Chris Ghiorse made up for his slow swim on the bike stage and had built enough of a lead to emerge Mr. Steelman at the end of the final stage which was made up of a 10K run (Photos by Gordon French).

He finished the grueling race, which also featured a 1,500 meter swim and a 40k bike race consisting of two laps from Beef Island to the HLS Community College, in 2 hours, 27 minutes, 3 seconds. Sally Blackmore stuck to her game plan and trotted across the finish near dusk to take the Ms. Steelman title.

“There was a lot of gamesmanship in this race. I knew I would have been weak in the swim and when I caught him [Spencer] back I saw him and Lisa (Adamson) together. It meant he was doing less work just sitting with her. But I also knew he is a better runner than me so I needed to keep pushing and get on a comfortable margin,” Ghiorse told the Standpoint shortly after he recovered.

Ghiorse, who was coming off a disappointing showing the Jason Bally Memorial Road Race, depended on his cycling experience to make up time from the swim leg and open a wide enough gap to cushion his lead in the run.

“My thing before the race was to get as far ahead as I can on the swim, and then not too lose too much on the bike because I knew I was going to lose some on the bike and then try and get some back on the run,” said Spencer who appeared unnerved by the challenge.

“I thought I could probably catch Chris on the run. I got a little lead on the swim and lost everything on the bike and then try to catch him on the run. I was making up quite a bit of time in the run, but with only three laps, I couldn’t catch him. He beat me by 15 meters in the end. I generally congratulate him for such a performance and I hope that we have more great races in the future and I hope the runs are a bit longer in the future,” Spencer stated.

In only her second year competing in triathlons, Blackmore held her nerve against tough field of women competitors.

“Well I was hoping that I could do my best, I know some of the people who won last year, third and second place were not here so I thought I had a good chance. I just went out do my best and try to pace myself through all the different stages,” Blackmore stated.

She added that the most challenging leg came in the run.

“The first lap of the round I was tired it was difficult but after the first lap I got into a rhythm and the second and third ones was not so bad. I think they need to call it the Steel Woman because we are seeing more and more women coming out and competing well,” Blackmore said.

The Maples’ Girls edged out Team Harney’s II to win the overall team category.

Earlier, the junior athletes displayed their mettle in the triathlon event, which attracted some 30 participants with the youngest competitor being a seven year old. Twelve teams battled for position, but in the end, the Dream Team finished first in the 12 and over category while Lightening Bolts struck first for the under 12’s.

Junior results: 

12 and over

1st    Dream Team (Ramy Darwish 12; Stefan Joseph 13; Inigo Collins 13)

2nd    Beach Babes (Sasha Hempel 13; Erika Sorrentino 13; Arno Paletta 14)

3rd     Fizzy Water (Hana Keegan 13; Olivia Newling-Ward 13; Alex Bibby 13)

Under 12’s

1st    Lightning Bolts (Alex Dabbs 9; Mikey O’Connell 9; Leo Forte 8)

2nd     Gummy Bears (Tate Hempel 9; James Nicholas 10; William McIntyre 9)

3rd    Team BVI (Adya Maddox; Cambria Collins 11; Sam Morrell 10)

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