The 2013 Pharmasave Christina Lake Sprint Triathlon took place on Sunday and it was both surprising, and fitting, that a 13-year-old took top spot.
Not only was Trail’s Jackson Konkin the first out of the water for the swimming portion, he finished in a time of 1:19:26, first overall and tops in the male category and amongst his age group (male 13 to 18 years).
It wasn’t a breeze for Konkin however, as he said the cycling portion presented a bit of a challenge.
“At the end of the (cycling portion), I was fifth off the bike and a couple of people passed me on the downhill. I have a disadvantage when going downhill because I’m light but I fly up the hills,” Konkin explained. “I definitely met my goals and went beyond them. I’m happy with my results.”
Top spot amongst females went to Kelowna’s Ashlee Robinson who finished with a time of 1:28:43.
Like Konkin, Robinson found the cycling event difficult.
“The cycling event is always a tough course,” said Robinson. “It’s a very technical bike race for a sprint. It’s (that) climb that everyone passing through Christina Lake sees and you have to do that four times.”
Robinson was happy with her performance and said she will return next year.
Grand Forks saw representation on the podium as Scott Stewart, along with Castlegar’s Graham Cocksedge (who teaches in Grand Forks), were the top team.
The Cocksedge and Stewart tandem finished with a time of 1:11:09. Stewart handled the swim while Cocksedge cycled and ran.
“It was a tough swim,” explained Stewart. “I struggled in the water a fair bit but my goal was to finish in the middle of the pack so I could give Graham a chance to catch everybody. Luckily, I came out towards the front of the pack, so that was good and Graham didn’t have too many people to catch.”
Cocksedge said that volunteer and event organizers’ work helped him on the cycling and running events.
“It was a beautiful day and course marshaled really well. Everyone was friendly, letting you know where to go ahead of time and they had marked all the bumps on the road, so you could avoid those – it was a well laid out course,” explained Cocksedge.
John Mackey, director of recreation and facilities for Grand Forks and District Recreation, said that 83 adults participated, along with 38 children for the KidSprint event, which took place before the main triathlon.
“We were down a little bit this year on the adult side, I think it was about 20 less than last year, but we have more competition in the region. Creston has added an event in June, so people from the East Kootenays might have gone that way but all in all, a lot of new people took part,” Mackey said, estimating that a third were first-time participants in the triathlon.
“It’s encouraging and that’s what we’re here for, that’s what this event’s about: first-timers and having fun,” Mackey explained.
Results (finish time included)
Adult female
1) Ashlee Robinson (Kelowna) 1:28:43 2) Gabrielle Jangula (Rossland) 1:30:59 3) Corina Waage (Castlegar) 1:32:02
Adult male
1) Jackson Konkin (Trail) 1:19:26 2) Justin Brown (Trail) 1:20:26 3) Kalen Leechporter 1:32:39
Adult team
1) Scott Stewart (Grand Forks) and Graham Cocksedge (Castlegar) 1:11:09 2) Todd and Sally Benson (Grand Forks) 1:22:50 3) Emma Brizan (Grand Forks), Hunter Wey (Grand Forks) and Sev LeBlanc (Greenwood) 1:23:14
Kids female
1) Morgan Corkill (Rossland) 0:40:47 2) Loren Corkill (Rossland) 0:40:55 3) Emily Jourdin (Grand Forks) 0:50:51
Kids male
1) Remi Drolet (Rossland) 0:29:18 2) Nathan Jourdin (Grand Forks) 0:35:37 3) Jacob Brewer (Christina Lake) 0:35:58
Kids team
1) Fynn Dribney and Ryan Dorgelo (Christina Lake) 0:30:37 2) Lydia MacLellan, Emily Stewart and Savannah Menzies (Grand Forks) 0:31:12 3) Logan Merringer, Kian Merringer and Liam Gaudet (Rossland) 0:31:38
Check out www.rdkb.com/Services/RecreationCulture/GrandForks.aspx for complete results.