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.