ST. PETERSBURG - Okay, this time it's going to work. Really, it is.
An open division was created at last year's St. Anthony's Triathlon for the best athletes. Those "elite" would start in the first wave and, by design, cross the finish line faster than all the age-group racers behind them. There would be no wading through the age-group wave results to find the winner as in previous St. Anthony's competitions.
Ahhh, the best laid plans ...
Matt Nuffort broke the tape and was named 2003 champion. But Maryland's Bill Schultz, who started in the 25-29 age group wave about 30 minutes after the open division, completed the .93-mile swim, 24.8-mile bike and 6.2-mile run faster than anyone. His time of 1 hour, 53 minutes, 8 seconds, more than two minutes faster than Nuffort's, was discovered a few hours later.
Schultz, however, didn't find out he was champion until the next day because he had left for home thinking someone from the open division must have won - as designed.
St. Anthony's race director Steve Meckfessel said there shouldn't be any doubt today because the first wave is all professionals who are competing for a $50,000 purse. The winner of the men's and women's divisions will get $7,500 each.
"Now I know there have been some major upsets in sports history," Meckfessel said. "But the odds of one of the age-group amateurs defeating one of these pros is very, very slim. So this year it should be great with the overall winner being the person who breaks the tape. I think this will make it better for everybody, including the spectators."
Some of the favorites among the men are Los Angeles and Chicago triathlon winner Craig Walton of San Diego and New Zealand's Cameron Brown, the four-time defending champion of the New Zealand Ironman. The top women pros include defending world champion Emma Snowsill and 2000 Olympic silver medalist Michellie Jones.
MEEK AND MIGHTY: There were 500 participants Saturday from ages 7 to 77 swimming (some sort of dog paddling), biking (some with training wheels) and running (many jogging or shuffling, you might say).
The overall winner was Brandon Wilmoth, 27, of Columbus, Ohio, who completed the 1-mile run, 5.4-mile bike and 200-yard swim in 26:38. St. Pete Beach's Michael Fox, 15, was second in 27:31.
The women's winner was 16-year-old Katie O'Beirne of St. Petersburg, who finished in 30:36. St. Petersburg's Kelly McClenathan, 15, was second in 30:57, followed by Tampa's Jill Kralovanec, 36, who finished in 31:36.
UP AND COMER: Sam Schildgen of Texas may be 15, but he's just about as fast as anyone when it comes to triathlons. From the time he was 8, Schildgen has competed in 70 triathlons, including the 2002 Ironkids National Championship, which he won. St. Anthony's is Schildgen's first attempt at the Olympic triathlon distance, which he hopes to complete in under two hours. If all goes as planned, Schildgen likely will turn pro at 16.
