PATCO Sprint Triathlon Championships and Junior North American Championships Saturday March 8

Triathlon Magazine March 4, 2014

World Triathlon Series - Canada's Andrew Yorke at ITU WTS Kitzbuhel 2012. Photo by Triathlon.org | Janos Schmidt / ITU — World Triathlon Series – Canada’s Andrew Yorke at ITU WTS Kitzbuhel 2012. Photo by Triathlon.org | Janos Schmidt / ITU

Sarasota, Fla. will host the PATCO Sprint Triathlon Championships and Junior North American Championships this Saturday March 8. This is the second straight weekend of draft-legal racing in Florida and will take place at Nathan Benderson Park.

International elites will complete a one-lap 750-meter swim, a three-lap 20-kilometer bike, and a one-lap 5-kilometer run. The women’s race is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET, followed by the men at 2 p.m. ET.

While American Sarah Haskins is the pre-race favourite following her win last weekend at the Clermont Sprint Triathlon Pan American Cup, Canadians Joanna Brown and Amelie Kretz are sure to challenge her following their third and fourth place finishes last weekend. Canadian Andrew Yorke who was second last weekend also looks to push the pace this weekend.

The Junior North American Championships will feature more than 130 up-and-coming triathletes ages 16 to 19 on the same sprint course as the elites. The record field is more than triple the size of the field from 2012 when the event was last held, and Canada has over 50 athletes racing. The junior women are set to start on Saturday at 9:45 a.m. ET, and the junior men will begin at 11 a.m.