Dingman sweeps USA Duathlon titles in Bend
Danielle Dingman swept the women’s standard and sprint-distance titles, Albert Harrison won the men’s standard-distance title and Keith Jackson was the men’s sprint champion at the 2017 USA Triathlon Duathlon National Championships in Bend, Oregon, on Saturday.
The races, which drew more than 500 competitors, were held at Bend’s Summit High School for the second consecutive year.
Harrison (Moscow, Idaho) and Dingman (Branson, Mo.), who were also the overall winners at April’s Long Course Duathlon National Championships in Cary, North Carolina, kicked off the day with wins in the standard-distance race.
Harrison covered the 10-kilometer run, 40k bike and 5k run course in 1 hour, 53 minutes, 34 seconds. Alistair Eeckman (Berkeley, Calif.) crossed the line second in 1:55:24, but is ineligible for age-group podiums as an elite. Defending champion Jesse Dunn (Logan, Utah) officially took second in 1:56:51, and Wade Cruser (Sauk Rapids, Minn.) completed the podium in third in 1:57:52.
Harrison was third behind Jason Holt ( Clearfield , Utah) and Dunn after the first 10k run. He moved into the lead early on the bike and recorded a 59:44 split as the only athlete biking under 1 hour.
“You never really know who’s going to show up at Duathlon Nationals, so I just tried to feel out the competition on the first run. I’m pretty confident in my bike, but I didn’t think I would have quite the lead I did coming into the second run,” Harrison said. “I’ve wanted this race for several years. I raced Long Course Nationals last year, and during that race I fractured my sacrum, so I couldn’t race here. I’ve been determined ever since then to come back and win.”
Dingman crossed the line in 2:05:38, finishing nearly eight minutes ahead of runner-up and defending champion Kirsten Sass (McKenzie, Tenn.). Dingman stayed on the heels of Ashley Benson (Burlingame, Calif.) on the first run, recording a 37:03 10k to put herself in second place by only 13 seconds heading onto the bike. Dingman’s bike split of 1:07:50 was more than three minutes faster than anyone else in the race, and she sealed the win with a race-leading 19:17 5k run.
Sass finished strong in second place with a time of 2:13:15, and Sarah Barkley (East Wenatchee, Wash.) took third in 2:21:00.
“When I’m out there, it’s me against the clock. I just stay calm and focus on my own race,” Dingman said. “Ashley had a really strong first leg, so she really helped motivate me at the start. I felt like if I had a really good first leg, the rest would be smooth sailing. The bike course was challenging — it’s more technical than you’d think it would be, but it’s a beautiful area. Then I just tried to stay relaxed and calm in the last run.”
In total, 25 age-group national champions were crowned in the standard-distance race. Dunn (M25-29), Sass (F35-39) and Jacqueline Sasaki (Chico, Calif., F40-44) defended their 2016 national titles.
In the sprint-distance race, Dingman made it two national titles in one day, finishing in 1:03:58. Defending overall champion Sarah Barber (Boise, Idaho) took second in 1:05:32, and Melisa Christian (Dallas, Texas) was third in 1:08:05.
Dingman started strong and never let up, building a 25-second lead on her closet competitor over the course of the first 5k run. She went on to record the fastest 20k bike and fastest 2.5k run of the day as well, building a lead of more than a minute and a half by the time she broke the tape.
“It’s an emotional experience. It’s been a long journey,” Dingman said after winning her third duathlon national title of the season. “I knew [the sweep] was there, but I knew it was going to take work to pull it out. It wasn’t easy. It’s a really short time to recover, so it’s important to make sure you’re doing all those little things to recover as best as possible. When your Garmin is saying your recovery check is ‘poor’ going into a race, you’re like, ‘Well, there’s nothing I can do about it!’ You just have to gut it out.”
Keith Jackson (Loveland, Colo.) was the men’s sprint-distance champion in 58:28, successfully defending his overall title from 2016. Lee Piercy (Folsom, Calif.) crossed second in 59:29, but is ineligible for awards as an elite. Dunn officially took second place in 59:41, earning back-to-back overall podiums on the day, and Philippe Bouttefroy (Seattle, Wash.) placed third in 1:00:54.
