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Heather and Curt Are Back! Kyle is the Real Deal...
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Monday, 21 June 2021 00:10
LAKE MINNETONKA TRIATHLON COVERAGE - Heather and Curt are back! Kyle is the Real Deal! Henry is on the Rookie of the Year radar! These are some of the storylines defining last Saturday's Lake Minnetonka Triathlon, which as always was an excellent event.
Let's start with HEATHER LENDWAY's triumphant return to triathlon after a four-year hiatus. She performed like the Heather of yesteryear; like the Athlete of the Decade Heather.
Where was the rust? Your guess is as good as ours.
Her swim was the third fastest of the day, just seconds behind the men's leaders. After crushing the bike, she entered T2 in fourth place overall behind the eventual men's podium. A great run split (18:44 / 3-mile) eventually landed her in 5th place overall. She was only passed by one male athlete, a former college track and cross country star at UMD named HENRY JESSEN, who is also a decorated swimmer, and, according to our research, has done only one prior triathlon. If this is true, we have our current frontrunner for 2021 Rookie of the Year.
Back to Heather. Placing 5th overall, her time was a ridiculous 1:07:57, a clocking that is second only to the course record 1:04:53 she set in 2014, the year she won both Nationals and Worlds and was named US Athlete of the Year. ...
New Triathlon for Women...
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Saturday, 19 June 2021 00:10
By Doobie Kurus
Hey everybody! I wanted to let you know about a new event I’m putting on this summer. It’s called the 4WOMEN Tri, and it will be held at Lake Ann Park in Chanhassen, MN on Sunday, August 22nd. It’s named 4WOMEN because it’s being dedicated to 4 important women in my life (my wife and 3 daughters). They’ve been participating and helping at triathlons for years, and now it’s their turn to help create an event of their own.
Plus, as you probably guessed, this event is FOR women. My mission is to create additional safe, welcoming, and inspiring opportunities for women, like my wife and daughters, to engage in and enjoy multisport activities and fitness in general. If you’ve ever done the Hopkins Royal Tri, many things will be familiar, like a laid-back atmosphere, personalized race bibs, and bottle “trophies”! We’ll be offering a sprint distance, as well as a mini-sprint option....
Minnesotans Should Excel in Des Moines...
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Thursday, 17 June 2021 00:10
Minnesota will be well-represented at next Sunday's DES MOINES 70.3. Several of those athletes have a good shot a reaching podiums and earling coveted Kona slots. And Minneapolis couple TED and DANI TRIESE will measure themselves against a world class pro field.
It's going to be an exciting race. Here are some comments.
TED TREISE - PR - 4:07:33 (2021 St. George 70.3) & DANI TREISE - PR - 4:23:56 (2019 Texas 70.3). It takes new pros several years become competitive. In the early going, their goals need to include throwing down satisfying splits and outperforming the fastest amateurs. We believe Ted and Dani will do that on Sunday....
2021 LAKE MINNETONKA PREVIEW...
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Tuesday, 15 June 2021 00:10
17th LAKE MINNETONKA TRIATHLON - Registration for this annual classic closed almost three weeks ago. As usual, the LMT's enrollment ceiling (500 entrants) was reached early. And while it's too late to enter, we encourage folks to either spectate or volunteer.
Weather.com's prediction for the Excelsior area on race morning (June 19) is for partly cloudy skies, and not nearly as warm and windy as it was at Buffalo, the 2021 tri season kick-off. Temps should be in the mid 70s at race time with low humidity - 41% - and light winds - 5-10 mph.
Great competition is expected. Here are some predictions:
Overall Men: Podium Picks
1. JOSH MORK - Though he claims to be a bit out-of-shape, Josh is still our pick to win. He's thrived on this course the last two times he's raced here, placing 2nd on both occasions behind former pro Patrick Parish, who is not enrolled this year.
2. KYLE SWENSON - The 19-year-old former Junior of the Year (2019) is ready to bark with the Big Dogs, as his win at Sarasota Sprint last January attests. His three podium finishes before that were harbingers of victories to come....
Lycra, Dorky Helmets & Big Wins...
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Sunday, 13 June 2021 00:10
By David Koppel
Buffalo Olympic Race Report - Yesterday (June 6) was my first triathlon finish since Kona 2019. It was so long awaited and I was more excited than ever to line up next to plenty of talented MN triathletes and see where I stood. I wanted my first sub 2 hour Olympic distance race, but the weather gods laughed at that idea! It was 78° at 17-19mph winds at the start of the race. The goal was to be off the bike in striking distance of perennial powerhouse and retired pro triathlete, David Thompson (DKT).
.9 mile swim (11th/226): My swim was slow and I got rocked in the last .3 miles by some pretty big rollers. Apparently over 50 of the 600 racers were pulled out of the swim due to the conditions. I had two friends and my father-in-law to yell out how far back I was from front swimmers. 4:00 back out of the water from DKT (eek!) ...
