Ten years after completing her first triathlon at the Ceevacs’ Cowichan Challenge, Fawn Whiting returned to her roots earlier this month and showed how far she has come.
Originally from Duncan and now living in Victoria, Whiting borrowed a 10-speed bike and entered the Cowichan Challenge in 2006 for her first triathlon. In the years since then, she has competed in many triathlons, including Ironman and half-iron events. In January of this year, she won the Vancouver Chilly Chase 10k, and in May she won her age group at the North American Ironman championships in Texas. In October, she will be competing in the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii, having qualified through the Ironman Muskoka in Ontario last September.
Whiting was the top female athlete and finished fifth overall in the main event at the Cowichan Challenge on July 3, and also had the second-fastest run of any competitor. Whiting finished the 1,000m swim, 34km bike and 9km run in one hour and 54 minutes, ahead of Vancouver’s Victoria Gilbert who was eighth overall with a time of 2:01:51. Jill Ramstead of Duncan was the third-fastest woman at 2:07:33, good for 14th out of 62 finishers.
Derek Vinge of Courtenay was first overall at 1:49:16, followed by Mill Bay’s Paul Auton at 1:52:09 and Roland Neville of Victoria at 1:53:21.
The sprint event — 500m swim, 17km bike and 5km run — was won by Hugo Van Rooyen in 58:33, followed by fellow Victoria athlete Bertrand Bozek at 59:46 and Ryan Parton of Courtenay at 1:02:07.
Robyn Zinkan of Mill Bay was the top female finisher and sixth overall at 1:07:49, followed by Carolyn Hubbard of Vancouver (eighth overall) at 1:11:38 and Caleigh Bachop of Victoria (ninth overall) at 1:13:06.
Cycle Therapy won the main event relay in 1:57:56, followed by Beauty Before Age at 2:06:12 and Trilight Reel at 2:07:54.
The Kids Splash n’ Dash event was won by Gage Zanette with a time of 11:42, followed by Mya Smith (13:41) and Reid Bendict (17:19).