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Triathlon Canada Announces Top Athletes of the Year

Credit: Delly Carr/ITU :2014 Mooloolaba ITU Triathlon World Cup
Credit: Delly Carr/ITU :2014 Mooloolaba ITU Triathlon World Cup

Kirsten Sweetland, Kyle Jones and Stefan Daniel maintained their positions as the nation’s best triathletes heading into the 2015 season as Triathlon Canada acknowledged its top performers last year through its annual Excellence Awards.

Victoria’s Kirsten Sweetland had a year to remember in 2014. The 26 year old ran her way into the history books as the second Canadian ever to reach the World Triathlon Series podium when she won the bronze in Hamburg, Germany. Just a couple of weeks later, the pint-sized Canuck was making history again when she became the third Canadian athlete ever to reach the podium at the Commonwealth Games where she captured the silver medal.

“2014 was really a breakthrough year for me. It was what I’ve been working towards for a few years now and part of me didn’t know if I’d ever get to that level again,” said Sweetland. “Achieving that was one of the best feelings of my life! To be recognized by Triathlon Canada for those efforts is really great! We are creating a strong high performance culture in Canada and being a part of that is a real honour!”

The 2014 National Champion, Kyle Jones, was named the Elite Male Triathlete-of-the-Year for the third straight season. The 30 year old Jones finished 11th at the Commonwealth Games, placed 15th at a World Triathlon Series race in London and had two Continental Cup wins along with a National Championship title.

“I’m honoured and grateful to be awarded this distinction. Last year was an exciting, yet challenging, year for me as I was dealing with a worsening vascular issue in my leg that I knew required a surgical repair. Having said that, I’m proud of the results I was able to achieve this past season, which were encouraging for me given my condition. Now with the surgery successfully completed, I look forward to an even better 2015 season.”

Stefan Daniel received the Parariathlon Male Excellence Award for the second straight season. One of the brightest stories in Triathlon Canada’s circles over the past year was the success of the teenage para-triathlete. Calgary’s 17-year-old Daniel won three straight ITU para-triathlon races across North America before winning the silver medal at the World Championships in Edmonton.

“I was thrilled with how the 2014 season unfolded. I started doing junior races for the first time, which really helped me gauge my progress throughout the year,” said Daniel. “My coaches helped me progress at a significant rate throughout the year and I became more confident going into races. I’m looking forward to the 2015 season and I hope it can be even better than last year.”

Triathlon Canada also recognized four athletes in the Under-23 and Junior race categories.

Tyler Mislawchuk, of Oak Bluff, Man. earned top honours in the Under-23 male category, while Amelie Kretz, of Blainville, Que. battled back from injury to cap off a solid 2014 campaign and win the women’s Under-23 award. Emy Legault, of Ile Perrot, Que., grabbed the junior girls award for the second straight year, while Calgary’s Russell Pennock was recognized as the top junior boy after going undefeated on the National Junior Series before finishing fifth at the Junior World Championships.

Triathlon Canada recognized Philip Adsetts with the third annual William J. Hallet Excellence Award, which recognizes Significant Contributor/Volunteer of the Year Award.

Other award winners include the following:

Multi-Sport Male-Athlete-of-the-Year – Brent McMahon

Multi-Sport Female-Athlete-of-the-Year – Heather Wurtele

Age Group Coach-of-the-Year – Barrie Shepley

 

Age Group Excellence Awards

Standard Distance Triathlon

Kirsten Marchant (Newmarket, Ont.) – 20-24 Female

Sarah Macarthur (Calgary) – 20-24 Female

Severine Bouchez (St-Ambroise, Que.) – 20-24 Female

Jackson Laundry (Haydon, Ont.) – 20-24 Male

Robert Johnson (Vacouver) – 30-34 Male

Sharon Sytles (Carstairs, Alta.) – 35-39 Female

Suzanne Chandler (West Vancouver) – 40-44 Female

Kristina Schultz (Sherwood Park, Alta.) – 40-44 Female

Mike Greenberg (Toronto) – 40-44 Male

Margaret Ritchie (Edmonton) – 55-59 Female

Beverly Watson (Priddis, Alta.) – 60-64 Female

Robert Knuckey (Alton, Ont.) – 65-69 Male

Harry Braaksma (Toronto) – 75-79 Male

Jim Anderson (Winnipeg) – 75-79 Male

 

Sprint Distance Triathlon

Garrick Loewen (LaSalle, Ont.) – 16-19 Male

Severine Bouchez (St-Ambroise, Que.) – 20-24 Female

Alison Jackson (Abbotsford, B.C.) – 25-29 Female

Lisa Goetz (Toronto) – 30-34 Female

Robert Johnson (Vancouver) – 30-34 Male

Julie Curwin (Sydney, N.S.) – 45-49 Female

Andrew Tuovinen (Vancouver) – 50-54 Male

Janice Jones-Skinner (Lindsay, Ont.) – 60-64 Female

 

Duathlon

Peggy Labonte (Pierrefonds, Que.) – 30-34 Female

Jennifer Faraone (Toronto) – 40-44 Female

Carolyn Silvey (Toronto) – 55-59 Female

David Field (Barrie’s Bay, Ont.) – 55-59 Male

 

Sprint Distance Duathlon

Andrew Tuovinen (Vancouver) – 50-54 Male

 

Long Distance Triathlon

Tamasin Reno (Vancouver) – 30-34 Female

Julie Miller (Squamish, B.C.) – 40-44 Female

Jen Milton (Vancouver) – 40-44 Female

Colleen Gray-Hewitt (North Vancouver) – 45-49 Female

Jim Stewart (Surrey, B.C.) – 60-64 Male

Cedric Boily (Moncton, N.B.) – 30-34 Male

Jason Sandquist (Duncan, B.C.) – 45-49 Male

Pierre Lavoie (Chicoutimi, Que.) – 50-54 Male

Len Ireland (Ottawa) – 60-64 Male

Robert Knuckey (Alton, Ont.) – 65-69 Male

Isabelle Rouleau (Repentigny, Que.) – 18-24 Female

Leslie Black (Toronto) – 40-44 Female

Sheri Fraser (London, Ont.) – 55-59 Female

Rosemary Wedlake (London, Ont.) – 60-64 Male

Valerie Gonzales (Victoria) – 65-69 Female

Pierre-Marc Doyon (Saint-Romuald, Que.) – 18-24 Male

Pierre-Yves Gigou (Quebec City) – 25-29 Male

Pierre Heynemand (Notre-Dame-des-Prairies, Que.) – 45-49 Male

Milos Kostic (Regina) – 70-74 Male

 

Cross Triathlon

Brittany Webster (Canmore, Alta.) – 25-29 Feamle

Nadine Mueller (Canmore, Alta.) – 35-39 Female

Tom Evans (Penticton, B.C.) – 45-49 Male

Carl Peterson (Penticton, B.C.) – 60-64 Male

 

from: www.triathloncanada.com