USA Triathlon
September 10, 2011 (Beijing, China) – USA Triathlon Project 2016 program member Kaitlin Shiver (Satellite Beach, Fla.) ran her way to a fourth-place finish at the 2011 ITU Under-23 World Championships on Saturday. Teammate Lauren Goldstein-Kral (Shaker Heights, Ohio) joined her in the top 10 with a second straight ninth-place finish in the event.
Shiver covered the Olympic-distance course in 2:07:18, just ahead of Goldstein-Kral, who finished in 2:07:54. Lauren Goss (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) rounded out a strong effort by the Americans by grabbing 16th in 2:08:57. Agnieszka Jerzyk of Poland earned gold in 2:07:07.
After riding amongst the leaders for the majority of the bike, all three U.S. athletes – paced by Goss, who led the race through the first lap of the run – grabbed a spot in a lead group of 15 who stuck together for three of the four 2.5-kilometer laps.
Shiver patiently bided her time until there was a break on the final lap of the run, and she responded to lock up her top-four finish. “I just hung with the group and waited to see how it played out,” Shiver said. “I felt good so I knew I’d be able to counter when someone made a move.”
Shiver, who won the 2011 USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship for the University of Florida, is the current leader of the USA Triathlon Elite Race Series through three of five events. “It’s just been an incredible year,” Shiver said. “Everything has fallen into place, and training has been going great.”
2011 ITU Women’s Under-23 World Championships
1,500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run
1. Agnieszka Jerzyk (POL), 2:07:07
2. Zsofia Kovacs (HUN), 2:07:08
3. Rebecca Robisch (GER), 2:07:14
4. Kaitlin Shiver (Satellite Beach, Fla.), 2:07:18
9. Lauren Goldstein-Kral (Shaker Heights, Ohio), 2:07:54
16. Lauren Goss (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.), 2:08:57
