Race Coverage

Good Reviews & Future Plans...

Sunday, 02 June 2019 23:10

ED. Coverage of the Buffalo Triathlon and New Bri Tri is coming sooon.

By Doobie Kurus

The first ever SWIM-off to Summer open water challenge was held on Saturday, June 1st, and was hosted by the Hopkins Royal Triathlon and Hopkins Masters Swim group. This event featured some of the top triathletes and swimmers from all over the state (plus Iowa and Massachusetts). There were also many casual competitors that (believe it or not) just like to swim. The favorable weather forecast leading up to SWIM-off not only warmed up the lake to a comfortable 66 degrees, but also warmed up people to the idea of signing up, as the field sold out with a cap of 150 registrants. The Triathletes outnumbered the Swimmers 2 to 1, but that didn't seem to deter the Swimmers....
 

The results were a bit lopsided, as the Swimmers swept the top 3 spots on the podium for both mens and womens in ALL 3 distances (I believe) This was a somewhat humbling experience for the Triathletes, with one well known standout female triathlete even mentioning to me that she finished 5th in her age group (NOT 5th overall mind you, but 5th in her age group!). She has a lot of respect for the Swimmers. Incidentally, the overall winner of the 1.2 mile swim was Sandra Frimmerman-Bergquist (a very accomplished open water distance swimmer that just got back in town from being the overall winner of the El Cruce 10K swim in Cancun). Brian Kirkvold, was the fastest for the men, and second overall. The overall winner of the .9 mile (Olympic) swim was Jack Dobbs, and Hunter Huntress, came in second. Women took the top 3 spots in the .3 mile (Sprint) swim with Ingrid Jeske crossing the mat first. 

Some other people to mention include Binam Shrestha, who made his open water debut (was the first Sprint male), and now has his sights on his first tri later this summer. Next, there's the husband and wife team of Paul and Michelle Pasko. They do events together and have friendly little competitions. Looks like all the masters swim workouts helped Paul edge out Michelle this time. Paul, interestingly enough finished between noted English Channel swimmer, Shannon Schwartz and local meteorologist, Ian Leonard (thanks for the awesome weather Ian!). Then, there's Nicki Phillips, a Hopkins Masters swimmer, that has only one speed, whether it's 25 yards or 1.2 miles (strong and steady). Finally, I've got to give some "love" to Kevin Greimel, who up until like March was the only person signed up for this event, and he did so on January 1st! 
Several races had reps on site to promote their events, like Trinona, Brewhouse, Buzz Ryan, Maple Grove, Gear West, Bertram Blast, MN Masters Swimming, and Lake Minnetonka. Chisago and Graniteman were unable to attend, but donated free race entries as door prizes. What collaboration! I heard from so many people that loved learning about events they had no idea existed, plus connecting with some of their favorite events.
 
I'd like to give a BIG thank my wife, Joyce, for once again being willing to help me out with another one of my crazy ventures. From stuffing race packets to (wo)manning the grill post swim, she's one of my biggest supporters and volunteers. I definitely would not be able to do as much as I do without her. I'd also like to extend a shout out to David Bergquist, my co-planner for this event. He does so much for the swimming community, and has actually been a key volunteer over the years for the Hopkins Royal Triathlon (the swim portion of course).
 
All in all, the event received good reviews, and people have already asked if we can do it again next year, and increase the field capacity. We're already working on that. Hopefully next year, the Triathletes can claim some of those spots on the podium. Until then, they will just have to concede that "the Swimmers rule the open water!" The good news is that I saw several triathletes from the SWIM-off at the Buffalo Tri the next day ready to give it a go again. I would recommend to anyone that wants to improve their swimming abilities to check out your local masters swim clubs. It's actually "Try a Masters Swim workout" week until June 10th. Just saying!
 
Results can be found here
https://www.mtecresults.com/race/show/8335/2019_Open_Water_Challenge-Sprint