Race Coverage

Hello. Goodbye.

Thursday, 15 August 2019 23:30

SUPERIOR MAN TRIATHLON - After watching ALEXANDER MUNDT, a Danish grad student / swim coach currently residing in St. Cloud, race at Buffalo Olympic, we were sure he was going to be our state's next (male) tri star. Blowing everyone out of the water, then beating a Who's Who of our region's elite athletes en route to a podium finish turned some heads, certainly ours. 

We were anxious to watch him race again, though two months would pass before we got that opportunity. And once again, he didn't disappoint. This  time he blew the entire field away at the 8th annual Superior Man Half IM.

How blown away? His 4:10:50 was 14:12 better than the next two guys, Minneapolis' PATRICK CROWE and Ontario's KRIS NISULA, who turned in identical runner-up clockings. Nisula, 43, was coming off a win at Brewhouse Sprint, a performance that was preceded by a 3rd place finish at Timberman Olympic. 

It's quite possible that Kris will be the second foreign athlete (after JON BALABUCK, also of Thunder Bay) to be considered for a post-season MMH nomination....

What is disappointing is that Mundt will soon relocate to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he is destined for collegiate stardom as a member of Queens University's already decorated men's triathlon team.

SM's women's race was won handily, even more handily than Mundt's win, by Thunder Bay's KAYLA KJELLMAN. The only woman to break 5-hours, which she did with 9:06 to spare, Kayla, who is a HOOT!, outraced her closest rival by 26:02.

Race director CLINT AGAR called the race "Epic" despite Lake Superior's 52-degree water, and plans to retain the same venue (Leif Erickson Park) for future editions of the race. And Clint knows "Epic" when he sees it. Superior Man is an unprecedented four-time winner of the "Triathletes Choice Race of the Year" award.  RESULTS