Tri-umphs

By Jim Starr

It is perhaps unsurprising that triathlon’s meteoric rise from its inception in California 25 years ago to its inaugural appearance as an Olympic sport this past summer has fired the imagination of multisporters throughout the US. Although this column has been primarily occupied with Olympic coverage this year, local athletes have been active and productive (even reproductive) in 2000. Still, some important local news does derive from the Olympics.

Zeiger, Kemper Honored

Joanna Zeiger , the Johns Hopkins University Ph.D. candidate who afforded US fans their greatest hope in Australia in September with her eventual fourth-place finish, was recently named US Olympic Committee (USOC) Triathlete of the Year for 2000. The 30 year-old genetic epidemiology graduate student joins Hunter Kemper, the male Olympic trial winner, in receiving this accolade. Nominated by the USA Triathlon (USAT) Board of Directors, both are now eligible to be USOC’s SportsWoman and SportsMan of the Year selected from a pool of 49 men and 49 women athletes. Last year’s winners were swimming’s Jenny Thompson and inspirational Tour de France winner (and former triathlete) Lance Armstrong.

Zeiger who also was the USAT and Triathlete magazine amateur Triathlete of the Year in 1997 topped off a great year in 2000 with a fifth-place finish at the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon. Zeiger essayed the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run in 9:40:23 in rough conditions on October 16 in Kona. Zeiger is all the more remarkable for having qualified for the Olympic trials in two of triathlon’s component sports, swimming and running. This season she won triathlons at St. Anthony’s in Florida, Buffalo Springs, TX and St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. Most notably, she won the US pro title with her second-place overall finish at Mrs. T’s triathlon in Chicago. Last February, her PR of 2:47:03 at the US Olympic Trials marathon earned her 30th place.

Kemper, the youngest US Olympic triathlete at 24, was voted in because he was instrumental in securing three Olympic spots for the US (instead of just one or two) on the basis of his high finishes in International competition early in the year. The Longwood, FL resident won the USAT age-group nationals held on the renowned Columbia, MD course in 1997.

Locals Test International Competition

Montgomery County’s (via Holland) Marjan Huizing took the US Pro Duathlon Championship in late October engendering hopes that she would again take a world title. It was not to be as the 32 year-old medical researcher at National Institutes of Health could only manage an admittedly disappointing 18th place at the world event held in Calais, France on October 8, 2000. Huizing, who is spending part of her “off-season” cross-training as a swimmer, doubts that she will try a tri anytime soon.

There was a lot of local action in Calais on a difficult course. The 10K (6.21 mile) run described two loops through the narrow streets of the town that is the terminus of one of the Dover, England ferry services. The first run was followed by a 40K (24.85 mile) bike and a third lap on foot around the 5K (3.1 mile) run loop. The bike course involved a steep climb along the water out of Calais and hilly terrain that wound through several towns before returning to the transition area.

Among the local finishers, Judi Carbary of Columbia finished 14th in the 45-49 age group (6th among the US athletes in the age group) with a 2:48:03 showing. Trey Cassidy led the local men home with his 18th place finish (5th US) in the tough 30-35 age group. His 2:08:05 allowed the Silver Spring resident to beat Steve Smith who had beaten Cassidy last year. Smith’s 2:10:10 was good enough for 24th place among the 65 age group competitors (7th US finisher). Hutch Stees earned 42nd place among the 20-24 year olds in a time of 2:16:49.

There are those who try to make duathlon a family affair. Scott Votey (50) of Gaithersburg crossed the line in 2:31:17 to place 41st (8th US). His wife Linda was 19th among the 45-49 year-olds with a time of 3:02:02 (8th US). But as a multisport family, the Voteys pale next to the Vivianis.

Donn and Anne Viviani gathered up two teenage sons last July and took them to the Apple Duathlon in Sartell, MN. On July 6, all four competed in the event that was the National Age-Group Duathlon championship and the qualifier for the World Duathlon Championship. All four weathered the steamy conditions well enough to gain entry to worlds. In Calais, they partied! Sons Bill and Tony crossed first with 2:33:10 and 2:40:11 clockings, respectively. The boys were 13th and 15th among 16-19 year olds (the 6th and 8th US juniors to finish). Mom Anne, a frequent force in local multisport races, followed her sons home in 2:45:55, 14th among women aged 50-54. She was the 4th US finisher in the age group and her time bested that of both Carbary and Votey in the younger age group. Husband (and Dad) Donn was the 51st finisher in the male 50-54 age group with a time of 2:55:23.

The Vivianis enjoyed their trip to Calais. Anne found the bike course hillier than she had expected. She observed that the uneven road surfaces seemed to have led to a rash of flat tires, especially during practice runs. Late in the race, it began to rain and that made traversing the cobblestones treacherous, at times, for some of the men who started later.

Congratulations are also in order for Potomac’s Desiree Ficker who endured the tough conditions of this year’s Hawaii Ironman (that included 45 mile per hour wind gusts) to move up five places from her rookie year performance and earn second place among the 20-24 year olds.

Oh, yes. If the Voteys and Vivianis didn’t convince you that multisporters are reproducing themselves, we want to congratulate Steve and Deena Smith. Deena gave birth to Gunnar Paul Smith (6 lbs, 14 oz.) on November 16th. Gunnar Paul crossed the starting line at 9:48 AM.

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