There were quite a few folks around here that wanted to have a local celebration to honor Tim DeBoom’s victory at the IRONMAN World Championship. Triathlete Chuck Kipp contacted Nicole DeBoom and convinced her to organize one with him. They enlisted the help of Mark Sunderland, president of the Boulder Triathlon Club, and sponsors like Bell Helmets, Inside Triathlon magazine, Rudy Project, Polar Bottles, and Profile Designs.
Tim’s reaction to the idea was that it had to be a party for Siri Lindley too, for she had won the Olympic distance world championship this year and is also from right here in Boulder. It also had to be a benefit, and he chose the Wilderness Society as the benefactor.
A huge array of items were donated to be auctioned off at a silent auction, from signed equipment to a one-on-one training ride with Siri or Tim. Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen donated four tickets to a Broncos game and a Mike Shanahan signed football to the auction. It turns out Bowlen did the Hawaii IRONMAN in the early eighties. What do you know?
The event was at the West End Tavern on Pearl Street in Boulder. The place was packed beyond capacity with triathletes from beginners to seasoned pros, and families and friends. Other special attendees included running legend Frank Shorter and current cycling hot shot Christian Vande Velde. Steve Locke, director of USAT, drove up from Colorado Springs and presented Siri Lindley with the International Triathlon Union’s highest annual award, The President’s Cup, and showed off to the crowd a large photo portrait (by Timothy Carlson) of Tim and Siri that is now hanging in the new USAT National Training Center in Clermont, Florida and in the USAT offices in Colorado Springs.
There were a few dozen Nick and Willie’s pizzas and a big cake that was topped with an amazingly accurate sugar reproduction of Inside Triathlon’s cover with Tim crossing the finish line last October. The benefit was a big success, raising over $2,000 for the Wilderness Society. And from the grins on Tim and Siri’s faces all evening, you could tell that the celebration of their victories was a success as well.
Susan Falsey Stapleton
Awards and Nominations
The end of the season brought a plethora of accolades to Colorado Triathletes. As one would expect, Siri Lindley and Tim DeBoom both received athlete of the year honors in their distance categories from both of the national triathlon magazines, and Siri received Inside Triathlon’s Person of the Year award. They were both also nominated for the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year award. The prestigious worldwide Women’s Sports Foundation nominated Siri as one of only ten women for its annual award. She was in the company of such superstars as Jennifer Capriati, Michelle Kwan, and Annika Sorenstam.
USAT nominated 3 Coloradoans for the International Olympic Committee’s International Year of the Volunteer Award recognizing outstanding volunteers in sport. Founding Women’s Commission member and long-time coach Celleste Callahan received the honor, as did both husband and wife Brad Leonard and Susan Falsey. They have both served USAT and its predecessor, Tri Fed USA, for 20 years, most recently by creating USAT’s multi-faceted website and database systems.
In addition, 10 amateur Colorado triathletes and duathletes won All-American honors from Inside Triathlon.
Monica Fernandez
Fernandez Defends Ultraman Title
Monica Fernandez won her second women’s title in a row and placed tenth overall in the gruelling three day long Ultraman Triathlon on the Big Island of Hawaii. Monica completed the 10K (6.2 miles) swim in 2:59:10, the 261.4 mile bike segment in 14:44:30 and the 52.4 mile double marathon in 10:12:50, for an overall time of 27:56:54.
Kristen McFarland is an editor-at-large for Colorado Triathlete. As an athletic trainer and massage therapist, she works with professional triathletes in Boulder that have included both ITU and IRONMAN world champions.
