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2023 Performance of the Year Nominees !
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Saturday, 16 December 2023 00:10
By Mav
Performance of the Year - Men's Nominees - The 2023 Minnesota tri season included some outstanding performances, with a few course records being re-written and some other historically fast times being posted. Below, alphabetically by recipient last name, are the three performances I believe should be nominated for the Men’s Performance of the Year honor.
Sean Cooley's victory at Trinona Olympic (1:58:30) - Cracking two hours on Minnesota's toughest Olympic-distance course is a big deal. Only pros have accomplished that before Sean threw down last June.
AJ Manning’s course Record at Buzz Ryan Sprint (45:20): Andrew managed to cover Buzz’s 500 yd – 10 mi – 2.5 mile course in a blistering 45:20 on a significantly windy day. The bike course was a tad long, and the run course was a bit short on race day, but AJ also posted the fastest split in all 3 disciplines en-route to victory....
AJ, Peter & Preston...
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Wednesday, 13 December 2023 00:10
By Mav
2023 Male Triathlete of the Year Nominees - Goose has posted his official nominees for the women’s Triathlete of the Year honor, and I agree with his nominations. Now, it’s my turn to nominate the three men who will be vying for the 2023 Minnesota Multisport Honor of Triathlete of the Year. There were 8 guys who received serious consideration. At the end of the day, their success against top-notch competition and their speed relative to historical standards (the likes of Patrick Parish, Matt Payne, Wade Cruser, etc.) helped to separate the top three.
AJ Manning, 35, Fargo: Yes, Andrew is technically a North Dakotan, but he lives on the border and, when racing short course, he mainly competes on Minnesota soil. He did this once this year at Buzz Ryan, blazing the course and setting a course record, and he also raced three 70.3s, two of which (Des Moines and Madison) can be considered “hometown” races since Minnesota does not host any officially branded Ironman 70.3 events...
Tiff's Story - "The Credit Goes to My Father"...
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Sunday, 10 December 2023 00:10
By: The Duluth Runner - Posted on December 9, 2023
This is the seventy-seventh edition of The Duluth Runner Interview Series, where I get in touch with (mainly) local runners and athletes to share a bit of their story while inspiring others to pursue an active lifestyle.
Intro
Tiffany started experimenting with running when she was 16, but didn’t make any real improvements until triathlon entered her life in 2010 and the rest was history.
In 2016, 2017, and 2023, she competed on Team USA in triathlon as an age group USA triathlete team member at the Olympic Distance World Championships in Cozumel Mexico, Rotterdam Netherlands and Pontevedra Spain where she placed 2nd overall in the world. Over the course of her athletic years, she has qualified for and competed at Worlds in the Triathlon 70.3 distance, pulled off a few wins in running races from the 50k ultra marathon distance down to the 5K, as well as mountain bike races and cross county ski races.
She even dabbled in body building winning overall in the bikini division in 2009 at the NPC Gopher State Classic and NPC Upper Midwest and competed at Junior Nationals in Chicago, but one of her biggest athletic accomplishments was reaching her goal of a sub-3-hour marathon which she pulled off twice in 2022 after 7 years of trying....
Elena, Caryn and Heather...
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Thursday, 07 December 2023 00:10
By Goose
2023 Minnesota Multisport Honors - It is my job to recommend nominees in the various MMH categories, after which Mav will select his picks. I then have a chance to challlenge thos selections and because we are initially recommending three nominees per category, we can add a nominee, as we did in the men's Most Improved. My goal is to do as much name-dropping as possible initially, then Mav than narrow the field. In the case of women's Triathlete of the Year, however, three athletes outdistanced their peers. So, the three names listed below are my nominees and Mav can add or adjust as he sees fit.
At the bottom are names of other women who were considered for TOY but unfortunately came up a bit short. CHRISTINA ROBERTS' resume, for instance, was set back by the problems at Tri West, a race she would have finished no lower than 2nd if the course issues didn't happen. SHYANNE MCGREGOR's two performances in 2023--1st amateur @ Maine 70.3,and 3rd amateur at Chattanooga 70.3, where she outraced some of the pro women--were so good that I briefly considered lobbying for allowing just two performance eligibility, not three.
ELENA HENGEL, 27, Wayzata
2023 Highlights:
- 1st @ Buffalo Sprint
- 2nd amateur @ Iowa State Olympic Triathlon Championships
- 2nd @ Lake Minnetonka
- 2nd @ Timberman Olympic
- 5th @ Madison 70.3 ...
2023 Triathlete of the Year...Possible Nominees...
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Monday, 04 December 2023 00:10
By Goose
2023 Minnesota Multisport Honors - Today we are in the name-dropping phase to determine the nominations for 2023 Triathlete of the Year, that is, as far as men are concerned. The women, on the other hand have several worthy athletes, but only three women who meet all the criteria, thus they are automatic nominees. They raced often enough and with results that are comparable to the highest performance standards of their female predecessors.
The men are a different story. Below are some of the guys being considered for TOY nominations:
Men:
NOAH BILLINGS, 17, Rochester - A pair of outright wins and one overall course record are what grab our attention. His resume has a downside, though. The 2022 Junior of the Year, who is likely to repeat this year, races typically in sprint races, which rarely draw Team Minnesota-quality athletes, so it's hard to measure where he belongs in the amateur elite hierarchy. Like Kyle Swenson, he'll take his place among our region's best, though not until next year. We encourage him to race at Olympic events like Buffalo and Maple Grove. ...
