Publication Date: Wednesday, December 17, 2003
Portola Valley triathlete wins a world championship
Portola Valley triathlete wins a world championship
(December 17, 2003) Nybo captures women's 40-44 while teammates Carrino and Felix earn top-10 finishes in competition in Queenstown, New Zealand
by Rick Eymer
Portola Valley resident Holly Nybo, who competes for the Alpine Hills Multi Sports team, brought home a world title after winning her age group at the ITU World Triathlon Championships in Queenstown, New Zealand in early December.
Nybo won the 40-44 age group, while two other members of the Alpine Hills team placed in their respective divisions. Portola Valley's Annie Carrino was seventh in the 40-44 group, and Woodside's Kathy Felix placed eighth in the 55-59 age group.
Nybo entered the final leg of the race, the run, in third place. The former professional triathlete chased down the leaders and raced into first place on the final loop of the course to claim the title of World Champion for the Female Masters.
Nybo's time of 2:20:48 was good enough for fourth overall on the women's list, and was the top American time. She was competing in age group competition for the first time.
Carrino moved up two places during the run to finish seventh in her age group. Her time of 2:29:26 was the 56th fastest female, and 15th American.
Felix, with a strong swim, was eighth in her age group with a time of 2:57:46.
Former Palo Alto resident Karen Chequer-Pfeiffer earned the title of World Champion for the 45-49 age group in a time of 2:26:42. She led her race from start to finish.
Other locals included Palo Alto's Katherine Frank, who was 12th in the 55-59 age group in 3:01:42; Palo Alto's Kathy Torgerson, who placed 16th in the 55-59 age group in 3:15:34; Menlo Park's Aaron King, 19th in the 35-39 age group in 2:12:57; and Menlo Park's Andrea Smith, 23rd in the 35-39 age group in 2:36:25.
Carrino and Felix probably never figured they would compete at the world level after starting in the sport five years ago local triathlon coach Bruce Smith.
Carrino competed in her first Triathlon National Championship in 2000, earning her first spot as a member of the USA Triathlon Team. At the 2001 World championships in Edmonton, Canada she came out of the water in 3rd place, but had a mechanical on the bike, which ended up taking her out of contention.
Carrino was the 14th female overall at the 2002 nationals, qualifying her for the 2002 Worlds in Cancun, Mexico. An automobile accident, which resulted in an ankle fracture and concussion prevented her from competing at the world championships, but after a year of rehabilitation and training, Carrino returned to race shape and made it to New Zealand.
Felix qualified for Team USA for the first time. She attended her first Triathlon Nationals in 2002, placing fourth in the 55-59 age group.
This year's World event evolved into one of the toughest Olympic distance triathlons ever put together. The water in Lake Hayes hovered in the low 60s, making for a cold 1.5K (.93 miles) swim at the start of the race. After climbing out of the lake the athletes were greeted by a hilly 2-1/2-loop bike course, which covered 40K (24.8 miles). The athletes then left their bikes and ran a 10K (6.2 miles), which consisted of 4 loops around the Millbrook Resort golf course, where each loop contained two major climbs that were a struggle to just walk up. And if that were not enough, race morning brought heavy winds as a storm front had moved through the area the previous night.
Alpine Hills coach Bruce Smith contributed information for this story.
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