Valley First Challenge Penticton Canada Champions Set To Defend Titles

Will home field advantage be among the deciding factors for the second Valley First Challenge Penticton Canada?

A field of male pros will be threatening hometown champion Jeff Symond's (Canada) attempt at grabbing back-to-back titles, including Scott Defilippis (United States) who had a strong run time last year to take second place. Adam O'Meara (Canada) who finished fourth male overall is the only other top five 2013 placeholder returning.

Just 40 seconds shy of breaking into the Challenge Penticton top five male finishers in 2013, Nathan Champness (Canada) recently took the men's title in the 32nd Peach Classic Triathlon in Penticton. He is returning to Challenge Penticton along with Chris Bagg, who finished in seventh overall in 2013 and Chris Young who finished in 14th overall.

Penticton professional female triathlete Jenn Annett said her choice to race Challenge again is simple.

"I really think we have a world-class course," said pro triathlete Jenn Annett. "It's amazing. I have trained every inch of it. We really do live in paradise here. I definitely hear other athletes talk about it too. When you are coming down Main Street to the finish with a huge crowd of spectators and have everyone cheering you on, no matter how much you hurt all the pain seems to disappear."

Annett was the top local female finisher for the inaugural 2013 race, coming in third overall for females in her first race as a professional. She will return to the course on Aug. 24 with over 1,000 participants registered from 17 countries.

The field for the women will be just as competitive. Last year's female winner, Carrie Lester (Australia), who posted the fastest marathon for the women and set a course record with a finish time of 9:27:26, is returning. Rounding out a trio of athletes who made for an exciting start to the race are Karen Thibodeau (Canada), the fastest out of the water, and Jennifer Luebke (United States).

"I definitely do my research on those who signed up," Annett said. "Last year Carrie had an amazing performance and she is a very strong athlete. Likewise for Karen, who is an amazing swimmer and always at the front of the pack. I know a few more top athletes have recently signed up and I think it will be a close field. I'm really looking forward to the race and I also think the males will be a great race as well with a lot of fast professionals in it."

Lester proclaimed she is looking for some redemption at Challenge Penticton after succumbing to illness while on the bike portion in a race earlier this month. Meanwhile, Thibodeau had to out-sprint Mackenzie Madison (United States) at a July race to finihs just slightly ahead for second place. It will be the first time Thibodeau has entered full distance races with such a short time period in between.

Male Pros

Female Pros