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PRESS RELEASE – The Guam Triathlon Federation (“GTF”) held its second and final no-rills fundraising sprint series triathlon race early Sunday morning at Hoover Park in Piti. Hundreds of triathletes contributed to what amounted to a record number of participants for the annual GTF sprint series races.
The 750 meter swim, 20 kilometer bike and 5k run was highly competitive in both the relay and soloist divisions.
Olympic Super Team
15-year-old Notre Dame student Justin Nieves completes the swim portion of his first triathlon. (courtesy photo)
The Guam London Olympic representative super team of Chris Duenas (swimming), Derek Horton (cycling) and Derek Mandel (running) would be the first competitors to cross the finish line, using the race as a warm up for their teaming up in the Guam National Triathlon Championship in July.
Duenas was the first out of the water, followed closely by Tommy Imazu, who was also part of a competitive relay team, which included Pacific Games triathlete Peter Lombard on the bike leg and high-school standout runner Aria Perez-Thiesen for the run. Horton’s lead was briefly overtaken as relay cyclist Peter Lombard, in his first action back from injuries, overtook Horton before heading into the final transition to the run.
Perez-Thiesen did her best to hold off Olympian Derek Mandell, but the lead was not quite enough as he would catch her half way through the final 5k to take home first place relay team honors.
Carey, Lombard Take Series Championship
XTERRA pro Mieko Carey and GTF National Champion Gabe Lombard were able to hold off the surging competition and finished in first place overall for the soloist women’s and men’s division, keeping the points lead and taking home the GTF Sprint Series Championship.
Carey was the first female out of the water and didn’t look back, putting together a forceful bike and run as she prepares for the triathlon championship race in July. Sara Haack and GTF National Champion Aysha Perez would round out 2nd and 3rd for the females for the second race in a row.
Recent Ironman 70.3 World Championship qualifier Cameron O’neal and Lombard raced a closely contested three legs which saw O’neal surpassing Lombard on the bike. Lombard was able to maintain striking distance into the run transition and narrowly edged O’neal on the 5k run for the win.
“Cam’s a competitor man, he beat me in (the Japan half ironman) and recently it seems it’s not a complete triathlon for us unless we’re killing each other till the end,” an exhausted Lombard said. Craig Thedwall would round out the top 3, finishing third overall in a strong individual race.
Up next for the triathlon federation is the biggest race of the year, the Guam National Triathlon Championship – which will feature the crowning of this year’s national champions. The July 14th race is also serving as a qualifier on to the GTF national team for their upcoming competition at the Pacific Islands Triathlon Championship in Papua New Guinea.
Further information regarding the July championship race and qualification standards can be found on their website (triathlonguam.com) and Facebook page (facebook.com/triathlonguam). Official results from the sprint series race were not available at the time of press release.
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