Apple Triathlon is back, returning this weekend

Field sells out, includes elite athletes this year

Kelowna’s iconic Apple Triathlon is returning this weekend after a one-year hiatus, and the race is going back to its roots.

“We are actually going back to the original venue of the first race in 1983,” said race director Susie Ernsting.

Sunday’s triathlon will start and finish on Bernard Avenue in front of the Sails and will use Kerry and City parks.

In recent years, the event has been based at Waterfront Park.

A new bicycle route will also take racers around Dilworth Mountain instead of up Knox Mountain.

“We needed to switch venues for a variety of reasons,” said Ernsting, adding the new RCMP detachment on Clement Avenue was one of the factors in the change. “We worked with the city for almost two years to look at what course would minimize the impact on the community while also providing the athletes with a first-class race course.”

The event is sold out, with more than 1,400 athletes coming to town, including 200 elite and junior elite athletes, 800 amateur adults and several hundred children.

In recent years, the focus of the Apple Triathlon has been on amateur athletes.

In addition to Sunday’s main event, the Apple Triathlon is also hosting the Triathlon Canada National Championships, including elite, para, sprint and standard distance races this weekend.

Athletes will also have the chance to earn spots to represent Canada at the 2019 ITU Triathlon Grand Finale in Switzerland.

The Apple Triathlon is also hosting the ITU CAMTRI Continental Cup this weekend.

“(This) means we have elite athletes coming from North, South and Central America,” said Ernsting. “They’ll be vying for international points to go toward their eligibility to compete at world championships and the Olympics.”

Sprint distance races on Saturday and Sunday will be especially entertaining for spectators, said Ernsting.

“It will be fast and furious racing,” she said. “It’s more exciting to watch than a typical triathlon.”

Last year’s Apple Triathlon was canceled, after an announcement that the race would be under new management for the 2018 event.

M1 Sports Management, which runs triathlons in Vancouver, is the new operator.

“We’re really excited to be back,” said Ernsting. “After a year off, you never know what’s going to happen, and to be sold out after a year off shows what a great location Kelowna is to host a triathlon.”

For more information and route maps, go to appletriathlon.com.