Eleven elite and 36 age group duathletes competed for Team
USA on August 18th at the Powerman Long Distance Duathlon World Championships
in Weyer, Austria. The long distance course consisted of a 14k (2-lap) run, 76k
(2-lap) bike, 7k (1-lap) run.
Andrea Ratkovic (Norman, Okla.) and Greg Watson (Newark,
Del.) were the top U.S. finishers in the elite race. Ratkovic placed fifth in the women’s race in 3 hours, 41 minutes,
43 seconds and Watson finished sixth in the men’s race in 3:16:07.
Ratkovic was followed closely by U.S. teammates Heather
Gollnick (Hartford, Wis.), who finished sixth (3:44:42) and Desiree Ficker
(Potomac, Md.) in seventh (3:46:09). Marjan Huizing (Montgomery Village, Md.)
placed 10th.
Karin Thurig of Switzerland won the elite women’s race in
3:31:34. Huub Maas (Holland) won the elite men’s race in 3:11:34.
In the age group race, four U.S. women finished in the top
10 overall, led by Tiffany Larson (Boise, Idaho), who placed second in 3:57:05.
Danielle Lentz of Luxemburg was the top female finisher in the age group race
in a time of 3:51:40.
The other U.S. women in the top 10 of the age group race were
Sarah Keller (Cambridge, Mass.) in fourth (4:00:37), Kristin Miller (West
Lakeland, Minn.) in fifth (4:01:03) and Gabriela Hnilkova-Jenks (Albuquerque,
N.M.) in seventh (4:03:32).
Jeffrey Zemaitis (Lake Forest, Ill.) was the top American in
the men’s age group race, finishing in 37
th place.
Several members of the All American Bicycle Center
Multisport Team, based in Damascus, Md., competed in the age group race and
turned in stellar performances.
In the women’s 30-34 age group, Tara Smith placed second, to
win the silver in a time of 4:10:23.
Cecily Tynan (Philadelphia, Pa.) won that age group in a time of
4:09:37. Smith was 7 minutes down on
Tynan after the first run, bested her by nearly 9 minutes on the bike to take
the lead, but ultimately surrendered it on the second run, finishing just 23
seconds behind.
In the women’s 45-49 age group, Jan Tripp placed second in a
time of 4:28:58. Tripp was 7:25 out of first after the first run and bike, but
flew through the second run to nearly halve the gap.
In the women’s 35-39 age group, Michele McGleish placed eleventh
in a time of 4:28:29.
For more information and complete results, go to
http://www.powerman.at.
