After a tough-as-nails day two in the beautiful Bahamas, many of our Colorado pros proved their fortitude as they pushed hard and made it to the championship day on Sunday. Only the top 10 move on, but in a field where everyone is a top-notch competitor, how can you really lose?
Men’s Race
Nobody could knock Richard Murray off of the top spot as he took the win in a stacked men’s field. Not far behind him in second place was Boulder’s Cam Dye, who had a top-five finish here last year. Once again, Cam shined on the swim-bike portion of the day, making him tough to beat. Rounding out the men’s podium was Aaron Royle.
If there was one Colorado pro who made a huge comeback on the weekend, it was Boulder’s Leon Griffin. After finishing the first day of competition in the 12th overall spot, Griffin charged back on day two, turning in an insanely fast performance, claiming fifth place. His gutsy day two performance catapulted him into seventh place at the end of day two and put him in a great position heading into the third and final day.
Griffin capitalized in day three, turning in a gutsy performance, climbing his way into sixth in the overall standings. Griffin and his wife, Merridee, just gave birth to their second child days before Griffin left for this race. I think it’s safe to say the dad of two pushed himself to the limits for his family at this one.
Women’s Race
Olympic gold medalist Gwen Jorgensen repeated as the Island House Triathlon champion after fighting off a strong and determined Flora Duffy. Duffy, who trains in Boulder a good portion of the year, gave Jorgensen a run for her money on day two and three, but it wasn’t enough as Jorgensen used her fastest run splits of the final two days to keep Duffy in second. Rounding out the podium was IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Holly Lawrence.
Day two for Boulder trainees Helle Frederiksen and Ellie Salthouse was monstrous. Thanks to huge bike efforts, followed by speedy runs, Salthouse and Frederiksen found themselves qualified for day three and sitting pretty in fourth and fifth place. Landing in the 10th and final spot at the end of day two was Boulder’s Lauren Goss, helping her advance to the championship round.
Although the podium was all but determined, our Colorado women were able to push themselves in the tough day three sprint series and finished strong. Salthouse would end her successful weekend in sixth overall, followed by Frederiksen in seventh and Goss in eighth,
Even though all of our Colorado pros couldn’t make it to the final day, they still proved why they are the best around and why they are invited to this exclusive and competitive event. Well done to Tim Don, Ben Hoffman, Tim O’Donnell, Mirinda Carfrae, and Alicia Kaye on two tough days of competition!
