Asplund, Sheeks Grab USAT Elite Duathlon National Titles
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Marisa Asplund of Durango, Colo., and Matthew Sheeks of Woodinville, Wash., earned national titles as the top American finishers at USA Triathlon’s Elite Duathlon National Championship Saturday, March 27, at Oak Mountain State Park outside Birmingham, Ala.
The run-bike-run race, which was a part of the Powerman Alabama Multisport Weekend, featured a 10-kilometer, 60k, 10k course and a $5,000 prize purse for the elites.
Asplund, 33, was the overall women’s winner in 3:06:05. She was fourth following the first run but produced the fastest bike split of the day en route to the victory. Asplund finished nearly a minute ahead of 2009 champion Jessica Jacobs, a Maylene, Ala., native, who finished in 3:06:57. Birmingham’s Deanna Newman was third in 3:13:23.
Sheeks, 27, clocked a time of 2:45:28 to finish as the top American and second overall behind the world’s No. 1-ranked duathlete, Belgium’s Joerie Vansteelant, who pulled away on the bike and finished in 2:42:51. David Thompson of St. Paul, Minn., rounded out the podium with a time of 2:47:27.
The top four American finishers on each side qualified for the USAT Elite Duathlon World Championship Team for the 2010 ITU Elite Duathlon World Championships Sept. 3-5 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Boulder, Colo., resident Uli Bromme finished fourth on the women’s side to join the medalists as a Team USA qualifier, while Matthew Russell (Ogdensburg, N.Y.) and Dereck Treadwell (Laurens, N.Y.) were the No. 3 and No. 4 Americans on the men’s side, respectively.
2010 USA Triathlon Elite Duathlon National Championship
March 27, 2010 – Pelham, Ala.
Men
1. Joerie Vansteelant (Torhout, Belgium), 2:42:51
2. Matthew Sheeks (Woodinville, Wash.), 2:45:28
3. David Thompson (St. Paul, Minn.), 2:46:27
4. Matthew Russell (Ogdensburg, N.Y.), 2:46:49
5. Dereck Treadwell (Laurens, N.Y.), 2:49:03
Women
1. Marisa Asplund (Durango, Colo.), 3:06:05
2. Jessica Jacobs (Maylene, Ala.), 3:06:57
3. Deanna Newman (Birmingham, Ala.), 3:13:23
4. Uli Bromme (Boulder, Colo.), 3:13:50
5. Melissa Miller (San Antonio, Fla.), 3:17:38
Race recap provided by USA Triathlon.