NYRR Sprint Tri 2012 - Easy as 1-2-3-4
Never underestimate the heart of a champion. - Rudy Tomjanovich
Every year I say I couldn't be more impressed and proud of our team. And then the next year I'm even more impressed and proud. Today's results were tremendous. But first, a quick lesson in the brief history of the NYRR Sprint Triathlon.
2009 was the inaugural race. Terry Moore won the men's event, and shared the podium with Teddy Gjone and Fabian Gallardo, both of whom would go on to be our friends and teammates. Nicole Sin Quee won the women's race, in what was her first season of racing triathlons.
In 2010, the competition got tougher. So did Terry and Nicole. Terry defended his title by a safe margin. Nicole had a nasty crash, got back up and won the race again. One of the women who saw NSQ crash, and offered to help her was Jessica Purcell, who finished fourth that day. More importantly, we struck up a friendship with her and her husband, both of who are City Coach athletes now.
By the 2011 edition, all eyes were on Terry, but he successfully got his three-peat. Nicole had gone and gotten pregnant, but City Coach was well represented, with Sheila Monaghan winning the women's race, Bridget McKenna second, and the aforementioned Jess Purcell third.
Fast forward to this year.
This year's men's competition was tougher than ever. Former USAT Sprint National Champion and Team USA member, Full Throttle's Rick Krupa was on hand, as was Sergey Ulyanenko, a speedster from TriLife. Clearly Terry - whose schedule has not allowed him to race yet this season, and who has done all his training solo - was going to have to be on his game. The race was as fast as expected. The first man across the line was Yakovlev, who was initially announced as the winner, but because of the time trial format start, that turned out not to be the case, as Terry successfully defended his title. Fabian Gallardo, Teddy Gjone, Mark Pfeffer and Steven Zebrak each raced strong for the team.
As for the women, on Thursday, NSQ decided to practice her flying dismounts. The result was her bare foot going through her spinning rear wheel. She spent the afternoon in the emergency room at Harlem Hospital, and Friday on crutches. Last night at 10p, she decided that maybe - despite doctor's orders - she would race. On Thursday, she promised that if she raced despite the injury, that she would "pin on her number and STFU", and she did exactly that. Nicole regained her title, and set the course record in the process. (The course was 3 miles shorter in 2009.) She was followed by Sheila, Jess and Alisa for a 1-2-3-4 sweep by the ladies.
Both Terry and Nicole had reasons why this might not be their year. Both Terry and Nicole ignored those reasons, and made no excuses.
Our friends at NYRR wrote a nice recap of the race.
Earlier this week, she hurt her foot during a bike workout and needed to visit the Emergency Room. Sin Quee was sent home with crutches and told to stay off her feet. “I love, love, love this race,” she said, flashing a broad smile. “I got out and did it [the NYRR Sprint Tri] to show my eight-month-old son, Simon, that you never make excuses. You never quit. Ever.”
Here's the rundown for our athletes:
- Terry Moore - 58:55, 1st place male, course record
- Fabian Gallardo - 1:03:48, 6th place overall, 2nd in AG
- Teddy Gjone - 1:09:31
- Mark Pfeffer - 1:10:27
- Steven Zebrak - 1:11:35, 3rd place in AG
- Nicole Sin Quee - 1:05:00, 1st place female, course record
- Sheila Monaghan - 1:08:44, 2nd place female
- Jessica Purcell - 1:09:59, 3rd place female
- Alisa Stern - 1:11:36, 4th place female
Official results have been posted. And in case you want to look at the ugliest foot ever or the cutest babies ever, as well as some fine looking athletes, check out the photo album. Congratulations to the team on a phenomenal effort today.