2001 USA Triathlon elite triathlon
rookie of the year, Desiree Ficker launched her 2002 duathlon season with a
great start March 10th by winning the Dannon Duathlon race series opener in
Haines City, Fla. She followed that up
two weeks later with a victory at Powerman Alabama in Irondale, Ala. Several other athletes from the region also
turned in stellar performances at these races.
At the Dannon race, Ficker, of
Potomac, Md., completed the 5K run, 30K bike and 5K run in 1 hour, 28 minutes,
39 seconds. Andrea Ratkovic (Norman, Ok), the 2001 U.S. national duathlon
champion, was second in 1:30:06 and Vicky Pincombe (Great Britain) was third in
1:30:59.
Ficker was in third behind Pincombe and Ratkovic after the first run, but used
a fast transition and impressive bike leg to take the lead. Marjan Huizing (Montgomery Village, Md.)
finished fourth in the women’s race in 1:31:49 and Amanda Pagan (Glenn Dale, Md.)
finished tenth in 1:37:57.
In the Dannon men's race, 2001 U.S. national duathlon champion Greg Watson was
the only American in the top five, finishing second to Australia's Jonathan
Hall. Hall won the race in 1:28:34 and Watson, from Newark, De, was second in
1:19:46. Martin Yelling (Great Britain) was third in 1:20:17.
Watson held ninth place after the first run, but picked up his pace on the bike
and second run. Travis Kuhl (Carthage, NY) finished eighth in 1:22:33. Other regional athletes finishing in the top
30 were: Nick Fitzsimmons (Ausable Forks, NY), George Ganoung (Hedgesville,
WV), David Boutillier (Webster, NY) and Arland Macasieb (Clifton, NJ).
For complete Dannon results, go to
www.dannonduathlon.com.
At Powerman Alabama, Ficker finished
the 8K run, 55K bike and 8K run in 2:38:53.
Just like she did at Dannon Florida, Ficker
charged to the lead on the bike. Her 1:37:26 bike split was over three minutes
faster than any other woman. While Ficker didn't have the fastest closing run,
it was more than enough to earn her a three minute victory and her first ever
back to back victories. Marjan Huizing finished third in the women’s race while
Allison Hardy (Arden, NC) finished 9th.
Armand van der Smissen
from the Netherlands edged out Ryan Bolton (Boulder, Col.) to take the men’s
race in 2:20:52. Regional athletes
finishing in the top 10 were Greg Watson (5
th), Todd Wiley
(Doylestown, Pa. – 8
th) and Greg Remaly (Chapel Hill, N.C. – 9
th).
Seven athletes from the
region won their age group at Powerman: Ryan Jones (Paoli, Pa.; M20-24), Cecily
Tynan (Philadelphia, Pa.; F30-34), Chris Eschbach (Raleigh, N.C.; M30-34), Brad
Anderson (Chapel Hill, N.C.; M35-39), Marty Froelick (Matheus, N.C.; M40-44),
Dave Tierney (Cary, N.C.; M45-49) and Jeffrey Timm (Bethlehem, Pa.; M50-54).
Other regional athletes
finishing in the top three in their age group include: Kristin Villopoto
(Durham, N.C.), Rebecca Strode (Springfield, Va.), James Dalton (Salem, Va.),
Sharon Duncan-Koontz (Charlotte, N.C.), Sue Stark (Amantha, N.C.), Trey Cassidy
(Ellicott City, Md.) and Roger Brokenbrough (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
For complete Powerman
results, go to
http://www.team-magic.com/results/pm02results.htm.
