It has been deemed the “Woodstock of Triathlon.”
More 6,000 triathletes competed in the second-largest meet in the world, the Wildflower Triathlon, last weekend in California, which attracts more than 27,000 spectators every year.
After a 13th place finish last year, the Oregon Club Sports triathlon team placed sixth of out 43 teams with a time of 16 hours, 47 minutes, 40 seconds. Times are based on the top three men and three women of each team.
“This team’s dedication and drive took them way farther than I had initially anticipated,” coach Jay Williams said. “We were much more prepared physically and emotionally from last year.”
The Ducks competed in the world-class course Olympic Distance Triathlon, which consists of a 1.5 kilometer open water swim, 40K bike course and 10K run. Many of the Oregon athletes achieved personal records and the team had a 100 percent finish rate.
Sophomore Eric Gonzales finished first for the Oregon men with a time of 2:32:22, while second place went to freshman Dan Wright in 2:42:36.
For the women, senior Heidi Engstrom had a personal best with 2:42:19, and second place went to senior Stefanie Rimel in 2:56:21.
“Each person did the best they could on that day for that race,” coordinator and three-time Wildflower competitor Alisha Siecinski said. “It all came together on that day.”
“Everybody accomplished something huge that day even though they weren’t expecting to,” senior Brian Haggerty said.
Williams competed for Oregon, but competed in the long course triathlon, also known as a “half-ironman.” The course consists of a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1 mile run and is one of the most challenging courses anywhere.
“I knew what to expect and I knew it was going to hurt physically, but I couldn’t have asked for a better race,” Williams said after finishing the race in 5:27:35.
The Wildflower Triathlon had its 20th anniversary this year and plays host to the best pro athletes in the world, including Chris McCormack, who captured the long course title for the second straight year in 4:03:59.
All of Oregon’s athletes put the one thing into their races which is mandatory, according to Williams.
“Heart,” he said.
First-time Wildflower competitor Paul Anhert describes his experience as extremely difficult.
“I was on the bike and going so hard that I started to have tunnel vision and things got really blurry and I just powered through it and finished strong,” Anhert said.
Anhert encountered what experienced triathletes refer to as “whitezone.”
Jesse Thomas is a freelancer reporter for the Emerald.