GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — Paulo Cardoso and Kirsten Sass captured top honors Saturday morning in the 37th Mountain Lakes Triathlon.
The field of almost 150 athletes and 118 finishers from eight states had a swim in Lake Guntersville, then a loop ride along the lake before finishing with a lakeside run. The event offered Olympic and Sprint divisions. Olympic athletes had a 1,200-yard swim, 34.2-mile bike ride and 6-mile run. The Sprint included a 600-yard swim, 16.2-mile ride and 3-mile run.
Cardoso, 38, of Macae, Brazil, won the Olympic event in 2:15:30. He had a 16:57 swim, 1:16 ride and 39:24 run, with consistent transitions of 1:26 and 1:25.
Sass, 45, of McKenzie, Tenn., won the women’s Olympic division and was third overall with her time of 2:22:21. She had times of 18:08, 1:20:32 and 41:13. Her first transition time was 1:27, but she trimmed 28 seconds off that between the bike and run portions.
Matthew Wise, 29, of Roanoke, Ala., was second in 2:19. Malia Gill, 27, of Madison, was second in the women’s division (10th overall) in 2:35.
Andy Grant, 37, of Birmingham, won the Sprint-Tri division in 1:08. He was second in the 2023 Olympic division. Robin Hatler, 40, of McKenzie, Tenn., won the women’s division in 1:17. She was 8th overall.
See all of the results for the Olympic, Sprint and other divisions here.
For all photos from the event check out the galleries from We Run Race Photos here.
The Mountain Lakes Triathlon was put on by Magic Sports. The next big local triathlon is the 44th annual Huntsville Sprint Tri, set for Aug. 3.
MAIN PHOTO courtesy of WeRunRacePhotos.com