More than 750 athletes headed to Oliver this past weekend to race in the annual Oliver Half Iron Triathlon, a long distance event with a 2 km swim, 93 km bike and 21.1 km run. Among them were several members of the Whistler Triathlon Club.
The top Whistler athlete was Nils Robinson, who placed 99 th overall and 20 th in the very competitive men’s 35 to 39 race with a total time of five hours, nine minutes and 43 seconds. He was 28 th out of the water on the swim leg, but dropped back slightly on the bike and run legs.
Next across the line was Greg Sandkuhl, who placed first in the 60 to 64 age category with a time of 5:16:41, more than half an hour faster than the next athlete. He was also 122 nd overall.
Chris Hodkinson was 157 th overall and 26 th in men’s 35 to 39 with a time of 5:24:19.
Liz Cullen was eighth in the women’s 25 to 29 race, as well as 47 th out of 317 women in the race, with a time of 5:41:10.
Brandi Higgins placed 14 th out of 55 women in the 35 to 39 category with a time of 5:48:45. She was one of the fastest female swimmers, and was 46 th out of the water with a time of 31:37.
Kerri Gamble was 22 nd in the women’s 30 to 34 race in 5:58:16.
Laura Henderson was 23 rd in the same group in 5:59:07.
Scott Brammer was 59 th in men’s 35 to 39 in 6:10:30.
Liane Dunsmuir was 28 th in women’s 35 to 39 in 6:12:24.
Whistler’s Oliver Blake also competed in the elite category with an injured foot. He started off well — 25 th out of the water, and 10 th on the bike, but opted to pull out of the run after his first lap of the course. Blake was using Oliver as a training run, and is focusing on the Long Course Nationals in Osoyoos in July and Ironman Canada in August.
From Pemberton, Nancy Johnston was 10 th in women’s 40 to 44 with a time of 5:47:29.
From Squamish, Volker Schneider was 14 th in men’s 40 to 44 and 102 nd overall in 5:09:55.
Trevor Lowe was 34 th in men’s 35 to 39 in 5:31:58.
This weekend several members of the Whistler Triathlon Club are taking part in the International Triathlon Union World Championships in Vancouver, competing in the age categories of the Olympic and Sprint distance events.
