Jonathan Krichev held off a tenacious Elyse Gallegos to win the 43rd Huntsville Sprint Triathlon on Aug. 5 in Huntsville.
The duo paced the field of 340 finishers in one of Huntsville’s oldest continuous athletic competitions. The triathlon was begun the same year as the Cotton Row Run, which is held on Memorial Day. The annual Rocket City Marathon in December is 45 years old. Few other events in the city or North Alabama can claim the longevity of these three.
The event is one of nine on this year’s Team Rocket Tri Club schedule. One of those, the Tick Ridge Trek, ended in February after a successful 10-year run. Two of the events are duathlons, with the next coming up Sept. 30 when the Racing the Station will be held at Redstone Arsenal.
Thanks to proceeds from the sprint tri, the club donated $8,000 to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.
Krichev, 46, of Huntsville, combined a 6:07 swim (400m), 16:05 bike (7 miles) and 18:59 run (3 miles) along with identical transitions of 36 seconds. His overall time was 42:25.
Gallegos, 35, of Huntsville, put on the pressure. She combined a 6:36 swim, 16:29 bike and 20:18 run, with transitions of 51 and 37 seconds. Gallegos finished in 44:53, second overall but with the women’s title.
Brian Hackenberg won the Men’s Masters in 47:57 and Paola Attias won the Women’s Masters in 58:54.
Brent Sherman claimed the Men’s Grand Masters title in 52:54, while LD Gale was the Women’s Grand Masters winner in 1:01:49.
Team Tri Harders won the relay title in 42:37.
See all the results here for the Huntsville Sprint Tri including individual, age group, relay and more.
MAIN PHOTO COURTESY OF WE RUN RACE PHOTOS / GREGG GELMIS (see all event galleries here)
