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Tony, Cheryl, Matt & Kevin Garner National Honors...

Monday, 22 February 2016 06:10

ED. Here are USAT's 2015 Triathletes of the Year. Not including Gwen Jorgenson (US Elite Triathlete of the Year) and Honorary Minnesotan Greg Taylor, four Minnesotans are honored here. We will post our commentary on Wednesday.

From usatriathlon.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A talented collection of national and world champion triathletes comprise the 2015 USA Triathlon Age-Group Triathletes of the Year, an award presented annually by Garmin and selected by USA Triathlon’s Age Group Committee....

“It is always an honor and a privilege for our committee to select the USA Triathlon Athlete of the Year awards for these outstanding athletes. Their dedication and commitment to our sport is obvious in the highly competitive pool of candidates,” said Steve Sutherland, chair of the USA Triathlon Age Group Committee Athlete of the Year subcommittee. “The competition for these awards was very close, and the committee put in many hours reviewing race results and head-to-head competition from local, national and world championship races in order to make the final award selections. Some of these athletes also were highly competitive in duathlons and off-road triathlons, showcasing their depth of talent at multiple disciplines. Congratulations to all of our awardees.”

Top honors were awarded to Barrett LeHardy (Roanoke, Va.) and Kirsten Sass (McKenzie, Tenn.), who were named overall Age-Group Triathletes of the Year. LeHardy was the overall winner of the USA Triathlon Olympic-Distance National Championships, and posted the fastest overall time of the day en route to the 25-29 world title at the ITU Age-Group Standard Triathlon World Championships in Chicago. He also won Smith Mountain Lake Triathlon and the Tidewater Sprint, which he won by more than 5 minutes.  READ MORE