Alison Hooper and Jeff Phillips Make History Winning Inaugural Canada Summer Games Triathlon Races

SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I.—British Columbia’s Alison Hooper and Jeff Phillips put their names in the history books as the first-ever winners of the men’s and women’s triathlon events staged at a Canada Summer Games, and stepped onto the top of the podium in Summerside, P.E.I. on Tuesday.

Victoria’s Hooper, who was racing in just her sixth triathlon, battled through high waves and windy conditions on Summerside’s waterfront to enter the transition into the bike with the lead pack of six athletes after the 750-metre swim in the morning. With the aid of her teammates, Kyla Coates and Christine Ridenour, the trio of B.C. athletes kicked the pace into another gear on the 20-kilometre bike, setting up a strong five-kilometre run for Hooper who marched to the gold medal with a time of 58 minutes 15 seconds.

“I made history today and that is pretty cool,” said the 16-year-old Hooper at the finish line. “It was really tough conditions today. I’m pretty small and those waves were big and pushed me around a bit, but it was the cross-winds on the bike that made things extremely difficult.”

Inspired by watching Canada’s Simon Whitfield run to an electrifying silver-medal victory at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Hooper began training for triathlons less than one year ago.

“I remember watching Simon’s race on tv at home and it totally motivated me to start training,” said Hooper, who was also the 2009 Canadian Junior Champion. “It is such a great sport. I love everything about it and I think it is awesome that it is now in the Canada Games.”

British Columbia athletes grabbed three of the top-four spots in the women’s race. Hooper’s teammate, Kyla Coates, locked up the bronze with a time of 58:57, while Christine Ridenour was fourth at 59:12. Manitoba’s Sarah-Anne Brault prevented the B.C. sweep of the podium after clocking a silver-medal time of 58:34.

As the winds dwindled off the south shores of P.E.I. at the conclusion of the women’s race, the nation’s top-28 male athletes – 20 years of age and under – hit the pontoon for their Canada Games debut.

A group of eight athletes, representing a variety of provinces, quickly separated themselves from the field after the 750-metre swim and hammered the pace on the 20-kilometre bike. Storming out of the transition into the three-loop run along the waterfront, Victoria’s Jeff Phillips wasted no time making his break from the pack in the first lap of the run en route to posting a golden time of 53:59.

“I am really happy because I’ve been preparing for this race for a year now,” said the 20-year-old Phillips, who also won the Teck Western Junior Championship earlier this summer. “I was going for the gold today and I’m thrilled it worked out.”

Phillips was joined on the men’s podium by fellow national development team-member, Connor Hammond of Ontario. Hammond, who won the 2009 National Junior Championship last month, clocked-in at 54:44 to finish second. Cole Stewart, of British Columbia, rounded out the podium in third at 54:52 to complete a successful day for British Columbia athletes who grabbed four of the six medals available.

“I think British Columbia is the triathlon capital of Canada and we showed that today,” said Phillips. “We have a really good development program, our national team is based out of the training centre in Victoria, and training year-round is such a huge advantage for us.”

Triathlon continues at the Canada Summer Games on Friday with the team relay races. While all signs indicate British Columbia is the favourites heading into the newly-created spectator friendly race format, each of the provinces will be vying for a spot on the podium. The women will race Friday at 10 a.m. while the men will hit the water at 12 noon.

Triathlon Canada is the governing body for triathlon in the country. Recognized as an Olympic medal sport since 2000, Triathlon Canada’s mandate is to promote, foster, organize and develop the sport of triathlon, and its related disciplines, in Canada. For more information on Triathlon Canada, please visit us at http://www.triathloncanada.com/ on the Internet.
Complete Canada Summer Games Triathlon Results : http://www.2009canadagames.ca/
(750-metre swim, 20-kilometre bike, 5-kilometre run)
 
Top-Five Junior Women’s Results:
1. Alison Hooper, British Columbia, 58:15; 2. Sarah-Anne Brault, Ontario, 58:34; 3. Kyla Coates, British Columbia, 58:57; 4. Christine Ridenour, British Columbia, 59:12; 5. Dorelle Hinton, Ontario, 59:13.

Top-Five Junior Men’s Results
1. Jeff Phillips, British Columbia, 53:59; 2. Connor Hammond, Ontario, 54:44; 3. Cole Stewart, British Columbia, 54:52; 4. Joel Howlett, Saskatchewan, 55:06; 5. Brad Piggott, Nova Scotia, 55:15.

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