Griffin wins Challenge Penticton
Professional triathletes Nathan Killam and Leon Griffin embrace at the finish line of Sunday’s Challenge Penticton half-distance event. Griffin bested Killam by 55 seconds to win first place.
Leon Griffin methodically rallied to overcame fellow pro Nathan Killam on the run to top the 2017 Challenge Penticton half-distance triathlon on Sunday.
The 37-year-old Aussie, who now lives and trains in Boulder, Col., crossed the finish line on Lakeshore Drive in just under the four-hour mark at 3:59:47.
Killam, a 30-year-old from Vancouver, was second at 4:00:43 with last week’s Peach Classic triathlon champs Shawn Wilyman of West Kelowna third at 4:05:25.
Competing for the first time in Penticton, Griffin caught Killam at around the 16 km mark of the 21.1 km run.
“I had to put the hammer down and go hard on the run,” said Griffin. “You come into transition after the bike five minutes behind, it’s a fair bit of ground to make up.”
Griffin said he was able to put in a surge after finally catching Killam, opened up a gap and was able to cruise comfortably from there to the win.
“I think once I got close it might have broke Nathan a bit,” said Griffin. “He was reaching for his hamstring a few times. He might have (biked) a bit too hard, but it was a great race.”
Killam, who has raced in Challenge every year since 2013 and did the Ironman Canada here in 2012, said he had to go like “gangbusters” to overhaul Griffin on the 90 km bike going up the steep hill in Okanagan Falls.
“I pushed so hard to catch him on the bike,” Killam said. “I hoped to build a good lead because I know Leon can run like the wind. I tried to run smart and steady but I couldn’t hold him off and he slowly pulled away.
“I was a little bit bummed out but I made him work for it and second place is a pretty good result.”
Griffin was returning from a brief hiatus after being disqualified from an Ironman race in his hometown of Boulder.
“I’d been wanting to come to Penticton for a few years and I’m glad I did … it’s a beautiful place,” said Griffin. “It was nice to do a smaller, low-key and grassroots kind of race and have a little fun. I also get a paycheque to take home and buy our (two) little ones some more diapers.”
Griffin and another athlete got misdirected on a minute section of the run course in Boulder. It cost him some prize money and the chance to qualify for the World Championships in Kona later this year. He said it’s been a tough hurdle to mentally overcome.
“You battle hard for eight-plus hours and get squeezed when it’s not your fault,” said Griffin, noting he is in the process of trying to appeal the ruling.
Griffin stayed in Penticton this week with his good friend and defending Challenge Penticton champ Jeff Symonds at the home of Symonds’ parents. Symonds had planned to try to defend his title Sunday, but Griffin said he had been bothered by an illness this past week.
Symonds stayed with Griffin in Australia a few years back and Symonds ended up winning the Asia-Pacific full Iron distance event.
“It would have been nice if he had raced (Sunday),” said Griffin.
As for Killam, he will be returning to Penticton for the much-anticipated ITU World Multi-Sport Festival Aug. 18-27.
Killam will be competing in cross-triathlon and aquathon, and has his name down on the shortlist for the long-distance triathlon if someone from the Canadian team is forced to withdraw.
Rounding out the top five in the men’s race were Evan Pardi of Yachats, Oregon, a non-pro competing in the 18-24 category, fourth in 4:27:56; and Kaleden professional triathlete Scott Tremblay as the top local finisher in fifth place at 4:32:57.
The race, which featured 215 participants (125 men and 90 women), included a 2 km swim, 93 km bike and 21.1 km run.