monday, 10 February 2020 23:10
Our next two posts are about the 28 athletes who have earned the title, "Minnesota Rookie of the Year."
Where are they now? And are they still racing? Interestingly, less than half of the ROYs are still tr-ing and/or du-ing.
Here's what we know: ...
Swimming May Slow Down Aging By Decades...
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Thursday, 06 February 2020 23:10
By Diane Sewell (everythingzoomer.com - Great photo by Todd Quackenbush)
From cradle to grave, swimming might just be the best exercise ever. Here, eight health benefits of taking a lap or two.
Swimming is good for just about everyone. It accommodates all ages, stages, abilities and disabilities.
There’s also evidence it can slow down the aging process....
Rookie Performance of the Year....
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Tuesday, 04 February 2020 23:10
Few would disagree that Paige Schulz's 10:09:12 third-place finish at Ironman Mont-Tremblant was the 2019 Performance of the Year by a Minnesota rookie. Schulz's 3rd at Chisago in 4:42:17 was a terrific effort, too, as was Caryn Herrick's victory at Hopkins Royal, but Paige's IM performance is at or near near the top of the all-time list of best first-year female multisport performances.
We'll let you be the judge of where it ranks. Eight of the last ten Rookies of the Year have been women, and here are what we consider to be their premier freshman efforts:
2018 – Heather Taylor's rookie POY was her victory at CyMan Triathlon in Bondurant, Iowa.
2016 – Hanna Grinaker's jaw-dropping 1:30:00 at Lake Waconia, lowering Susie Fox's 2015 CR by 3:05.
2015 – Dani Vsetecka's amateur win at Pigman Half IM (4:41:34).
(In 2014 Nick Nygaard edged Kelly Trom in the polling for ROY.)...
Female Masters Performance of the Year....
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Sunday, 02 February 2020 23:10
2019 was clearly the “Year of the Female Master” in Minnesota. Two of the Top 3 women in the state last season were over 40; an unprecedented five masters women were named to the Team Minnesota roster.
There were so many stellar performances by quadragenarian women that determining our unofficial Female Masters POY was an especially difficult task.
We were able to narrow the contenders to four performances. Three of those efforts were at the 70.3 distance:
- KORTNEY HAAG, 40, Maple Grove - Kort's victory at Chisago. Her time was a Masters Record – 4:32:52, lowering the prior MR by 4:12, and her margin of victory was 4:36.
Haag has won nine half IMs in her career.
- BECKY YOUNGBERG, 44, Eden Prairie - Becky's Course Record victory at Square Lake 70.3, arguably our region's most challenging half IM. Her time was 4:44:31, which lowered the women's CR/MR by 28 minutes. Her margin of victory was 7:43....
