MILWAUKEE — Erin Jones and Eric Lagerstrom raced to top finishes at the 2015 Super Sprint Series event, held in conjunction with USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships on Aug. 8, capping off an action-packed day of racing on the grounds of the Milwaukee Art Museum and Discovery World.
The Super Sprint event returned to Milwaukee for the second year, featuring two continuous circuits of a 325-meter swim, 4-kilometer bike and 1.5-kilometer run course with a $10,000 prize purse up for grabs.
Jones (Hood River, Ore.) was first out of transition and maintained position with the lead pack throughout the race, breaking away at the finish to earn the win in 35 minutes, 46 seconds. Junior Elite All-American Avery Evenson (Colorado Springs, Colo.) finished one second behind in 35:47. Taylor Spivey (Redondo Beach, Calif.) rounded out the podium with a time of 35:55.
“The swim was pretty fast. Half of us were wearing wetsuits and half of us weren’t, so I liked that it was kind of even like that. The bike was just flat and hard and the run was the same,” said Jones, who competed at the ITU World Triathlon Olympic Qualification Event in Rio de Janeiro last week.
“That was the most fun triathlon I’ve ever done in my life; it was awesome,” Evenson said. “I had some technical difficulties around T2, but that happened to everyone. You just got to come back from your mistakes. And the nice thing about this race is that you have time to come back.”
In the men’s race, a pack of four quickly formed in the beginning and led throughout each circuit. During the last lap of the bike, Lagerstrom (Portland, Ore.) and Ben Kanute (Geneva, Ill.) gained an 8-second lead on Darr Smith (Atlanta, Ga.) and John Rasmussen (CAN). It came down to the run, where Lagerstrom outkicked his competitors, topping the podium in 32:44 and earning $1,500 of the prize purse. Kanute took second in 33:00 and Smith finished third in 33:11.
“The one thing I was a bit unprepared for was the wetsuit swim. Every time I’ve been to a super sprint they say we’re not doing wetsuits, so I didn’t even bring one. Then I spent the whole first ride trying to catch this guy,” said 2013 USA Triathlon Elite Sprint National Champion Lagerstrom, who competed in the Pan American Games last month in Toronto.
“I knew Eric was running fast; I knew a lot of those guys were running fast. It was just trying to keep track of everybody, trying to save as much energy as possible, and he just had quick legs today,” said Kanute, who posted a ninth-place finish earlier this season in a World Triathlon Series race – the best for any U.S. man this season.
The USA Triathlon Super Sprint Series was launched in 2013 to showcase and exciting new format for the sport in the United States. For more information on this year’s event, visit usatriathlon.org/ss15milwaukee.
USA Triathlon Super Sprint Series Milwaukee
325m swim, 4k bike, 1.5k run x2
Women
1. Erin Jones (Hood River, Ore.), 35:46
2. Avery Evenson (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 35:47
3. Taylor Spivey (Redondo Beach, Calif.), 35:55
4. Julie Stupp (Austin, Texas), 36:30
5. Johanna Gartman (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 36:37
6. Calah Schlabach (Arlington, Va.), 36:55
7. Nicole Truxes (Phoenix, Ariz.), 37:20
8. Sara McLarty (Clermont, Fla.), 37:27
9. Joanna Brown (CAN), 37:38
10. Megan Foley (Salt Lake City, Utah), 37:49
11. Brianna Baird (San Francisco, Calif.), 37:53
12. Kelsey Withrow (Clayton, Calif.), 38:03
13. Katie Gorczyca (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 38:11
14. Heather Lendway (St. Paul, Minn.), 39:04
15. Samantha Kennedy (East Lansing, Mich.), 39:13
Men
1. Eric Lagerstrom (Portland, Ore.), 32:44
2. Ben Kanute (Geneva, Ill.), 33:00
3. Darr Smith (Atlanta, Ga.), 33:11
4. John Rasmussen (CAN), 33:25
5. Alexander Hinton (CAN), 34:07
6. Alex Libin (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 34:17
7. John O’Neill (Vail, Colo.), 34:24
8. Dillon Nobbs (La Verne, Calif.), 35:21
9. David Thompson (Minneapolis, Minn.), 35:24
10. Robbie Deckard (Indianapolis, Ind.), 35:29
11. Mike Meehan (Allison Park, Pa.), 35:34
12. Chris Lutz (Clermont, Fla.), 36:35
13. Alex Willis (Leadville, Colo.), 37:09
14. Andrew Roos (Redwood City, Calif.), 37:25
15. Ian King (Virginia Beach, Va.), 37:32
16. Patrick Brady (Washington, D.C.), 38:09
DNF Eli Hemming (Kiowa, Colo.)
DNF Ben Collins (Chicago, Ill.)
DNF Steve Sexton (Raleigh, N.C.)
About USA Triathlon
USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon and paratriathlon in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 4,300 races and connects with nearly 500,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work with athletes, coaches and race directors on the grassroots level, USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of the ITU and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).