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Female Masters Performance of the Year....

Sunday, 02 February 2020 23:10

2019 was clearly the “Year of the Female Master” in Minnesota. Two of the Top 3 women in the state last season were over 40; an unprecedented five masters women were named to the Team Minnesota roster.

There were so many stellar performances by quadragenarian women that determining our unofficial Female Masters POY was an especially difficult task.

We were able to narrow the contenders to four performances. Three of those efforts were at the 70.3 distance:

- KORTNEY HAAG, 40, Maple Grove - Kort's victory at Chisago. Her time was a Masters Record – 4:32:52, lowering the prior MR by 4:12, and her margin of victory was 4:36.

Haag has won nine half IMs in her career.

- BECKY YOUNGBERG, 44, Eden Prairie - Becky's Course Record victory at Square Lake 70.3, arguably our region's most challenging half IM. Her time was 4:44:31, which lowered the women's CR/MR by 28 minutes. Her margin of victory was 7:43....

- CATHY YNDESTAD, 40, Mendota Heights - CY's late-season (December 6) amateur victory at Indian Wells 70.3 in La Qunita, California. Her time was 4:31:27, which lowered the women's previous CR by 4:12. Her margin of victory was 24-seconds over runner-up Stefanie Cullingford, 31, who is a rising star. Cullingford was the fastest American woman / 5th overall at the Lausanne Age Group World Championships on September 1.

The other performances was Olympic-distance:

- CATHY YNDESTAD's Course Record win at Minneapolis. Her time was 2:05:33, a Personal Best. Her previous PR was 2:07, which she set at the Dallas US Open back in 2007. Her margin at Minneapolis was 3:13 against the deepest women's field of the year in a Minnesota race.

Since turning 40, Kortney, Becky and Cathy have gotten faster, not slower. How cool is that? So, which of these fast performances do we think best deserve's the unofficial Female Master POY?

Cathy Yndestad's win at Minneapolis Olympic, a race she has won eight times.