Article reproduced with permission from The Post & Courier and David Quick.
 Story last updated at The Charleston Sprint Triathlon Series wraps up this Sunday with the last of four races and what typically is the most competitive event of the summer series. Race director Paul King calls the sprint triathlon finale the "de facto championship race where the top competitors from the season earn bragging rights." Among the expected male triathletes are Leroy Thomas, 31, of Swainsboro, N.C., and Gregg Cromer, 35, of Summerville, who won the first and second sprints this year, respectively. Jerry Rothschild, 35, of Savannah, will try to win a sprint in 2004 after nursing a leg injury this season. Rothschild was second at the third sprint triathlon this summer, but he won two sprints in 2002 and 2003. (The winner of this year's third sprint, Jamie Church of Hilton Head Island, is not registered to compete.) Added to the mix is Tom Mather, 46, of Mount Pleasant, who has not competed in the sprints this summer but won sprint No. 4 last year in 58 minutes, 26 seconds, the fastest time of the entire series in 2003. Mather has demonstrated his competitiveness before in sprint No. 4. In 2002, Mather finished third in the fastest sprint triathlon finish in its history when Sonni Dyer clocked an amazing 55:02. Mather's time was 56:59. As for the women in this year's finale, the winner of the first three sprint triathlons, Tracy DeWitt, 31, of Daniel Island, does not plan to compete. That leaves the door open for Niki Minckler, 31, of Hilton Head Island, who came in second in sprint Nos. 2 and 3 this summer and Meg Martin, 29, of Mount Pleasant, who finished second at sprint No. 1. Another challenger will be Jenny Leiser, 24, of Charleston who finished first and third in two of the sprints last year. Those are the known challengers for Sunday's triathlon. But King said that, inevitably, someone who is relatively unknown locally shows up to add to the competitiveness of the event. PROGENY DEBUT Besides trying to win another sprint series finale, this will be a special triathlon for Tom Mather in another way. Two of his three sons, Drew and Wesley, will be competing in their first adult triathlon. Drew, 17, was a swimmer when he was younger and currently runs cross country for Porter-Gaud High School, where he is a senior. Wesley, 12, competed in the I'OnMan Biathlon on July 4 and was second for the 10-14 youth age group in one of the Creekside Kids Triathlon events this summer. Lane Mather, 10, won the 10-and- under division at the kids' triathlon, but his dad thinks he's too young to compete with adults. MORE TRIATHLON NEWS Congratulations to three locals -- Doug Cole of Folly Beach, Danny Moore and Dale Van Slambrook, both of Goose Creek -- for finishing the Ironman USA race in Lake Placid, N.Y., on July 29. Out of the 1,900 finishers, Cole crossed the line at 563rd in 11:42:05, Moore came in 1,191st place in 13:13:32, and Van Slambrook finished 1,459th in 15:35:55. For the Lowcountry triathletes, the triathlon in New York State was a tad frosty. "I'm used to doing triathlons in the heat, so I showed up race morning in my swimsuit and a T-shirt shirt," said Cole. "Everyone else had on hats, gloves and coats. As it turned out, (the temperature) was 42 degrees; much colder than we're used to. I had to wait about two hours before the start so I ended up putting the wetsuit on to stay warm. "On the bright side, it made the cold water seem a whole lot warmer." COMING UP SATURDAY -- Hampton Park Fun Run Series 5K and 1-mile walk. 8 a.m. $3. 834-1311. SATURDAY -- Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team in Training information meeting. 10 a.m. MUSC Wellness Center. 45 Courtenay Street. Training sessions available for Kiawah Marathon and Half Marathon, PF Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon, Walt Disney World Marathon and Half Marathon and Myrtle Beach Marathon and Relay. SUNDAY -- Charleston Sprint Triathlon Series, event No. 4. 7:15 p.m. James Island County Park. $45. Registration is 5-7 pm Saturday and 6-6:45 a.m. Sunday at the park. See charlestontriathlonclub.com or call 881-8872. AUG. 17 -- Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team in Training information meeting. 10 a.m. MUSC Wellness Center. 45 Courtenay Street. (See above) AUG. 19 -- Daniel Island Twilight Fun Run 5K Series, No. 3. 6:30 p.m. $10-15 per race. Late registration will be 5:45-6:15 pm. See actioncarolina.com or call The Extra Mile at 853-9987. AUG. 21 -- Fifth annual Race for the Ark. 7:45 a.m. $10-20. See actioncarolina.com or call Lori Herman at (843) 851-2591. |