Triathlon Hatt trick: Wins debut in K-Town Tri long course
The Kingston Whig-Standard Tuesday, August 2, 2005 Page: 15 / FRONT Section: Sports Byline: Emily Sangster Source: Special to The Kingston Whig-Standard
The breeze was refreshing, the water was warm and for Jamie Hatt, the K-Town Tri race day Sunday was "perfect."
"The course really suited me - it wasn't too hilly," said Hatt, who won the men's long-course title in two hours 54 minutes 11 seconds. "It worked really well and I felt strong."
Hatt, of Staples, Ont., was the third competitor out of Lake Ontario after the two-kilometre swim, but took over the lead during the 56.5-kilometre bike leg and held it through the 15-kilometre run.
He crossed the finish line to the cheers and applause of thousands of spectators lining Ontario Street in front of City Hall, in warm, sunny conditions that gave Kingston a break from the crushing heat and humidity of recent weeks.
Hatt said he got a boost during the run from a team relay participant who was running close behind him. Hatt said he initially didn't realize the runner wasn't in the individual long-course race with him, so he picked up his pace to stay ahead.
"I kept looking back and he was right there and he pushed me to go a lot faster than I probably would have," Hatt said.
Sunday was the first K-Town Tri for Hatt, who at 25 is young by elite triathlete standards. Hatt is in his third season of triathlon racing after discovering the sport through his father.
"I just love athletics and always wanted to find something I was good in," he said. "I always wanted to be a pro athlete in some sport, so I'm going to try for this."
Hatt will soon be moving to Victoria to further his training, but he said he'd do the K-Town Tri again if he was in the area at the right time.
"I love it," he said. "[It's a] pretty prestigious race."
Tony O'Keefe of Kingston was the runner-up in the men's long course in 2:59:17, five minutes and six seconds behind Hatt and edging Ian Wilson of Peterborough by one second.
"I was pretty even all day," O'Keefe said. "I didn't have any trouble areas and I just kept it rolling."
O'Keefe said he saw Hatt briefly at the run turnaround point.
"I thought if I pushed I could catch him, but he's young and has no respect for us old guys," joked O'Keefe, who's in his early 40s.
Sunday was the best-ever result for O'Keefe, who has participated in the K-Town Tri since 1990. This year, he was joined by his 17-year-old son, Cale, who crossed the finish line in the short course not long after his father.
"I just admire him for stepping up so young," O'Keefe said.
Nigel Gray of Toronto, expected to defend his long-course title, pulled out of the race early last week and didn't participate.
Susanne Russell of Ottawa claimed the women's long-course title in 3:11:13, after leading the field for the whole race.
"It was the first time I ever did the long course so I feel pretty excited," she said in the shade of the finish area.
Kingston-educated, she said she has been training for the long-course distance at the Ottawa Athletic Club and thought the K-Town Tri would be an ideal place to try it out.
"I felt solid all the way through," she said. "I probably did exactly what I could have done."
Russell said she was comfortable for most of the competition, except when she felt her lead begin to narrow around the midpoint of the run.
"I was scared on the way home," she said.
Ka-Yu Law of Kingston was the first competitor across the line in any category, winning the men's short course in 1:23:27.
After competing in the long course for 11 years, he took last year off and Sunday claimed his first-ever K-Town Tri win in his first attempt at the shorter distance.
"It really came together," said Law, co-owner of Kingston's Tri-Science training support company. "It's been a good year getting back into racing."
Shari Boyle of Toronto successfully defended her title in the women's duathlon in 1:39:58. A relative newcomer to the K-Town Tri, Boyle has now won the duathlon in each of the two years she has entered.
"It was good," she said. "I think I went too hard on the first run, but I settled down and felt comfortable for the rest of the race. As comfortable as you can be, anyway."
Boyle said she'll be back next year to try to defend again.
"The race is awesome, it's really well-organized ... and the course is perfect," she said, praising the hills on the bike and run sections.
Kingston's Lianne Archambault also defended her title in the women's short course, posting a time of 1:36:30, while Ottawa's Brent McMillan claimed the men's duathlon in 1:29:26.