SARASOTA, Fla. – A week after the national champion Arizona State triathlon team competed in Clermont, the Sun Devils returned to the Sunshine State to face extremely tough international competition at the 2017 CAMTRI Elite Women's Sprint Triathlon Championships.
"I'm very pleased with the race for Katie and Charlotte in Sarasota," said head coach Cliff English. "Having them compete in this elite field with national team members and Olympians is essential for their continued development as elite triathletes. We don't want to miss these opportunities in acquiring race experience at this level of an event. What's impressive is that the student-athletes are competing and training at a high-level while excelling academically. That's what it's all about as a student-athlete!"
Katie Gorczyca (USA) and Charlotte Ahrens (Germany) represented the Sun Devils and their countries in the impressive field, among which were two Rio Olympians including Sarah True (USA) and Claire Michel (Belgium). Current World Junior Champion Taylor Knibb (USA) was also in the field of competitors alongside multiple other national team members from the US, Canada, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, and Belgium.
The course featured a 750m swim, 18.3k bike, and 5k run, similar to the distances during the collegiate triathlon season.
Gorczyca finished inside the top-20, No. 19 overall, with a triathlon just 14 seconds over one hour (1:00.14), over a minute faster than her national championship finishing time in November.
Ahrens finished No. 20, just 19 seconds behind Gorczyca, and had one of the fastest transition times of the entire day in the first transition.
Gorczyca had the 15th-fastest run in the race while Ahrens had the 13th-fastest bike.
Following this morning's race, the Sun Devils will continue training in preparation for defending their national title in fall 2017.
"I'm very pleased with the race for Katie and Charlotte in Sarasota," said head coach Cliff English. "Having them compete in this elite field with national team members and Olympians is essential for their continued development as elite triathletes. We don't want to miss these opportunities in acquiring race experience at this level of an event. What's impressive is that the student-athletes are competing and training at a high-level while excelling academically. That's what it's all about as a student-athlete!"
Katie Gorczyca (USA) and Charlotte Ahrens (Germany) represented the Sun Devils and their countries in the impressive field, among which were two Rio Olympians including Sarah True (USA) and Claire Michel (Belgium). Current World Junior Champion Taylor Knibb (USA) was also in the field of competitors alongside multiple other national team members from the US, Canada, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, and Belgium.
The course featured a 750m swim, 18.3k bike, and 5k run, similar to the distances during the collegiate triathlon season.
Strong field for today's race in Sarasota!! pic.twitter.com/uUgNcuYkAh
— Cliff English (@CliffEnglish) March 11, 2017
Gorczyca finished inside the top-20, No. 19 overall, with a triathlon just 14 seconds over one hour (1:00.14), over a minute faster than her national championship finishing time in November.
Ahrens finished No. 20, just 19 seconds behind Gorczyca, and had one of the fastest transition times of the entire day in the first transition.
Gorczyca had the 15th-fastest run in the race while Ahrens had the 13th-fastest bike.
Following this morning's race, the Sun Devils will continue training in preparation for defending their national title in fall 2017.
Great race venue here in Sarasota!!#sundeviltri #ASU pic.twitter.com/9UhXcERbTT
— Cliff English (@CliffEnglish) March 10, 2017