Tight battle for women's pro category

VANCOUVER   The shores of Vancouver were alive July 4 as more than 800 athletes from 10 countries plunged in to the waters at Jericho Beach for Subaru Vancouver International Triathlon, one of Vancouver's fastest growing sporting events.

The professional women's race quickly became a tight battle between last year's defending champion and recent Ironman 70.3 Texas Champion, Magali Tisseyre, and Heather Wurtele, who claimed the title of Ironman St. George Champion earlier this year.

Tisseyre, originally from St. Sauveur, Que., and now living in Victoria, B.C., took advantage of a faster second transition to take the lead on the run. She held the narrow margin for the half-marathon, eventually finishing just one minute in front of Wurtele to claim victory. Amy Kirkham of Vancouver had a breakthrough race to the final spot on the podium with a third place professional finish.

On the men's side, Penticton's Jeff Symonds led from wire to wire to claim the title over Victoria's Steven Kilshaw, who had to settle for second place for the straight year. Trevor Wurtele, husband of Heather, made it a family affair by taking third spot.

An honourable mention goes to the overall age group (amateur) winners Luke Gillmer of Northmead, Australia, and Rhae Shaw of Seattle, Wash. The Sprint Race was won by Ramsey Ezzat for the men, and Martina Wan on the women's side.

Results

Half Ironman Distance (1.9k swim/90k bike/20k run)

Women

1st - Magali Tisseyre, Victoria, 4:12:13

2nd - Heather Wurtele, Kelowna, 4:13:22

3rd - Amy Kirkham, Vancouver, 4:29:45

Men

1st -Jeff Symonds, Penticton, 3:50:14

2nd -Stephen Kilshaw, Victoria, 3:57:12

3rd - Trevor Wurtele, Kelowna, 4:00:30

Sprint Distance (500m swim/25k bike/5k run)

Men

1st - Ramsey Ezzat, North Vancouver, 1:06:56

2nd - Robert Johnson, Vancouver, 1:07:02

3rd - Ryan Smiley, Vancouver, 1:07:34

Women

1st - Martina Wan, Vancouver, 1:11:35

2nd - Stephanie Kieffer, Vancouver, 1:13:09

3rd - Suzanne Chandler, West Vancouver, 1:14:32

Courtesy, Subaru Western Triathlon Series