A great day to 'tri' swimming, biking, running
<p>LOREN BENOIT/Press Kjiell Schioberg, left, of Coeur d'Alene, kisses his daughter Kyra, 1, after crossing the finish line of the Coeur d'Alene Triathlon. Schioberg placed first in the individual duathlon category with a time of 02:06:55.</p>
<p>LOREN BENOIT/Press Individuals rush into the waters of Lake Coeur d'Alene from the starting line of the Coeur d'Alene Triathlon Saturday morning at City Beach.</p>
<p>Caleb and Anna Torgenson, eight and five-years-old respectively, offered high-fives and a “you can this” to everyone who passed at the Coeur d’Alene Triathlon Saturday. The two came to support their dad, Marcus. Photo by Bethany Blitz.</p>
The Coeur d’Alene Triathlon was just about as perfect as it could have been Saturday morning. The water was warm, the sun was soft and the crowd was wild.
Ashley Luttrell of Hayden has quite the cheer squad waiting for her at every transition. Her mom, Cindy Wright, and her best friend, Brittany Reeder, were so excited to see their girl come out of the lake and get on her bike.
Luttrell has only done one triathlon before, in July.
“The theme of this year is ‘why not?’,” Reeder said of her friend. “She just signed up one day and did it the next week. She was hooked so she signed up for this one.”
Luttrell may have been the most fabulous racer on the course Saturday. A beautician, she came will a full face of makeup, her hair done and her nails sparkling, because, why not?
Luttrell has her sights set on doing the half Ironman triathlon next year and the full Ironman the year after.
“I’m so proud to come out and support her,” her mom said.
Somewhere else in the crowd a high shrill rang out and a cowbell rang furiously: “Go Nicki!! Go Nicki!!”
Katherine Morgan jumped up and down and gave her friend a big hug as she ran from Lake Coeur d’Alene to the transition area.
Morgan and her friend, Nicki Lynn, both attempted the half Ironman triathlon in June but didn’t finish.
“She’s gonna finish this thing,” Morgan said. “She got out with plenty of time to spare.”
Morgan wasn’t only Lynn’s cheerleader, she was everyone’s cheerleader. Waving a cowbell and shouting out racers’ numbers, everyone who passed couldn’t help but smile and move a little faster.
In the transition area, Lisa May lathered on sunscreen and set the timer on her watch. She was the running leg for her team. The team’s swimmer, 12-year-old Ada Christensen, was the first woman out of the water.
Now, the team’s biker, Jen Christensen, Ada’s mom, was out in the race and May was waiting for her to come back.
“These things are more fun as a team,” May said. “The camaraderie is great.”
Their team was the first place women’s olympic team with a time of 2:34:06.
Overall, 216 racers completed the olympic triathlon, a 0.9 mile swim, 24.8 mile bike and a 6.2 mile run; 169 racers completed the sprint triathlon, a 500 yard swim, 13 mile bike and a 3.1 mile run; and 22 racers completed the duathlon, a 3.1 mile run, 24.8 mile bike and a 6.2 mile run.
Kip Taylor of Coeur d’Alene and Julie Vieselmeyer of Seattle were the first place male and female finishers of the olympic triathlon with times of 2:10:32 and 2:22:06 respectively.
Korey Kreider of Coeur d’Alene and Lauren Ketner of Hayden were the first male and female finishers of the sprint triathlon with times of 1:07:53 and 1:17:34 respectively.
Kjell Schioberg of Coeur d’Alene was the first male finisher of the duathlon with a time of 2:06:55 and Natalie Magnus of Moscow was the first female finisher of the duathlon with a time of 3:00:54.