HUNTSVILLE — Jonathan Krichev of Huntsville and Sara Gibson of Chattanooga claimed top honors at the 30th annual Rocketman Triathlon on Aug. 27 on Redstone Arsenal.
Rocketman is the flagship race of Team Rocket Tri Club. Rocketman is a USAT-certified olympic distance triathlon, with a 1500m swim, 40k bike and 10k run. The swim was upstream/downstream swim in the Tennessee River. The bike and run courses were on the arsenal roads.
This year’s field included 125 individual athletes, 10 relay teams, 12 aquabike competitors and nine cyclorun competitors.
Krichev won in 2:17, combining a 26:24 swim, 1:06 bike and 43:20 run with transitions of 34 and 38 seconds. Lance Moore of Hamilton and Matt Fletcher of Madison took second and third.
Gibson’s combo included a 26:25 swim, 1:10 bike and 45:34 run, with transitions of 1:14 and 1:25. She was fourth overall. Joining her on the podium was Malia Gill of Madison and Carolina Meyers of Huntsville.
Some athletes of note:
John Zingarelli and Craig Patton were the oldest athletes, at 71 years old. The youngest finisher was Milo Littenberg, who is 15. Billie Pate of Upland, Calif., took the “long distance” honors. She competed in the aquabike.
See all of the results of the Rocketman Triathlon here, including categories, ages and more. Check out the race photos here from We Run Race Photos.
Racin’ the Station Duathlon
The club’s last race of the season is the Racin’ the Station Duathlon. It will be Sept. 30 on Redstone Arsenal. Participants race the International Space Station as it completes one Earth orbit. The ISS completes an orbit every 91 minutes 12 seconds. Team Rocket Tri Club members will track the starting location of the ISS at the race start time and see who beats the space station by completing the event by the 91 minute 12 second mark.
The event consists of a 1.95-mile run, 14.3-mile bike and 1.95-mile run (same route). Both courses are flat, offering fast times, and with minimal traffic on the arsenal. Anyone participating must read the registration info carefully about getting onto Redstone Arsenal for the event.
Information can be found at https://www.teamrockettri.org/racin-the-station-duathlon/.
