Garrard, Smith Lead U.S. at ITU Winter Triathlon World Championships

USA Triathlon

March 27, 2011 (Jamijarvi, Finland) – Winter triathlon standouts Emma Garrard and Brian Smith recorded seventh-place finishes to pace the U.S. contingent Saturday at the ITU Winter Triathlon World Championships.

The women’s winner at the 2011 USA Triathlon Winter Triathlon National Championship, Garrard (Park City, Utah) posted a time of 1 hour, 27 minutes, 20 seconds in the 6-kilometer run, 11.4-kilometer mountain bike and 10-kilometer cross-country ski women’s elite event. Garrard, who was second following the run with a 6k split of 23:04, posted her second straight seventh-place finish at winter worlds.

In his fifth consecutive ITU Winter Triathlon World Championships appearance, Smith (Gunnison, Colo.) notched a career-best showing with his seventh-place finish in 1:12:13 in the men’s elite race. Smith’s 11.4k bike split of 26:13 was the day’s fourth-best showing. He has now cracked the top 12 in each of the past three winter world championship events.

Additionally, a trio of U.S. age-groupers earned podium finishes, with two winning world titles. Champion Nicole Freedman (Boston, Mass.) and runner-up Anna Milkowski (Andover, Mass.) claimed the top two spots in the women’s 35-39 age group, and Darcy Foley (Sturbridge, Mass.) was the winner in the women’s 30-34 age group.

Najeeby Quinn (Anchorage, Alaska) added an 11th-place finish in the women’s elite race in 1:35:45, while Mike Kloser (Vail, Colo.) placed 20th in the men’s elite event in 1:20:09.

Norway’s Borghild Løvset was the women’s elite champion in 1:22:02, while Pavel Andreev of Russia claimed the men’s elite title in 1:10:31.

Kloser’s son, Christian Kloser (Vail, Colo.), was sixth in the junior race, which featured a 3k run, 5.7k mountain bike and 5k cross-country ski, in 54:44.

Elite Women

(6k run, 11.4k mountain bike, 10k cross-country ski)

1. Borghild Løvset (NOR), 1:22:02
2. Sarka Grabmullerova (CZE), 1:24:35
3. Maija Oravamäki (FIN), 1:25:25
7. Emma Garrard (Park City, Utah), 1:27:20
11. Najeeby Quinn (Anchorage, Alaska), 1:35:45

Elite Men

(6k run, 11.4k mountain bike, 10k cross-country ski)

1. Pavel Andreev (RUS), 1:10:31
2. Arne Post (NOR), 1:10:37
3. Andreas Svanebo (SWE), 1:10:50
7. Brian Smith (Gunnison, Colo.), 1:12:13
20. Mike Kloser (Vail, Colo.), 1:20:09

Junior Men

(3k run, 5.7k mountain bike, 5k cross-country ski)

1. Pavel Yakimov (RUS), 47:34
2. Alexey Chumakov (RUS), 48:02
3. Jarno Lehtinen (FIN), 49:44
6. Christian Kloser (Vail, Colo.), 54:44

U.S. Age Group Finishers

Women’s 30-34

1. Darcy Foley (Sturbridge, Mass.), 1:01:01

Women’s 35-39

1. Nicole Freedman (Boston, Mass.), 1:01:23
2. Anna Milkowski (Andover, Mass.), 1:08:01

Men’s 40-44

6. Bruce Rahmig (Denver, Colo.), 54:18

Men’s 55-59

4. Bill Billingsley (Sandy, Utah), 1:20:20