Race Coverage

Couples Weekend...

Monday, 16 July 2018 23:30

MINNEAPOLIS TRIATHLON & HEART OF THE LAKES - Something unprecedented happened last weekend. A triathlete turned in back-to-back Performance of the Year-worthy efforts. It would be almost unimaginable if both performances did not receive POY nominations.

But, who knows what super efforts this athlete will add to her incredible resume before the end of the season.

We're talking about HANNA GRINAKER (photo L). Last Saturday at the Minnespolis Olympic Triathlon she matched the event's 2nd fastest amateur women's time, a 2:08:07. That clocking matched  the one recorded by North Carolina's Alyssa Doehla in her winning effort in 2016. (Doehla got her pro card later in the 2016 season.) It should be noted that wetsuits were allowed in 2016, but not this year.

What made Grinaker's race even more spectacular was the fact that conditions were brutal, and she managed to outrace defending champ GABY BUNTEN, who rocked a brilliant 2:09:12. Bunten, the 2017 Minnesota Female Triathlete of the Year, came into the race with a reputation for being one of the US's premier Olympic-distance amateurs. Her 2018 scorecard coming into the race boasted two major Olympic-distance wins and a 2nd at New York City.

Hanna followed up her Saturday performance with an equally, if not more, spectacular effort at Heart of the Lakes on Sunday, where she placed 6th overall in a time, the likes of which we hadn't seen since 2009, when Cathy Yndestad popped a 1:39:16, a performance that helped her WIN the USAT Athlete of the Year award. Cathy's effort was recorded during HOLT's wetsuit-legal days. Since then, wetsuits have not been allowed for Elite Division athletes. (Beside, the water temp on Sunday was 84-degrees.)...

Grinaker's time on Sunday, which was just as hot and muggy as Saturday, was an amazing 1:39:42. And her margin of victory over runner-up BECKY YOUNGBERG was 2:52. The 43-year-old Youngberg's time (1:42:34) was the fastest time by a female master at HOLT since 2006.

The final women's podium spot on Sunday was claimed by SUZIE FOX, a two-time winner here. 

Gaby Bunten also raced at HOLT, albeit in it's sprint event, where she trashed the long standing women''s course record. Bunten's time was 45:41, landing her in 3rd place overall, and shaving  2:54 off Catherine Lee's prior CR that was set  way back in 2003. A great  performance on Saturday was followed by an equally great one on Sunday. Who knows, maybe Gaby's HOLT Sprint effort will be part of the POY discussion at season's end.

Minneapolis / HOLT combo was truly a "couples weekend," as Hanna's boyfriend SEAN COOLEY shared the Winners Circle with her on Saturday, where he held off runner-up KRIS SPOTH (photo R), Gaby's boyfriend, who claimed 2nd. Then Sean finished 2nd at HOLT, a performance that included a jaw-dropping bike split, behind PATRICK PARISH, who became a three-time winner there. The victory was the landmark 35th for PP, a six-time multisport National Champion.

Spoth, like Gaby, did HOLT Sprint, and he too totally rocked. Winning by a substantial margin, his time was 42:31, the first sub-43 by an amateur male on this course since Kevin O'Connor's 42:15 in 1999.

And this couples weekend stuff would not be complete without mentioning the Olympic wins by JORDAN ROBY, and his better half, CHRISTINA ROBERTS, at Timberman on Saturday.

FYI - GARRETT WILLIAMS and JENNIFER FITZHARRIS-FUNK led the way in the Minneapolis Sprint. JFF, a devout dog lover, also won this race in 2012.

There is so much more than can and should be said about these iconic races, and we do hope to post more stuff in the near future. We also encourage particpants to write race reports and share their words with MTN's readership. We can be contacted on Facebook or via email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Please check out the official results for MINNEAPOLIS and HEART OF THE LAKES.