World Triathlon

At the 2015 Detroit ITU World Paratriathlon Event held this weekend, the host-country dominated the competition by claiming a total of 13 medals over the weekend.

Fernando Aranha (BRA) sported a season-first in Detroit by claiming his first gold medal since 2014. Out-racing Jose Vicente Arzo Diago (ESP) and Alexandre Paviza (FRA), who took home the silver and bronze, Aranha started out in the middle pack after the swim, but recovered after the bike leg to lead the men and finish strong to make it to the top of the podium.

The head-to-head battle between Kendall Gretsch (USA) and Emily Tapp (AUS) was a much anticipated showdown going into the weekend. With both women adding gold medals to their personal collections throughout the season, Detroit ultimately belonged to Gretsch. She outperformed Tapp in all three disciplines and finished with an 11-minute lead.

Great Britain conquered the PT2 sport class on the men’s side. Ryan Taylor and Andrew Lewis secured the gold and silver medal, finishing just within a minute of each other. Taylor, who earned the gold medal, took home his first ever WPE title, since he started competing at the ITU level in 2014. The bronze went to Lionel Morales (ESP) with a time of 1:07:45.

It was a USA sweep in the women’s race. Melissa Stockwell claimed the gold medal and reinforced her reigning World Championship title. Coming in for second place was Allysa Seely, who led the charge after the bike leg and out of the second transition, but was ultimately surpassed by Stockwell during the run. The last spot on the podium went to Sarah Reinertsen.

Andre Cilliers (USA) crushed the competition for the PT3 sport class, by finishing with a lead of over four minutes. The win gave Cilliers his first WPE event title. The silver went to Joaquin Carrasco (ESP) and the bronze was awarded to Edson Dantas (BRA).

Andrea Walton (USA) raced solo in the women’s race, but finished with a time of 1:29:04 and had a strong showing throughout the competition.

While he was only positioned within the middle pack during the swim, Chris Hammer (USA) improved in the last two legs to reclaim the lead and secure a victory in the PT4 sport class. He beat out George Peasgood (GBR), who was the leader coming out of the waters and was able to pick up the silver medal. The bronze was awarded to Jose Abraham Estrada Sierra (MEX), who finished with a time of 00:58:10.

Clare Cunningham (GBR) dominated the women’s race, earning the lead early on in the swim and holding the advantage all the way until the finish line. USA’s Grace Norman was given the silver medal, her second silver in a row after also placing second in the Rio Test Event. Australian Kate Doughty finished in third-place and give her a five-time podium placement of the season.

With only two Americans racing, the men’s podium was going to feature the USA National Anthem, the only question that remained was who would be standing on the top. Aaron Scheidies was able to claim that position after he beat out compatriot Jeremy Winters. Scheidies finished with a time of 00:55:02, while Winters had a time of 1:06:35.

USA also conquered the women’s race in a sweep as Patricia Walsh took the victory with a healthy four-minute lead over her competitors. Elizabeth Baker and Amy Dixon carried it home to claim the second and third place positions.

Click here for the full results