Dunn took the early lead with a 16:13 5k run split, followed by Timothy Wells (Burbank, Calif.) and Duncan Reid (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.). Jackson was in 10th trailing Dunn by about a minute after the run, but he made his move on the bike with a race-leading 30:42 bike split. He had almost a minute’s gap on the rest of the field heading into the second run, and held strong to bring home the win.
“On the second run, I couldn’t tell how far ahead I was, so I just put my head down and ran,” Jackson said. “I won last year here in Bend, so it was really nice to come back and make sure it wasn’t a fluke. You have to have the mindset that you can win going in, but anyone can slip in under the radar, so it’s really an unknown until race day.”
National titles were awarded to 29 athletes in the sprint race, including repeat champions Jackson (overall), Sass (F35-39), Barber (F40-44), Brian Schur (Kennewick, Wash., M40-44), Thomas Woods (Lincoln, Neb., M45-49), Kerry Farrell (Auburn, Wash., M55-59), Sharon Gerl (Springfield, Ore., F65-69), Kenneth Fleischhacker (Littleton, Colo., M80-84), Madonna Buder (Spokane, Wash., F85-89) and Lew Hollander (Redmond, Ore., M85-89).
op age-group finishers in Saturday’s races qualified for the 2018 ITU Multisport World Championships Festival in Odense, Denmark, where world titles will be awarded to duathletes competing in standard and draft-legal sprint events. In the standard-distance National Championship race, the top 18 finishers per age group, rolling down to 25th place after applying the age-up rule, qualified for Team USA. In the sprint race, the top six finishers per age group qualified.
The racing action continues Sunday with the Draft-Legal Duathlon World Qualifier, a sprint-distance race that directly qualifies top finishers for Team USA. While not a national championship event, the world qualifier will allot Team USA slots to the top 12 men and top 12 women per age group, rolling down to 25th place. The race, which is being held alongside Duathlon Nationals for the first time, features a 5k run, draft-legal 20k bike and 2.5k run. The first wave is set to go off at 7:30 a.m. PT at Summit High School.
Team USA is comprised of the nation’s top amateur multisport athletes who represent the U.S. at each ITU World Championships event. Visit usatriathlon.org/teamusa for more information on Team USA.
To follow the action from Duathlon Nationals live, visit usatriathlon.org/usatdu17coverage or download the USA Triathlon National Events App . Complete event information is available at usatriathlon.org/usatdu17 .
2017 USA Triathlon Duathlon National Championships
Complete Results
Standard-Distance National Champions
10k run, 40k bike, 5k run
Male Overall: Albert Harrison (Moscow, Idaho), 1:53:34
Female Overall: Danielle Dingman (Branson, Mo.), 2:05:38
Male Masters: John Craft (Bend, Ore.), 2:03:00
Female Masters: Erica Ruge (Longmont, Colo.), 2:23:31
Male Grand Masters: David Burkhart (Brighton, Mich.), 2:14:42
Female Grand Masters: Ellen Hart (Denver, Colo.), 2:26:40
