American stars Matt Reed and Sarah Haskins defeated top international fields to take home $10,000 apiece today at the 25th anniversary St. Anthony�s Triathlon in St. Petersburg.
The women
After two straight second place finishes at St. Anthony�s, Haskins finally stole center stage with wire-to-wire win in 1:59:24 finish that gave her a 70-second margin of victory over fellow U.S. pro Rebeccah Wassner and a definitive 2 minutes 28 seconds margin over the third place finisher, Ironman 70.3 World Champion Mirinda Carfrae of Australia.
�It�s a different style of racing than last week�s ITU draft-legal Olympic Trials,� said Haskins of the non-drafting format at St. Anthony�s. �I just wanted to enjoy the day and have fun. So it was nice to finally get over the hump and stand on top of the podium.�
Haskins� best-of-the-day 19:39 swim gave her a minute lead on Wassner, 2006 champion Becky Lavelle, and Julie Dibens, and two minutes on long course stares Carfrae and McGlone. Haskins� fifth-best 1:01:34 bike held even with Wassner, McGlone and Lavelle, while putting a minute on Carfrae and Dibens. At the final transition, Haskins had a 55 second lead.
Then Haskins� race-best 35:56 run sealed the deal, outpacing Wassner by 11 seconds, Carfrae by 16 seconds, and McGlone by 26 seconds.
�The water was choppy and my swim time was off from last year,� said Haskins, whose swim was 96 seconds slower than last year and her bike 9 seconds slower, but whose run was 30 seconds quicker for a finish 1 minute 36 seconds slower than her second place time last year.
Haskins� win gave her a measure of satisfaction after losing a duel with Tuscaloosa winner Julie Ertel for the second U.S. women�s Olympic slot a week ago. After all, Haskins holds a commanding points lead going into the final Olympic Trials qualifier at Des Moines in June.
But Wassner�s runner-up finish ahead of certified stars like Carfrae, McGlone, Lavelle and Julie Dibens must have been even sweeter redemption after the 33-year-old New Yorker�s disappointing 10th place finish at Tuscaloosa.
�Rebeccah had a great performance today,� said Haskins. �This was more like her win at the Philadelphia Triathlon last year.�
Women
1. Sarah Haskins (Colorado Springs CO) 1:59:24 - $10,000
2. Rebeccah Wassner (New York NY) 2:00:34 - $5,000
3. Mirinda Carfrae (Aus) 2:01:52 - $4,000
4. Samantha McGlone (Can) 2:02:35 - $3,000
5. Becky Lavelle (Los Gatos CA) 2:02:54 - $2,000
6. Julie Dibens (Gbr) 2:03:04 - $1,000
7. Nina Kraft (Ger) 2:03:31 - $750
8. Cynthia Wilson (Gatineau Quebec CAN) 2:05:04 - $600
9. Bree Wee (Kailua-Kona HI) 2:05:18 - $400
10. Alicia Kaye (Maynard MA) 2:06:11 - $250
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