Race Previews

The Water Should Be Fine!...UPDATED! More Updates!

Sunday, 28 May 2023 00:10

18th BUFFALO TRIATHLON, Olympic Preview - The air temps are rising and so must the water temps. It looks like the 18th Buffalo Triathlon, which was actually launched 20 years ago, will feature a 70+ degree lake on June 4. This is the kind of news that should goose the enrollment significantly...

Among the later sign-ups in the Olympic race we expect to see some elite names like DAVID KOPPEL and AJ MANNING, men who are coming off terrific performances at Tulsa 70.3, and PRESTON YOUNGDAHL, last year's men's amateur winner here who later was named 2022 Minnesota Male Triathlete of the Year.

Perhaps 2019 US Junior of the Year, KYLE SWENSON, now 21, will race, too.

Women's amateur winner here in '22, MAGGIE SWANSON, is returning, as is VANESSA NAGEL (4th last year - photo R), that is, if the hig injury that kept her out of the Apple Du, is responding to treatment and rest.

Now we will make some predictions based on last week's enrollment. We expect most of these picks, not all of them, to be wrong come race day.

- Men's Winner - SEAN COOLEY. Sean is back in the fold after a three year absence. He won here in 2019. A victory would be the 22nd of his tri career. (23rd is he also wins Oakdale Du on May 28.)

- Women's Winner - MAGGIE SWANSON. Unless Heather Lendway decides to enroll, we expect Maggie to collect her seond consecutive W here next weekend.

-AGE GROUP PREDICTIONS: Updated June1

- 40-44M - BRANDON LEE, 41, Lino Lakes - Vast improvements in the last two seasons suggect that Brandon will not only win his AG, but place in the Top 10 overall.

- 45-47 Men - YAROSLAV PERVENTSEV, 47, Richfield - Fast enough to race in the elite wave, Yaro was 7th last year.

-5O-54 Women - MICHELL BROST, 53, Eleva, WI - A long distance aficionado, her Olympic effort at Maple Grove last season tells us she will be the one to beat in her AG next weekend.

- 55-59 Women - AMY WOOLSEY, 57, Foley - She's set divisional records here the last two years. Clear choice.

- 60-64 M & W - JEFF GILMER and MARY DEEG. This husband and wife team from Annandale brings AG awards home on a regular basis.

Olympic field updates and Buffalo Sprint preview will post on Wednesday.  RACE WEBSITE

 UPDATE: Fifty-plus athletes have signed up since this post was written, most notably defending Buffalo Olympic champions TED and DANI TREISE. Ted Set the men's course record here last year. Sadly, women's amateur favorite--defending amateur champ--MAGGIE SWANSON,  will be unable to defend next Sunday. Her dad explains:

"Maggie will likely have to scratch at Buffalo next week. She raced Ironman Chattanooga 70.3 last Sunday. She was having an awesome race and something popped on her Achilles area around mile 10 of the run."

UPDATE: 2022 women's winner DANI TREISE will race as part of a team. Decorated Wisconsin triathlete ERIC ENGEL has entered. Eric is recogized as one of the US's premier amateur long distance triathlete.