McLarty, Shoemaker Win USAT Super Sprint in Milwaukee

Sara McLarty and Jarrod Shoemaker raced their way to the top of the podium at the USA Triathlon Super Sprint Series Milwaukee on Aug. 9 in conjunction with the USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships weekend.

Read the race recap from USA Triathlon below:

The race showcased the draft-legal talents of over 30 elite and junior elite athletes, held on and around the grounds of the Milwaukee Art Museum and Discovery World. The athletes completed two continuous circuits of the same course, including a 325-meter swim, 4-kilometer bike and 1.5-kilometer run. The top three men’s and women’s finishers received a share of the prize purse of $4,950.

McLarty (Clermont, Fla.) logged a time of 37 minutes, 51 seconds to earn the win, finishing 40 seconds ahead of Abby Geurink (Hudsonville, Mich.), who took second in 38:31. Zara Guinard (Salt Lake City, Utah) rounded out the podium, finishing third in 40:17.

Shoemaker (Clermont, Fla.) bested the field with a time of 33:19, five seconds ahead of Darr Smith (Atlanta, Ga.) who finished second in 33:24. Alex Libin (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was third in 33:36.

In the women’s race, it was clear from the beginning that McLarty’s strong swim and bike skills would have an impact on the field. She took a quick lead, but Geurink was able to close the gap on the first run. McLarty then dropped the hammer on the second half to win.

“The crowds were amazing. They planned this out perfectly with nationals and everybody stuck around and lined the entire course — like 5 deep or 10 deep in places,” McLarty said. “The other thing for me was seeing all the future junior girls who are our next generation of pros, and it’s fantastic to see them out there doing great.”

Early in the men’s race, most of the field was within a few seconds, but spread out at the start of the second swim. Shoemaker and Smith broke away and came into transition together to start the final run leg. With 1.5k to go in the race, Shoemaker’s run put him in the lead, finishing ahead of Smith, who is coming off a third-place finish at USA Triathlon Junior Elite Nationals last weekend.

Shoemaker suggested the idea of hosting a super sprint race at Age Group Nationals as an opportunity to showcase elite and junior elite triathletes.

“It was great because people could hang around after their race or when they dropped of their bikes,” Shoemaker said. “It’s an absolutely beautiful venue. It was hard; it was fun; it was fast. I don’t think I could have asked for anything more.”

The USA Triathlon Super Sprint Series was launched in 2013 to showcase an exciting new format for the sport in the United States. The 2014 series will continue on Sept. 11 with the USA Triathlon Elite Sprint National Champions in Las Vegas, on Sept. 11. The event will be televised nationally by Universal Sports Network on Oct. 1 at 8 p.m. ET. More information on the USA Triathlon Super Sprint Series is available at Usatriathlon.org/supersprintseries.

USA Triathlon Super Sprint Series Milwaukee
325m swim, 4k bike, 1.5k run x2

Women
1. Sara McLarty (Clermont, Fla.), 37:51
2. Abby Geurink (Hudsonville, Mich.), 38:31
3. Zara Guinard (Salt Lake City, Utah), 40:17
4. Samantha Kennedy (East Lansing, Mich.), 40:35
5. Savannah Wayner (Dicky Beach, Queensland), 40:51
6. Phelan Purnell (Pewaukee, Wis.), 41:14
7. Heidi Stimac (Geneva, Ill.), 41:32
8. Victoria Clinton (Elburn, Ill.), 41:44

Men
1. Jarrod Shoemaker (Clermont, Fla.), 33:19
2. Darr Smith (Atlanta, Ga.), 33:24
3. Alex Libin (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 33:36
4. Ben Collins (Chicago, Ill.), 34:01
5. Andrew Starykowicz (Wauconda , Ill.), 34:06
6. Justin Roeder (Fishers, Ind.), 34:29
7. James Thorp (Toledo, Ohio), 34:40
8. Nickolaus Early (Buffalo Grove, Ill.), 34:48
9. Tucker Creger (Shelbyville, Ky.), 34:48
10. Alec Wilimovsky (Malibu, Calif.), 35:01
11. Max Bennett (Parker, Colo.), 35:04