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Age group athlete medals twice at ITU

Carl Peterson won gold and bronze in Multisport World Championship Festival
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Penticton’s Carl Peterson celebrates across the main finish line after he had taken third overall in his 65 to 69 age group in the International Triathlon Union Aquabike World Championship race. Peterson started the Multisport World Championship Festival by winning his age group championship in Cross Triathlon. Mark Brett/Western News

Going into the International Triathlon Union Multisport World Championships, Carl Peterson made it a goal to reach the podium twice.

On Aug. 23, he captured gold for his 65 to 69 age group in the Cross Triathlon, a 1.5-kilometre swim, 31-km bike and eight-km run in three hours four minutes 49 seconds. Overall, he placed 97th among 315 athletes.

“I felt really good. In fact, I even predicted my time. I kept crunching the numbers and I came up with 3:05,” said Peterson.

On the final day, Aug.27, he earned bronze in the first-ever Aquabike World Championship.

“I was really thrilled,” said Peterson.

An Xterra Champ for his age group, Peterson had not recovered from the Cross Triathlon three days before, but took whatever was left in his gas tank and finished. He completed the three-km swim and 120-km bike in 4:33:43, saying it was a good result.

“I didn’t have enough in my legs to really crank it up,” he said.

After crossing the finish line at Martin Street near Nanaimo Avenue, Peterson and the other Aquabike athletes were told if they wanted to, they could grab their runners and go through the main finish line.

Peterson waited 18 years for the chance to win a world championship. He waited for the opportunity for a world event to be hosted in his hometown. After winning the Hawaii Xterra last year, he said it is “really cool” to add an ITU brand race. There were moments he was pushed to his limit as he dealt with cramping issues.

He celebrated his victory by enjoying cider with his wife Joy, who also competed in the Cross Triathlon, in the 50 to 54 age group. She finished with a personal best time on the bike of 2:23:13. Her total time was 4:00:23.

“I was thrilled with my bike time and the opportunity to race with everybody,” she said. “It was a solid effort.”

She had the best swim for her age group and was eighth overall among women. Joy’s focus wasn’t on rankings, but being part of the event.

“I recognize there is room for improvement,” said Joy, who is a paramedic, which makes devoting time to training difficult.

She said the experience was terrific and loved the camaraderie, which is strong among cross triathletes.

There were several athletes from the South Okanagan, who competed in the Long Course distance Aug. 27. Kandis Lipsett placed ninth overall among females in the 30 to 34 age group, finishing in 7:37:42; Karen Kircher was 41st in the 45 to 49 age group, finishing in 9:03; Lisa Spalding was 30th in the 50 to 54 age group, finishing in 9:51:50; Jenny Ayers placed sixth in the 55 to 59 age group, finishing in 7:52:56; Gloria Woolner was ninth, finishing in 8:00; Charlie Llewellyn was 19th, finishing in 8:22:33. In the male field, Tony Buckingham was eighth in the 35 to 39 age group, finishing in 6:26:13; Scott Tremblay, a former top-10 finisher in Subaru Ironman Canada, placed fifth in the 40 to 44 age group, finishing in 6:23:54; Ed Marbach was 41st in the 55 to 59 age group, finishing in 8:32:35; George Zradicka was 26th in the 65 to 69 age group, finishing in 11:29:03; Karl Martin did not finish in the 70 to 74 age group after completing the bike. Dennis Slade placed 14th in the 50 to 54 age group of the Aquabike, finishing in 4:33:36.