St. Anthony’s Triathlon
April 27, 2008 (St. Petersburg, FL) – St. Anthony’s Triathlon celebrated its 25th anniversary with a weekend full of events that welcomed more than 4,000 athletes and 130 relay teams from more than 48 states and 17 countries. In its 25 year history, St. Anthony’s Triathlon has hosted some of the top champions from around the world. This year was no exception.
In somewhat of a repeat of last week’s Olympic trials, Boulder’s Matt Reed outgunned Andy Potts to finish atop the men’s pro field at this year’s edition of the race. The win makes it two years in a row for Reed at St. Anthony’s. Reed’s winning time of 1:46:34 was only 24 seconds behind his record time of 1:46:10 set at last year’s race.
Andy Potts, 32, of Colorado Springs and Australian Greg Bennett, 36, rounded out the top three in pro men’s field. Potts, the 2008 IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion, had a finish time of 1:46:52, and Bennett, the 2005 St. Anthony’s champion, had a finish time of 1:47:43.
“I was on a high from my Olympic qualification, and I really wanted to defend my title,” said Reed, 33, a New Zealand native who won by 18 seconds against Potts. “The race was quite close. During the bike portion, Andy stuck to me like glue. He always brings his A game.”
In the women’s pro race, Sarah Haskins, 27, dominated to win the title in 1:59:24. Haskins, who began competing in triathlons only five years ago, lives and trains in Colorado Springs. Mirinda Carfrae of Boulder took 3rd, and Samantha McGlone of Colorado Springs finished 4th.
“I finally did it,” said Haskins. “I kept a positive attitude all the way through. My goal was to break the record, but the course was difficult. I didn’t break the record, but I’m happy with my win.”
Meanwhile, in the elite amateur competition, Brooke Davison, 37, led the Colorado contingent as she crushed the women’s field, winning by four minutes. Craig Greenslit, 38, of Berthoud led the Colorado men with his 3rd overall finish. Josh Shadle, 25, and Aaron Hersh, 23, both of Boulder, finished 13th and 29th, respectively.
