USA Triathlon has announced its age group Athlete of the Year
Award winners, as determined by the Age Group Commission and
members of other committees and commissions.
The committee members considered the results from various high
profile races during the 2005 season including Sprint National
Championships, the USAT Age Group National Championships, long
course national championships, and results from world
international and long course championships.
From these and other races, the committee congratulates the
following outstanding athletes on their accomplishments:
TRIATHLON
Junior Male Steven Duplinsky (18, Bethesda, Md.)
Duplinsky was the 2005 ITU Junior World Champion. He also
won the Table Mountain Triathlon, Edmonton Junior Triathlon, and
the Caledon Junior Triathlon which served as the Canadian Junior
National Championship. The only race he did not win was U.S.
Junior Nationals where he finished second.
Junior Female Jennifer Spieldenner (20, Findlay, Ohio)
Spieldenner was the U.S. Junior National Champion again in
2005 and went on to ITU Worlds where she finished 15th, the
highest placing for a U.S. junior female since 2002. No other
American junior female beat Spieldenner in 2005 in any triathlon
that she competed in.
Open Male (20-40 years old) Marc Bonnet-Eymard (34, Winter
Haven, Fla.)
Bonnet-Eymard raced nine times in 2005, winning on six
occasions and never finishing lower than 2nd. He was successful
at sprint, intermediate & half Ironman, thus demonstrating the
kind of versatility that elevates his status among his elite
peers.
Open Female Margie Shapiro (29, Annandale, Va.)
Six starts, six wins, including the most competitive event
on U.S. soil in 2005 (Best of the U.S.) and on the world stage
(World Champs) highlighted Shapiro's season. Her margin of
victory at Worlds was unprecedented (3:01). She was named
Triathlete Magazine's Athlete of the Year.
Master Male (41-60 years old) Michael Meteyer (46, Madison,
Wis.)
Meteyer had strong and consistently high finishes throughout
the year at big races, capping the year with a 3rd place finish
at ITU Short Course Tri Worlds and a near podium finish one week
later in Kona.
Master Female Linda Robb (41, Juno Beach, Fla.)
Robb earned the top position in the final USAT rankings for
F 40-44 as well as top female master at a number of races
ranging from sprint to half.
Grand Master Male (61-plus) Bob Scott (75, Naperville, Ill.)
The top finisher in his age group at a number of events
during the season, Scott's biggest win came at Ironman Hawaii.
Grand Master Female Jan Miller (67, Tucson, Ariz.)
Undefeated in 2005, Miller had divisional wins at ITU Short
Course Tri Worlds & Ironman Hawaii. Miller won both Worlds and
Hawaii where she faced stiff competition each time.
U23 Male Jarrod Shoemaker (23, Sudbury, Mass.)
Under the guidance of his coach, Hank Lange, Shoemaker made
incredible strides in 2005. He was a total team player on the
U23 squad and embraced the "Race for your Country, Team, Self"
concept. After a 2005 U23 world title, Shoemaker will definitely
be a contender in the 2008 Olympic Trials and beyond.
U23 Female Jasmine Oeinck (20, Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Oeinck is currently enrolled at the University of Colorado
at Colorado Springs, where she hopes to graduate in 2008. At the
age of 20, the U23 National Champion is a rising star in the U23
and Elite ranks and a true testament to USA Triathlon Athlete
Development programs. She will be a contender for future success
in the U23 ranks as well as a top U.S. athlete competing on the
World Cup Circuit.
Physically Challenged Male Carlos Moleda (42, Virginia Beach,
Va.)
Carlos Moleda is the "Babe Ruth" of handcycle triathlon. A
three-time Ironman World Champion, he turned his attention to
the Olympic distance in 2005 and won a Silver medal at ITU
Worlds (in his second ever Olympic distance race). A week later,
he went back to Kona and shattered his own handcycle division
record in his final appearance there.
Physically Challenged Female Sarah Reinertsen (30, Portola
Hills, Calif.)
A 1992 Paralympian in track and field, Reinertsen is a great
communicator and spokesperson for the sport and the first
amputee to grace the cover of both "Runner's World"
and "Triathlete" magazines. After missing the cutoff in 2004,
she went back to the Ironman World Championships in 2005 and
became the first above-the-knee amputee woman to complete
Ironman Kona (15:05:12).
DUATHLON
Junior Male Beau McDougal (18, Henderson, Nev.)
McDougal won the junior elite title at the Duathlon National
Championships in Mason, Ohio, and qualified for the World
Championship.
Junior Female Yasmine White (16, Arcata, Calif.)
White won the junior elite title at the Duathlon National
Championships in Mason, Ohio, and qualified for the World
Championship.
Open Male John McGovern (42, Kingston, N.Y.)
McGovern earns the AOY honor for his consistent success
throughout the year, having won his age group at all three U.S.
Powerman events. He was the top U.S. male at ITU Long Course
Duathlon Worlds and placed 27th overall at Powerman Zofingen,
including elites.
Open Female Kristin Villopoto (45, Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Villopoto earns AOY honors for her strong consistent
performances all year long. She started the year with big wins
at the Metroplex Du-2-du to qualify her for the Long Course
Worlds where she finished as the 1st place overall female, and
followed that performance with a 2nd overall finish at Short
Course Duathlon Nationals two weeks later. She capped the year
with a bronze medal in the F 45-49 age group at Short Course
Duathlon Worlds.
Master Male Tim Becker (47, Seattle, Wash.)
Becker had strong performances in his age group and overall
throughout the year at National and World Championship events.
He was the only male medalist at the Long Course Duathlon World
Championships and came back two weeks later to place 19th
overall and 3rd in his age group against a very competitive
field at U.S. Duathlon Nationals.
Master Female Melanie Roberts (40, Indianapolis, Ind.)
With first place finishes all year long, most notably Long
Course Duathlon National Championships (Great Buckeye Duathlon)
and Long Course Duathlon World Championships, Roberts earns the
AOY, not only on her strength in the long distance events, but
due to her consistently strong performances over all distances.
Grand Master Male Don Ardell (67, St Petersburg, Fla.)
Ardell earned the top rank in the M 65-69 age group along
with an age group win at Short Course Duathlon Nationals and a
3rd place finish at Short Course Duathlon Worlds, where he was
one of only four U.S. male medalists.
Grand Master Female Pat Fossum (70, Montgomery, Ala.)
Fossum had wins at Short Course Duathlon Nationals and Short
Course Duathlon Worlds, as well as Powerman Alabama, among
others.
