Top Athletes Race At USAT Duathlon Nationals

Nearly 600 athletes chased age group titles Saturday in standard- and sprint-distance events in Southern Arizona.

See the complete race recap from USA Triathlon below:

Patrick Parish and Gail Kattouf clinched overall national titles in the standard-distance event, while Greg McNeil and Patty Peoples won the sprint-distance race Saturday at USA Triathlon’s 2012 Duathlon National Championship, presented by TriSports.com.

Parish (Bloomington, Minn.) was the top U.S. finisher on the 5-kilometer run, 35-kilometer bike, 5-kilometer run course with a time of 1:23:06. He finished 12 seconds behind overall winner Lionel Sanders of Ontario, Canada, who clocked in at 1:22:54. Matthew Payne (Columbia Heights, Minn.) was third in 1:25:42, and last year’s overall champion Dave Slavinski logged a time of 1:25:50 to finish fourth overall and round out the national championship podium.

“I knew a few people would take it out hard,” said Parish, who ran at Duke University in college. “I just wanted to relax through the first run, and catch everybody on the bike and see if I could close.” Parish also claimed the 25-29 age group title and posted a 49:03 bike split, which was the fastest bike split of the day in the standard-distance event.

Defending champion Kattouf (Greenville, S.C.) bested the women’s field by nearly three minutes, taking the tape with a time of 1:37:00. She led the women’s field after the first run, with a 5k split of 19:02.

“Today I left it all out on the course,” Kattouf said. “I was really pleased with how the race went down. I knew going into transition I had a couple minutes lead, and then I cruised on the run.” In addition to her 2011 national title, Kattouf won a world title and plans to defend later this year in Nancy, France.

Kirsten Chapman (Edmond, Okla.) claimed the 45-49 age group title en route to an overall second-place finish with a time of 1:39:40, and Ellen Hart (Denver, Colo.) was third overall in 1:40:13, also winning the 50-54 age group.

In the sprint-distance national championship event, McNeil (Los Altos, Calif.), was nearly 30 seconds behind leader Dean Maruna (Erie, Colo.) after the first run, but recorded a monster bike split of 26:07 to take the lead. He went on to win the overall sprint-distance national title in 45:05 over the 2.5k run, 17k bike, 2.5 run course.

“The sprint is just a different experience,” said McNeil, who at one time was a professional cyclist. “You’ve got to go hard the whole way.” McNeil also claimed the male masters title and won the 40-44 age group. Maruna posted the two fastest run splits of the day – 7:48 on the first 2.5k and 9:21 on the second – to finish second overall and win the 50-54 age group with a time of 47:02. Sixteen-year-old Timothy Winslow (Elk Grove, Calif.) finished in 47:35 to take third, as well as the title in the Under-19 category.

Peoples (Redlands, Calif.) also took over the lead on the bike leg to finish as the women’s overall sprint-distance winner with a time of 51:46.

“I knew it was going to be competitive because I saw some world champions in there, some athletes of the year – top competitors in the sprint competition,” Peoples said. “I was looking forward to it, because I knew I was going to be challenged, and I was going to be pushed.”

A 29:32 bike split propelled Peoples to first place overall and in the 55-59 age group. 50-54 winner Valerie Eipper (Longmont, Colo.) finished second in 53:23, and Kayla Castro (Tucson, Ariz.) of the 25-29 age group was third in 53:54.

In the Paraduathlon National Championship, five champions were crowned in what was the largest paraduathlon field in this event so far. David Kyle (Athens, Ala.) defended his 2011 title in the TRI-3 division, while Grant Berthiaume (TRI-1, Tucson, Ariz.), Robin Caruso (TRI-4, Ridgefield, Conn.), Joel Rosinbum (TRI-4, Portland, Ore.) and Amy Dodson (TRI-5, Sahuarita, Ariz.) each won their respective categories.

A sprint open division was also contested, and Tucson locals Juan Casanova and Nathalie Adams were victorious. In all, nearly 600 athletes representing 45 states participated in Saturday’s Duathlon National Championship.

Duathlon Nationals was the sole qualifying event for the 2012 Standard-Distance ITU Duathlon World Championships in Nancy, France, on Sept. 22-23. The top 18 finishers in each age group, rolling down to 25th place, qualify for Team USA. Paraduathletes finishing the race in 2 hours or less qualify for 2012 ITU Paraduathlon World Championships. Athletes competing in the sprint-distance Duathlon National Championship or the sprint open wave are not eligible to qualify for Team USA or the ITU World Championships.

Team USA is comprised of the nation’s top multisport athletes who represent the U.S. at each ITU World Championships event.

