Calgary triathlete completes National Jr. sweep at Apple Triathlon | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Calgary triathlete completes National Jr. sweep at Apple Triathlon

The Apple Triathlon Junior Elites coming out of the water during the race Saturday, Aug. 16, 2014.
Image Credit: Twitter/Kelowna Apple Triathlon

KELOWNA - Calgary’s Russell Pennock capped off a perfect season on the National Junior Series with his fourth straight win at the Pushor Mitchell Apple Triathlon on Saturday, while Samantha Klus won her first title of the year in the women’s race in Kelowna, B.C.

The 17 year old Pennock, who rattled off three straight victories including the national championship title earlier this summer, took advantage of one of his best 750-metre swims of the season and ideal race conditions en route to climbing to the top of the podium. Pennock came out of the water in third spot, and moved into the front of the pack by the end of the 20-kilometre bike before separating himself from the field for all four laps on the five-kilometre run to take the victory with a time of 55:30.

“That was my last National Junior Series race so I wanted to make it a fun one and I did,” said Pennock, whose sister Ellen was cheering on the sidelines fresh off competing for Canada at the Commonwealth Games.

“It was nice to have Ellen back and cheering for me. It was a solid swim today. I had to catch Myles Zagar on the bike. He is such a strong swimmer, and then I really just enjoyed those final four laps as a junior on the run.”

Nicolas Gilbert, of Trois-Rivieres, Que., was the next best finisher in second place at 56:14, while Montreal’s Jeremy Obrand won the race for the bronze medal after stopping the clock at 56:22.

Pennock was unbeaten in his first three junior races this season including the Canadian Junior Championship title in Magog, Que. He will now head to Edmonton to represent Canada at the World Junior Championships.

“This (Kelowna) is probably my favourite triathlon. It is such a great race, but I’m super excited to race in Edmonton.”

Ottawa’s Samantha Klus also capped off her junior triathlon career with a victory. A third-place finisher at the national championships, Klus moved up two spots into fifth following a strong transition from the swim onto the bike course where she eventually led the top juniors in the country into second transition. Battling stride-for-stride with Manitoba’s Kyla Roy, Klus finished on top when the dust finally settled at the finish, clocking a time of 1:03:56.

“We didn’t work as well on the bike as I would have liked, but it feels good to be on top,” said Klus. “This is my favourite race. It is such a beautiful race and so organized. It was a fight to the finish today and I’m glad to get my first win.”

Winnipeg’s Roy settled for second spot at 1:04:02, while Annie-Kim Labarre, of Joliette, Que., ran to the bronze medal with a time of 1:04:11.

The Pushor Mitchell Apple Triathlon continues on Sunday with the elite races.

For complete results on National Junior Series race hosted by Pushor Mitchell Apple Triathlon in Kelowna, B.C., please visit http://www.appletriathlon.com/

News from © iNFOnews, 2014
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