Matt Greer of Columbus crosses the finish line with his son Palmer Greer-Bos at his side to win Saturday’s TRI Columbus Triathlon.
Ted Schultz | The Republic
Matt Greer had won a couple of sprint triathlons, but not the one in his hometown.
So when Greer captured Saturday’s TRI Columbus triathlon, he was beyond thrilled. Greer, 41, who competes for Tri-812, finished the 600-meter swim, 12-mile bike and 5K run in 1 hour, 6 minutes, 52.91 seconds.
“It’s like every sport, you have to ask who shows up,” Greer said. “But I’m always happy to win. It’s nice.”
Josh De Jong of Indianapolis enters the transition area after finishing the bike portion of Saturday’s TRI Columbus Triathlon.
Ted Schultz | The Republic
Josh De Jong of Indianapolis was first out of the water and first off the bike at Tipton Lakes Marina. But Greer closed a 33-second gap by running a 20:00 5K.
“I knew I’d be in front off the bike, but I’m not much of a runner, especially compared to these guys,” said De Jong, who finished sixth overall and fifth among men.
Logan Worley of Columbus finished second in 1:07:34.30. IU Columbus cross-country coach Tim Hoeflinger took third in 1:09:08.78, and Andrew Bratcher, whose 19:20 run was the fastest of the day, was fourth in 1:09:25.91.
Sydney Larkin of Louisville crosses the finish line to win the women’s division of Saturday’s TRI Columbus Triathlon.
Ted Schultz | The Republic
Sydney Larkin of Louisville was the first female and fifth overall finisher in 1:09:34.82.
Larkin, 26, ran two years of cross-country and track at Tennessee-Martin. She won the Tri-Louisville Triathon and finished second in her age group and was the eighth overall female at Multisport Nationals.
“I found (the TRI Columbus event) online and thought it sounded fun and wanted to get in a couple more races before the end of the season,” Larkin said. “It was fun. The community was really good, and the lake was beautiful. It was a great time. There was a lot of good support and a lot of good volunteers.”
Two-time defending women’s champion Leah McClure of Columbus was the second female and seventh overall in 1:10:31.16. Sarah Sanders of Bloomington was the third female and 12th overall in 1:13:38.54.
Columbus Rugby Club members help triathletes out of the water after the swim portion of Saturday’s TRI Columbus Triathlon.
Ted Schultz | The Republic
Preston Fonseca (1:27:35.95) and Silvana Vilklamizar (2:06:59.41) were the men’s and women’s duathlon winners.
Jonathon Sellers and Damian Garrison (1:16:34.59) were the male team winners, and Nathan Otte and Jacelyn Otte (1:20:43.85) were the coed team winners. Marin Wieneke, Gabi Schuetz and Elise LaSell (1:37:27.05) were the female team winners.
Race director Jen Morrill gives instructions to participants prior to Saturday’s TRI Columbus Triathlon.
Ted Schultz | The Republic
The event, which featured 233 participants, was put on by Tri-812.
Several Tri-812 athletes had competed last weekend in the Tri-Indy Triathlon at White River State Park. Max Henry, Nicole Golding, Tyler Meyer, Gabe Ocasio, Jim Lewis, Megan Bos and Jerrett Stark did the Olympic distance; Gabby Johnson, Julie Brinksneader, Rogelio Reyes, Tera Hernandez and Shanna Noveroske did the Sprint triathlon and Kennedy Greer-Bos, Hayden Noveroske and Lana Jones did the Kids triathlon.
