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Article from the Sierra Vista Herald
Oliver fastest in the fifth Hummingbird Triathlon
BY BRUCE BOURQUIN
Sunday, August 29, 2004 12:20 AM MDT
Pat Strange, one of the competitors in the Hummingbird Triathlon, swam the 800
yards at The Cove in Sierra Vista. The cycling portion was 13 miles and the run
portion was 3.1 miles. (Suzanne Cronn-Herald/Review)
HERALD/REVIEW
SIERRA VISTA - Competitors at the 5th annual Hummingbird Triathlon showed just
how fit and fast they were Saturday, starting and finishing at the Sierra Vista
Aquatic Center.
Only the quickest and most enduring received medals, claiming their thrones in
the triathlon kingdom.
The triathletes swam 800 meters inside the swimming pool which is 32 times back
and forth. After that grueling endurance test, they jumped on a bicycle and rode
13 miles all across town.
The cyclists rolled down Coronado Avenue, Moson Road and elsewhere.
The final test was a 3.1-mile run.
In the end, 39-year-old Billy Oliver won the individual male trophy, with an
overall time of 1 hour, eight minutes and 22 seconds.
In the 2001 Jim Click Automotive Tucson Marathon, Oliver said he ran from Oracle
to Oro Valley. He finished 53rd, with a time of 1 hour, 23 minutes and 47
seconds.
On Saturday, Oliver was king of the triathlon jungle. His swim time was 11:23,
his run time was 21:16.
"I had lots of training," Oliver said. "My age group's usually pretty tough."
Ryan Stoffer (1:10.04) was the runner-up to Oliver, while Daryl Sroufe (1:10.11)
settled for the third-place trophy.
Stoffer had the fastest swimming time, with a result of 10 minutes, 55.56
seconds. John Walsh (15:26) had the fastest running time.
Tatiana Harper (1:13.35) won the first-place trophy for the fastest female in
the race. Harper swam the fastest time of 9:56.11 and ran her three-plus miles
in 21:30.
Harper was helped by the fact that second-place finisher Michelle Keilin
(1:14.03) made a mistake on her last mile.
"I actually missed the turn at the end," said Keilin, who came back from a
broken foot she suffered in May. "I had to go back and do an extra half-mile."
Steffanie Steelhammer (1:25.83) came in third.
The overall team title went to M&M Cycling (1:00.45).
That three-person team was led by former individual men's champion Craig Lyming,
a past Hummingbird individual champion, who completed the swimming portion of
the race. Paul Valentin ran the 3.1 miles.
The Cougars (1:13.42) were a distant second, while the Mujos (1:30.07) finished
third.
Swimmer Krista Wright, Kim Grahn and Denise McConnell were part of a No Guys
Allowed team (1:40.94) that won the female team trophy.
Wright finished with a time of 18:04.58, then Grahn chalked up a time of 29:38.
The Tombstone Yellowjackets (1:44.27) came in second and The Trio (2:18.02) was
third. There were several other interesting competitors from all age groups.
Steve Reeves, in his first competition from his successful battle with Crohn's
disease, a bowel condition that forces him to wear a colostomy bag on his
abdomen to catch body waste, finished (1:46.19) and looked more fit than some of
his fellow competitors.
"My endurance was shot," Reeves said. "I was trying not to get dehydrated. I
can't eat two hours beforehand like most people, because I don't have a large
intestine. It's the longest I've ridden my bike, that's a big thing for me."
Regina Larese, the youngest overall competitor in the triathlon, had the
third-fastest swimming time (12:23). Once she was out of the water, however,
Larese struggled a little. Her overall time was 1:58, but she still had an
impressive morning.
"The bike part was a little hard," Larese said.
"Because there was a little gravel and my bike wasn't fast. I had to run and I
didn't pass out, I felt like I was going to pass out."
Buena freshmen Richard Ward (1:49.17) and Josh Rieffer (1:42), both 14 years
old, were the youngest male competitors.
"It was tiring, but I liked it, it was fun," said Ward, a cross-country runner
whose time in the run was 23:38. "We've been training for it. It was easier
going downhill on our bikes than uphill."
In co-ed team competition, the New Day Nutrition and Fitness team (1:18.38) won,
with the Peregrine Falcons (1:22.45) finishing second.
Herald/Review sports reporter Bruce Bourquin can be reached at 515-4612.
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