M17-19: Kyle Tarkiainen (Newbury Park, Calif.), 3:24:12
F17-19: Kaytlynn Welsch (Alvin, Texas), 2:47:29
M20-24: Cody Forman (Reno, Nev.), 2:00:51
F20-24: Courtney Winterbauer (Alameda, Calif.), 2:27:51
M25-29: Albert Harrison (Moscow, Idaho), 1:53:34
F25-29: Danielle Dingman (Branson, Mo.), 2:05:38
M30-34: Wade Cruser (Sauk Rapids, Minn.), 1:57:52
F30-34: Ashley Benson (Burlingame, Calif.), 2:22:08
M35-39: Steven Garza (San Jose, Calif.), 2:00:47
F35-39: Kirsten Sass (McKenzie, Tenn.), 2:13:15
M40-44: Jeffrey Hoppert (Portland, Ore.), 2:05:17
F40-44: Jacqueline Sasaki (Chico, Calif.), 2:26:45
M45-49: John Craft (Bend, Ore.), 2:03:00
F45-49: Erica Ruge (Longmont, Colo.), 2:23:31
M50-54: David Engstrom (Beaverton, Ore.), 2:08:40
F50-54: Kirsten Chapman (Edmond, Okla.), 2:26:24
M55-59: Robert Ripley (Bend, Ore.), 2:13:11
F55-59: Ellen Hart (Denver, Colo.), 2:26:40
M60-64: David Burkhart (Brighton, Mich.), 2:14:42
F60-64: Colleen Rebant (Ovilla, Texas), 2:49:25
M65-69: Keith Woodward (Stowe, Vt.), 2:31:15
F65-69: Jeannette Groesz (Redmond, Ore.), 2:54:53
M70-74: David Lowe (West Chester, Pa.), 2:42:14
F70-74: Karin Bivens (Tucson, Ariz.), 4:16:37
M75-79: Jim Hix (Claremore, Okla.), 3:08:41
Sprint-Distance National Champions
5k run, 20k bike, 2.5k run
Male Overall: Keith Jackson (Loveland, Colo.), 58:28
Female Overall: Danielle Dingman (Branson, Mo.), 1:03:58
Male Masters: Thomas Woods (Lincoln, Neb.), 1:02:21
Female Masters: Melisa Christian (Dallas, Texas), 1:08:05
Male Grand Masters: Joel Kinnunen (Melbourne, Fla.), 1:03:17
Female Grand Masters: Juliet Hochman (Portland, Ore.), 1:08:33
M17-19: Duncan Reid (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.), 1:01:50
F17-19: Heather Welsch (Alvin, Texas), 1:17:51
M20-24: Will Drinkwater (Palo Alto, Calif.), 1:03:26
M25-29: Keith Jackson (Loveland, Colo.), 58:28
F25-29: Danielle Dingman (Branson, Mo.), 1:03:58
M30-34: Philippe Bouttefroy (Seattle, Wash.), 1:00:54
F30-34: Cymon Kersch (Portland, Ore.), 1:10:22
M35-39: Benjamin Green (New York, N.Y), 1:03:18
F35-39: Kirsten Sass (McKenzie, Tenn.), 1:08:09
M40-44: Brian Schur (Kennewick, Wash.), 1:02:31
F40-44: Sarah Barber (Boise, Idaho), 1:05:32
M45-49: Thomas Woods (Lincoln, Neb.), 1:02:21
F45-49: Celia Dubey (Tarpon Springs, Fla.), 1:11:56
M50-54: Joel Kinnunen (Melbourne, Fla.), 1:03:17
F50-54: Juliet Hochman (Portland, Ore.), 1:08:33
M55-59: Kerry Farrell (Auburn, Wash.), 1:04:28
F55-59: Ellen Hart (Denver, Colo.), 1:13:40
M60-64: David Burkhart (Brighton, Mich.), 1:07:39
F60-64: Patty Peoples-Resh (Redlands, Calif.), 1:12:39
M65-69: Phil Anderson (Portland, Ore.), 1:15:22
F65-69: Sharon Gerl (Springfield, Ore.), 1:23:25
M70-74: James Noonan (Vancouver, Wash.), 1:24:36
F70-74: Mary Ann Bachus (Chico, Calif.), 1:48:56
M75-79: Donald W. Moore (Fort Myers, Fla.), 1:52:34
F75-79: Frances Marquart (Lakewood, Wash.), 2:19:00
M80-85: Kenneth Fleischhacker (Littleton, Colo.), 1:38:01
M85-89: Lew Hollander (Redmond, Ore.), 2:17:22
F85-89: Madonna Buder (Spokane, Wash.), 2:13:43
PC Open: Brittany Webster (Liberty Lake, Wash.), 1:43:51