Swimming canceled, but triathlon runs smoothly otherwise

By Aida Ahmed

Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011 | 6:18 p.m.

Despite chilly temperatures and strong winds, more than 900 of the world’s top long-distance triathletes competed in the 2011 ITU Long Distance World Championship on Saturday in Henderson.

Athletes from 26 countries including Brazil, Great Britain, Canada, United States, France and Japan gathered at the Henderson Pavilion for the competition, the first time in 16 years that it has been held in the United States and the first time ever in Nevada.

“It’s a great course,” event director Meg Lowery said. “It’s known to be really, really challenging and well supported.”

Lowery said she and her husband were contacted by USA triathlon, the competition’s governing body, to hold the race in Henderson. After bidding on it in Australia, they were notified that they had been selected to host it this year.

The triathlon was originally set as a 4-kilometer swim in Lake Las Vegas followed by a 120-kilometer bike ride near Lake Mead, ending with a 30-kilometer run near The District at Green Valley Ranch. Cold morning temperatures canceled the swim portion of the race.

The 2011 men’s champion, Jordan Rapp, said the change was unexpected but may have helped him overall in the race.

Rapp, the first person to cross the finish line, said the anticipation of finding out if he won was nerve-wracking. Athletes start at different times and are judged on the overall course completion times, not necessarily on who crosses the finish line first.

“You cross the line and you’re pretty confident but you can’t do this huge celebration, just in case someone closed on you in the last mile,” said Rapp, who traveled from Thousand Oaks, Calif., for the race. “I don’t know if it has sunk in yet. It always feels so strange. I’m sure in the next couple of days it will start to hit me.”

Although he mostly competes in Ironman competitions, Rapp said he knew he wanted to race in the ITU World Championship when he heard about it two years ago.

“It’s special to be able to race a world championship on your home soil as a U.S. athlete,” Rapp said.

Rachel Joyce of Great Britain, winner of the women’s championship, said she prepared for the race all year. She has been participating in triathlons since 2005 and said she was proud to represent her country.

“It was great,” she said. “It was just the kind of course I like. It’s tough; there are lots of hills and the wind. I was disappointed we didn’t have a swim but it was a little chilly.”

Lowery, who also hosts the Silverman triathlon, said about 2,000 volunteers, some Henderson residents, other family and visitors there to see racers helped make the event possible.

Suzie McGoldrick traveled from New Zealand to see Nick Ruane, one of six disabled people competing in the ITU competition, represent the country.

Sporting a “Go Nick Go" shirt, she and other new Zealanders cheered on athletes finishing the running portion of the race.

“(Nick) is the first para-athlete from New Zealand to be invited to the triathlon,” McGoldrick said. “We came to support him.”

Lowery said Henderson has been a great triathlon location in the past and is becoming an ideal spot for the sport.

“It’s a great place to train year-round,” she said. “It’s a huge draw for athletes. Lots of challenging hills, the swims are great, clean water, and we also did the Ironman World Championship as well, so I think that other organizations are recognizing it’s really a destination area.”