Two TrainingPeaks medalists at Triathlon Worlds in Vancouver
10 June 2008
Sarah Haskins and Jasmine Oeinck, both triathletes who train in Colorado Springs using TrainingPeaks software, each won silver medals in the 2008 ITU Triathlon World Championship and the ITU Under 23 Triathlon World Championship in Vancouver. Conditions were brutal, with the frigid temperatures making the swim particularly challenging, but Sarah and Jasmine both battled through the cold to amazing finishes. It was the first championship medal for Haskins, who had 22nd and 10th place finishes in her first two appearances in 2006 and 2007, respectively. For Oeinck, it was the second-straight year that she powered her way through dreary, wet conditions to earn a silver medal.
Haskins finished in 2:01:41, just four seconds behind Great Britain’s Helen Tucker, who used a strong sprint down the final stretch to take the gold. Less than a minute later, the fans were treated to another incredible sprint finish for the bronze with Samantha Warriner edging out Australians Erin Densham and Emma Moffatt. Shockingly, defending champion Vanessa Fernandes finished a disappointing 10th place.
Sarah’s fellow American Sarah Groff (Cooperstown, N.Y. / Boulder, Colo.) had a great performance, finishing seventh in 2:04:08. The rest of the U.S. crew was hampered by the frigid conditions. Laura Bennett finished 22nd, Julie Swail Ertel finished 34th, Sara McLarty finished 39th, and Amanda Stevens finished 49th.
“Getting on the podium was definitely a goal. I couldn’t ask for more,” said Haskins, who collapsed from exhaustion at the finish line.
The Americans and Brits dominated out of the water, holding the first five positions including Haskins and Tucker. Heavy pre- race favorite Fernandes exited the water in seventh place, 14 seconds down.
Out onto the testing 40-kilometer bike course that included one substantial hill, six women made up the lead group including Fernandes. However, late in the first lap, Haskins and Tucker decided to break away and rode through after the second lap holding an 18-second lead. Their pair worked well together and increased the lead to a full minute by the midway mark.
To learn more about the bike course in this race, check out Sarah’s SRM bike file in her TrainingPeaks account.
Haskins was first out of the bike course with Tucker just five seconds back. A full two minutes later is when the next woman, Moffatt, headed out on the flat 10-kilometer run course. Behind Moffatt were a number of strong runners including Warriner, Norden, Tanner, and Sweetland. Meanwhile Fernandes looked sluggish and was slow through transition to be one of the last in the group to get on the run course.
The two minutes was more than enough for Haskins and Tucker, the only question being who would get gold and who would get silver. The two ran side by side for nearly the entire ten kilometers until the final turn, when Tucker powered ahead.
“The weather was brutal, the swim especially. But once I got on the bike, it really wasn’t that bad. I’ll take this over 100 degrees, though,” said Haskins, who will face warmer conditions at the Hy-Vee Triathlon where she’ll try to qualify for the final U.S. Olympic Team spot in two weeks.
For Oeinck, it was a very satisfying way to finish her U23 career. “It’s great to finish off my U23 career with a bang. I just gave it my all out there,” said Oeinck. “We were all working together on the front. It was fun to have those two other girls to work with. We just pushed it out of transition, kept going hard.”
Leading the women out of the water was Rabie, the reigning African champion, following closely by Oeinck, Inna Tsyganok of the Ukraine and Switzerland’s Daniel Ryf. In the first of eight laps on the 40-kilometer bike course, Ryf, Rabie and Oeinck immediately formed the lead pack. The strong cycling group surged to a 49-second lead after the first lap. With a decent sized hill on the course, the trio was able to get away, continuing to add to the lead. After 15 kilometers, the gap to the chase pack ballooned to 2:09, and then swelled to almost three minutes after the fifth lap. By the end of the bike, three chase packs came together in pursuit of the leaders. By the time the leaders came off the bike, Rabie was first onto the 10- kilometer run course with a slim 6-second lead on Ryf. Oeinck struggled in T2 and had difficulty getting her helmet off with her numb fingers and left transition 22 seconds back of Rabie. “My hands got really cold and it was hard to shift [on the bike],” said Oeinck. “You had to keep blowing on your hands. But everyone had to deal with it.”
On the run Ryf immediately took command and opened a 23-second lead on Oeinck with Rabie a further ten seconds back. As the women took the bell lap victory for Ryf seemed inevitable while Oeinck was solid in the silver medal position. Ryf cruised to the finish line proudly waving the Swiss flag to win by a convincing 31-second margin of victory over Oeinck, who came across for silver. Rabie was feeling pressure from Olesya Prystayko of the Ukraine but the South African managed to hang on for the bronze, to become the first from her continent to make the podium at the triathlon world championships. Prystayko came across in fourth place while Barbara Riveros Diaz of Chile finished in fifth place. In all it was a tough day for the women’s field as only 19 women finished the race.
Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships, Canada
Elite Women – Unofficial Results
1.5km swim, 40km swim, 10km run
Gold – Helen Tucker (GBR) 2:01:37
Silver – Sarah Haskins (USA) 2:01:41
Bronze – Samantha Warriner (NZL) 2:02:32.85
4th – Erin Densham (AUS) 2:02:32.96
5th – Emma Moffatt (AUS) 2:02:34
6th – Felicity Abram (AUS) 2:03:35
7th – Sarah Groff (USA) 2:04:09
8th – Kate Allen (AUT) 2:04:14
9th – Debbie Tanner (NZL) 2:04:24
10th – Vanessa Fernandes (POR) 2:04:35
Under23 Women – Official Results
1.5km swim, 40km swim, 10km run
Gold – Daniela Ryf (SUI) 2:09:30
Silver – Jasmine Oeinck (USA) 2:10:02
Bronze – Mari Rabie (RSA) 2:11:35
4th – Olesya Prystayko (UKR) 2:12:51
5th – Barbara Riveros Diaz (CHI) 2:13:02
6th – Justine Whipple (USA) 2:13:08
7th – Yuliya Sapunova (UKR) 2:13:32
8th – Renata Koch (HUN) 2:13:55
9th – Sarah Fladung (GER) 2:14:25
10th – Kerry Spearing (CAN) 2:14:57
See more, including complete results, at the ITU website.
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Website: http://www.usatriathlon.org
One Response to “Two TrainingPeaks medalists at Triathlon Worlds in Vancouver”
June 11th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
These performances we both outstanding. Anyone not familiar with these two athletes should take notice. These are two of the fastest up and coming triathletes in the ITU stage.
There will be a big showdown in Des Moines in 10 more days!
JL
http://www.showmecables.com