Wednesday
Jun252008
Sarah Haskins Secures Olympic Triathlon Spot
DES MOINES, Iowa (June 22, 2008) --Sarah Haskins performance at the ITU Hy-Vee World Cup in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sunday earned her the final spot for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team.The 27-year-old Haskins (Colorado Springs, Colo. / St. Louis, Mo.), who finished sixth overall in the event, earned the spot when Sarah Groff (Boulder, Colo. / Cooperstown, N.Y.) failed to finish as the top American.
"My main goal was to win that spot. It's amazing [going to the Olympics]. It's been my dream since I was a little girl, just to be able to go there and have the opportunity to win a medal. It will be fantastic," said Haskins who had close to 50 friends and relatives on hand from St. Louis and Minnesota to cheer her on. "The biggest challenge for me was trying to get away on the bike, but it was a rolling course and I couldn't quite do that. But I was able to get out on the run first and it all came together in the end."
Fellow American Laura Bennett (Boulder, Colo. / N. Palm Beach, Fla.) was the top American in Des Moines with a fourth place finish. Bennett earned the first Olympic Team spot last September at the Beijing World Cup. Haskins and Bennett will be joined on the team by Julie Swail Ertel (Irvine, Calif.), who claimed her spot by winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Tuscaloosa, Ala., in April. She finished as the third American (seventh overall) in Des Moines. The replacement/alternate spot went to Becky Lavelle (Los Gatos, Calif. / Minnetonka, Minn.) thanks to her fourth place American finish (eighth overall) on Sunday.
Haskins uses TrainingPeaks to manage and communicate her training with her coaches and recently placed second in the World Championships. To read more about her second-place finish in the recent World Championships click here.
"My main goal was to win that spot. It's amazing [going to the Olympics]. It's been my dream since I was a little girl, just to be able to go there and have the opportunity to win a medal. It will be fantastic," said Haskins who had close to 50 friends and relatives on hand from St. Louis and Minnesota to cheer her on. "The biggest challenge for me was trying to get away on the bike, but it was a rolling course and I couldn't quite do that. But I was able to get out on the run first and it all came together in the end."
Fellow American Laura Bennett (Boulder, Colo. / N. Palm Beach, Fla.) was the top American in Des Moines with a fourth place finish. Bennett earned the first Olympic Team spot last September at the Beijing World Cup. Haskins and Bennett will be joined on the team by Julie Swail Ertel (Irvine, Calif.), who claimed her spot by winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Tuscaloosa, Ala., in April. She finished as the third American (seventh overall) in Des Moines. The replacement/alternate spot went to Becky Lavelle (Los Gatos, Calif. / Minnetonka, Minn.) thanks to her fourth place American finish (eighth overall) on Sunday.
Haskins uses TrainingPeaks to manage and communicate her training with her coaches and recently placed second in the World Championships. To read more about her second-place finish in the recent World Championships click here.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 12:14AM
Reader Comments (1)
What a fantastic race under last minute conditions. Online coverage was great except for no audio.
Congrats to Sarah Haskins & Hunter Kemper who secured the remaining spots on the US Olympic team.
For those that know Sarah, they understand that this was a long time coming. She has climbed her way up the World Cup ladder each of the last 4 years.
The Olympic slot was 20 years in the making. From 5:00 am wake-up calls for USS swim practice to double workouts in high school for swimming and running, etc… Sarah deserves all the accolades. She is one of the best athletes to ever come out of Missouri.
And this is just the beginning.
J.Lynch
Dad, Sponsor, Athlete & Business Owner
http://www.ShowMeCables.com