Nelson triathlete Denise Uhrynuk makes a strong showing at World Triathlon Championships
By The Nelson Daily Sports
Denise Uhrynuk of Nelson braved chilly temperatures to finish 14th in her age group for Team Canada at the recent World Triathlon Championships in Edmonton.
“It was my second time competing at the Worlds,” said Uhrynuk, who competed at the Auckland event in 2012.
“It is a week long event with parade, banquets, multiple events for age groups ages 16 to 80-plus and the grand finale for the elite athletes.”
Uhrynuk, who qualified for Team Canada last year at Nationals in Toronto, competed in the sprint triathlon — 750 meter swim, 20 kilometer bike and five kilometer run — and finished 14th out of 60 competitors in the 45-49 age category.
“I found the swim tough — got behind and blocked by slower swimmers,” said Uhrynuk, who finished with the fourth fastest run in her age group.
“I didn’t find my rhythm till half way through the swim. Cycling is my weakest event so I pushed hard.”
Uhrynuk said there were gusty cross winds made the bike a bit tricky but was able to take advantage of the flat, kilometer run.
“Because of the windy bike, I really had not much left in me for the run but pushed past many runners to move myself up to 14th and clocked one of my fastest run time,” she said.
The winner of Uhrynuk’s age group won the silver medal in triathlon in the Sydney Olympics (2000).
The Worlds attracted close to 4000 athletes from over 40 countries.
