Since 1983, Kelowna has been a cornerstone of Canadian triathlon, and this past weekend’s Americas Triathlon Cup delivered another memorable edition, where Canada’s young and emerging talent shone brightly.
Forty-two athletes lined up for the elite women’s race – a sprint distance event featuring a 750m swim, a technical 20km four-loop bike, and a 5km two-loop run.
Twenty-five-year-old Desirae Ridenour from Cowichan Bay struck gold for the second race in a row, crossing the line in 59:55 and building on her win in Montreal just weeks earlier. Ridenour was joined on the podium by fellow Canadian Sophia Howell, who claimed silver in 1:00:26. Just off the podium was Sidney Clement in fourth with a time of 1:01:14 – another strong finish for the Canadian contingent.
“I’m super happy to come away with the win,” Ridenour said post-rce. “I tried to keep it as smooth and relaxed as possible because I did not taper into this race and I’m a bit tired from training through. The swim was pretty good – there were four of us near the front and I drafted behind one of them. Onto the bike, two of us put most of the work… [Then] I got onto the run and just ran away. It’s amazing to be racing in my home province with family and friends here to watch. It was a good day to have a good day and I’m happy I was able to take the win.”
Howell credited a strong start and aggressive strategy for her podium result: “Happy to come away with a podium this past weekend in Kelowna. Went into the race wanting a breakaway and that’s what we were able to end up executing. After a solid swim a small group of us got away on the bike. It was mostly myself and another athlete that did most of the work but we pushed hard and got over a minute to the chase pack. Battled some stomach issues on the run but still managed to snag second place which I was decently happy with,” she shared.
With the victory, Ridenour climbs four spots in the Americas Triathlon Rankings to 12th, and Howell also moves up one place to sit in 11th.
Next up for both athletes is the 2025 World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) race in the French Riviera on August 31, where they will face off against a stacked international field.
Sobey Claims First Podium of the Season in Tight Men’s Finish
The elite men’s race featured a field of 63 athletes and came down to a near photo-finish for the final podium spot, with Canada’s Martin Sobey taking the bronze in 53:50.
For the 29-year-old from Charlottetown, PEI (now based in Victoria), this was his first podium finish of the season after a consistent year that has included a sixth place finish in Montreal and a ninth in Magog.
“I’m based in Victoria now, so it was fun to be able to drive down to Kelowna for this race being close to home, and bring the family,” said Sobey. “I came out of the water third, so for me that was a solid swim that set up the day. We pushed hard on the bike and we were able to hold off the rest of the field. The run was really about who had the best legs… I had a pretty epic sprint with my fellow Canadian Pavlos (Antoniades) for third.”
Sobey’s 5km run of 14:43 was the third fastest of the day and proved just enough to edge Antoniades, who finished fourth – also in 53:30 – just fractions of a second behind. With this result, Sobey jumps three places in the Americas Triathlon Rankings to sit ninth overall.
The post Desirae Ridenour Goes Back-to-Back Gold in Kelowna; Sophia Howell and Martin Sobey Finish Second and Third appeared first on Triathlon Magazine Canada.