First Canada Games triathlon medals awarded
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 | 12:13 PM AT
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Jeffrey Phillips and Alison Hooper won the first-ever Canada Games medals for triathlon. (Nancy Russell/CBC) Two Victoria natives have won gold in the first Canada Games triathlon in Prince Edward Island.
Alison Hooper and Jeffrey Phillips will go into the history books as the first gold medallists in the sport. There were 28 male competitors and 27 women in the inaugural event, which is small by Canada Games standards.
Phillips finished the course Tuesday in 53:59, Hooper in 58:15.
Fans of triathlon hope this means their sport is part of the Canada Games for good. Hooper and Phillips are proud to be part of that history.
"That's something that I can always say I've done and nobody else can," Phillips told CBC News.
"It's really exciting. I'll remember it forever," added Hooper.
The course took competitors around the city of Summerside, starting with 750 metres in the harbour, then a 20-kilometre bike ride through downtown, finishing with a five-kilometre run.
Running in heat wave
The men prepare to dive into Summerside Harbour for the first leg of the triathlon. (Nancy Russell/CBC) The weather was blisteringly hot for the event, pushing 30 C. Medical staff were watching the athletes closely, but much of the responsibility lay with them.
Running in that heat can require drinking 250 millilitres of water every 15 minutes, and the athletes themselves have to find the right balance.
Organizers are prepared to hand out as many as 240,000 bottles of water during the Games.
This first triathlon comes nine years after the sport made its debut at the Olympics. Kristine Chambers, youth director for Triathlon Canada, said it took time to develop the high-level coaching courses required for admission to the Canada Games.
"It was soon after 2000 where this process began, and this is our first Games," said Chambers. "We hope it will be a consistent sport from this time on."
Chambers said the sport needs a host city with a venue that works for triathlon so that young athletes can improve.
Triathlon has been confirmed for the 2013 Games in Sherbrooke, Que.
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