2012 USA Triathlon Duathlon National Championship
Standard-Distance National Champions
5k run, 35k bike, 5k run
Click here for complete results

Female Overall: Gail Kattouf (Greenville, S.C.), 1:37:00
Male Overall Winner: Lionel Sanders (Canada), 1:22:54
Male Overall National Champion: Patrick Parish (Bloomington, Minn.), 1:23:06
Female Masters: Kirsten Chapman (Edmond, Okla.), 1:39:40
Male Masters: Dave Slavinski (Point Pleasant, N.J.), 1:25:50
Female Grand Masters: Bridget Dawson (Portland, Ore.), 1:46:28
Male Grand Masters: Walt Rider (Germantown, Tenn.), 1:37:43
M18-19: Jimmy Song (Mesa, Ariz.), 1:37:46
F20-24: Zara Guinard-Bachman (Tucson, Ariz.), 1:44:51
M20-24: Brian MacArthur (Tucson, Ariz.), 1:28:41
F25-29: Corrie Kristick (Houston, Texas), 1:43:06
M25-29: Patrick Parish (Bloomington, Minn.), 1:23:06
F30-34: Nike Matanza (San Diego, Calif.), 1:42:57
M30-34: Michael Boehmer (Waukesha, Wis.), 1:26:54
F35-39: Gail Kattouf (Greenville, S.C.), 1:37:00
M35-39: Matthew Payne (Columbia Heights, Minn.), 1:25:42
F40-44: Nicole Sin Quee (New York, N.Y.), 1:43:47
M40-44: Dave Slavinski (Point Pleasant, N.J.), 1:25:50
F45-49: Kirsten Chapman (Edmond, Okla.), 1:39:40
M45-49: Shane Thread (Evansville, Ind.), 1:29:43
F50-54: Ellen Hart (Denver, Colo.), 1:40:13
M50-54: Bruce Balch (Las Vegas, Nev.), 1:31:51
F55-59: Bridget Dawson (Portland, Ore.), 1:46:28
M55-59: Scott Hajicek (Lakewood, Colo.), 1:35:00
F60-64: Lynnda Best-Wiss (Boulder, Colo.), 1:59:23
M60-64: Walt Rider (Germantown, Tenn.), 1:37:43
F65-69: Karin Bivens (Tucson, Ariz.), 2:17:13
M65-69: Benjamin Ewers (North Oaks, Minn.), 1:44:20
F70-74: Corinna Goodman (Oro Valley, Ariz.), 2:05:34
M70-74: William Logan (Perryville, Mo.), 1:57:04
M75-79: Kenneth Fleischhacker (Littleton, Colo.), 2:07:40
M80-84: Lyle Langlois (Phoenix, Ariz.), 3:08:01
M85-89: Robert Powers (White Bear Lake, Minn.), 3:29:24

Sprint-Distance National Champions
2.5k run, 17k bike, 2.5k run

Female Overall: Patty Peoples (Redlands, Calif.), 51:46
Male Overall: Greg McNeil (Los Altos, Calif.), 45:05
Female Masters: Valerie Eipper (Longmont, Colo.), 53:23
Male Masters: Greg McNeil (Los Altos, Calif.), 45:05
Female Grand Masters: Patty Peoples (Redlands, Calif.), 51:46
Male Grand Masters: Bob Theodore (Woodridge, Ill.), 54:43
F19U: Alexis Butler (Ladera Ranch, Calif.), 1:04:10
M19U: Timothy Winslow (Elk Grove, Calif.), 47:35
F20-24: Rachel Brackett (Flagstaff, Ariz.), 1:01:10
F25-29: Kayla Castro (Tucson, Ariz.), 53:54
M25-29: Caleb Brantley (Tucson, Ariz.), 1:10:46
F30-34: Debra Crowther (Tucson, Ariz.), 58:09
M30-34: Michael Warden (Waukee, Iowa), 48:41
F35-39: Kathy Wilson (Tucson, Ariz.), 54:38
M35-39: Shannon Horn (Post Falls, Idaho), 48:02
F40-44: Anne Ekern (Houston, Texas), 56:37
M40-44: Greg McNeil (Los Altos, Calif.), 45:05
F45-49: Nancy Ellis (Tucson, Ariz.), 1:17:27
M45-49: Keish Doi (Cupertino, Calif.), 48:20
F50-54: Valerie Eipper (Longmont, Colo.), 53:23
M50-54: Dean Maruna (Erie, Colo.), 47:02
F55-59: Patty Peoples (Redlands, Calif.), 51:46
M55-59: Russ Jones (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), 49:53
F60-64: Diane Kerns (Portland, Ore.), 1:06:04
M60-64: Bob Theodore (Woodridge, Ill.), 54:43
F65-69: Carol Moore (Portland, Ore.), 1:16:25
M65-69: Bill Kircher (Newport Coast, Calif.), 57:49
M70-74: Don Ware (Tulsa, Okla.), 1:02:26
M80-84: Edward Maruna (Arvada, Colo.), 1:30:01

Paraduathlon National Champions
M TRI-1: Grant Berthiaume (Tucson, Ariz.), 51:27
M TRI-3: David Kyle (Athens, Ala.), 52:09
F TRI-4: Robin Caruso (Ridgefield, Conn.), 1:02:46
M TRI-4: Joel Rosinbum (Portland, Ore.), 51:32
F TRI-5: Amy Dodson (Sahuarita, Ariz.), 1:04:55

Sprint Open Division

Overall Female: Nathalie Adams (Tucson, Ariz.), 1:12:13
Overall Male: Juan Casanova (Tucson, Ariz.), 1:36:16