By Jon Willemsen
On the heels of the provincial championships earlier in the month, some of Ontario’s finest young triathletes were in town for a second time in August for the 2014 edition of the Dunrobin Kids of Steel Triathlon on Aug. 24.
“I think we can definitely say it was a success,” says Greg Kealey of the Bytown Storm Triathlon Club, lead organizers of the competition. “We had beautiful weather, a great location to be at, and were surrounded by great people.”
The event, which attracted entrants as young as age 6, served as an introduction to the sport for some, while other older participants traveled from points near and far in the province to earn points in the Ontario Youth Cup Series.
“I think this is my sixth or seventh triathlon this summer,” indicates 12-year-old London resident Cal Lewis, who enjoyed the Dunrobin course despite the tough climb from the water to the bikes. “I love the sport because it’s three things I love: swimming, running, and biking. So, when I found a sport with all three, I just was all over it.”
The seventh-annual edition of the Dunrobin Triathlon was the final Storm-organized Kids of Steel event of a trio that also included a stop at Sharbot Lake, west of Perth, earlier this summer. “It takes about 200 man-hours of work into getting everything organized,” notes Kealey, emphasizing the key role of community and volunteer support and the club’s partners at the city and the YMCA-YWCA. “At the end of the day, we just to make sure the kids have fun. Triathlons are a great sport because they encourage healthy lifestyles, so seeing everyone enjoy being active like this is awesome.”
Kyle Caie earned the biggest prize out of Ottawa participants, winning the male draft-legal competition for ages 14-17, while other local category champions included Isla Hardie (female under-7), Zachary Dube (male U7), Brandon Dube (male U9), Rachel Cameron (female U15) and David Aguillar (male U15).
Storm’s Klus Wins Junior Series Title
Bypassed in selections for Canada’s world juniors team, the Storm’s Samantha Klus won the final event of Triathlon Canada’s National Junior Series on Aug. 16 in Kelowna, B.C., while Bytown teammate Meagan Adams was 10th.
Competing at the Aug. 26-Sept. 1 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final, Ottawa’s Christine Robbins placed sixth in the PT5 paratriathlon category, former Storm athlete Joanna Brown withdrew during the bike portion of the under-23 women’s race, and London 2012 Paralympic rower David Blair – who’d earlier been named to the world championships team by Triathlon Canada – did not enter in the end.
—By Ottawa Sportspage