Race Coverage
Becky Returns. She and Preston Did What They Do...
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Thursday, 10 April 2025 00:10
Photo - Women's Olympic podium and a baby.
20th GREEN LAKE OLYMPIC coverage - Eleven men have broken 1:50 on GL's Olympic-esque (.75 - 22 - 6) course, though never more than three in a single year, and that happened back in 2012. At the very least, that was destined to be at least matched last Sunday. 2023 champ COREY NYGAARD, who is faster this year than last, JOE ADRIAENS, a consistent sub-2-hour guy at full Olympic distance, and the seemingly invincible PRESTON YOUNGDAHL, a late registrant who has won 10 of the 11 Minnesota tris he's entered since returning to his homestate in 2021.
Talent wasn't the only factor that portended fast times for the men. The conditions were perfect. Mild temps, low humidity, negligible wind, flat water.
Only two woman had ever broken two hours here, and it appeared on paper that times closer to 2:10 would land on the podium. Then, like Youngdahl, BECKY YOUNGBERG showed up on race morning. Becky is the course record holder here, having done so back in 2018. She came into the race with three wins in five starts this season. Though the clear favorite, there were several Green Lake vets, like two-time winner MERILEA OSTERLUND, and BECKY LEIS, a two-time runner-up here, hoping to round out the Top 3. Additionally, AMY PREUSSER, who has been turning in very solid performances for the last two seasons, was enrolled....
Josh, Cami & the Law of Averages...
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Monday, 07 April 2025 00:10
21st NORTHWOODS TRIATHLON COVERAGE – BROOKS GROSSINGER did not win this sprint triathlon in 2005 and 200g for a very good reason. He wasn't there. His did win every other NWT, though, a total eighteen....
Shyanne & Spencer!
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Friday, 04 April 2025 00:10
Top Photo: BH Sprint champ Shyanne McGregor. Page 2 Photo: BH Olympic winner Spencer Syvertson.
BREWHOUSE OLYMPIC COVERAGE - Not since 2018 has a triathlete beaten JOSH BLANKENHEIM in his own backyard, i.e. Duluth and environs, until yesterday, that is. Josh and Wade Cruser duked it in '18, with Wade coming out on top at Brewhouse Olympic. FYI, Cruser was the Triathlete of the Year in back then.
Yesterday, Josh turned in his fastest Brewhouse performance ever, but he came up just 22-seconds short. He made up time on the bike and run, but SPENCER SYVERTSON's swim, along with his improved cycling, delivered him to the finish line in course record time. 1:50:17! This performance along with his RR at Alexandria and his 2nd at Lake Minnetonka make him arguably the frontrunner for 2024 Minnesota's Most Improved male triathlete.
Josh's 1:50:39 nuked BH's Masters record.
The final mem's podium sport went to Superior Wisconsin's RICHARD VANDEN BRANDEN, whose fine 1:56:57 on the 1200m - 24 mile - 10K course was highlighted by his signature strong running. According to his Facebook page, Richard is into hunting, fishing and country music.
Wisconsin's MADDY BLAIN, who had a brief stint as a pro triathlete a few years back, and many fine amatuer performances in her home sate since then, was a late registrant. She bracked solid swim and bike spits with...
M & Ms, Girlfriends & Katie's Gun Show...
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Tuesday, 01 April 2025 00:10
GRANITEMAN BIG LAKE OLYMPIC COVERAGE - We don't much about NATHAN LASSELLE, other than that he is young and wears a UM tri kit. He captured our attention in 2023 when he placed 2nd at Big Lake Olympic. So we did some research, starting by Googling the UM Tri Team. We learned at lot:
Nathan Lasselle - "I am this year’s Fundraising Coordinator. I am from Maple Grove, Minnesota, and I am majoring in Chemical Engineering. My hobbies include playing clarinet, being outdoors in nature, weight lifting, eating M&Ms and of course swimming, biking, and running. My favorite part of the team is the friendships that are formed. Many of my best friends were met on the team. My favorite memory of the team is when we went tubing after Pleasant Prairie Tri."
Lasselle, an exuberant clarinet-playing, M & M aficionado (Who isn't?) with fundraising skills is a faster in all three diciplines this year than he was in 2023, when he posted a 2:19:47 second place finish at Big Lake Olympic, which proudly features four bike miles more than standard Olympic routes. Last Saturday at this year's Big Lake Olympic, he won the race, though he needed to overcome a rather slow first transition to eventually track down and pass early leader NOAH BILLINGS, who would keep things close until the run, where he proved to be about 10-seconds per mile faster. Billings, whose girlfriend (phot below) was watching him race for the first time, was justifiably pleased with his effort. ...
Kim & Jasper...
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Wednesday, 26 March 2025 00:10
CHISAGO LAKES 70.3 COVERAGE - In the days leading up to this year's races, ELENA JASPER decided not to race in the Olympic event, and instead tackle the 70.3...
Caryn & Jack, Cheryl and Nick...
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Sunday, 23 March 2025 00:10
CHISAGO LAKES OLYMPIC COVERAGE - There were plenty of awesome performances in Sunday's Chisago Lakes Olympic Triathlon. The race is young, only three years old, and many of the AG records are a bit soft, so it wasn't earth-shattering that eleven of the sixteen non-open class (00-19, 40 & over) age groups saw record times despite the heat and wind. Some of those performances were truly special, like JULIA WESIBECKER's 55-59 effort that landed her in 4th place overall in the women's race, or THOMAS WOODS' 50-54M performance, which landed him in 8th place overall. Woods is a highly decorated elite master from Nebraska....
