Andrew Lewis ends Paratriathlon season in style in Sarasota

by Adam Bailey for the IPC on 10 Oct, 2017 10:21 • Español

The ITU Sarasota Paratriathlon World Cup might have been a triathlon turned duathlon, but it didn’t stop Great Britain’s Andrew Lewis from ending his season in style.

High levels of algae in the water at Nathan Benderson Park, FL, USA, meant the final Para World Cup of the season was contested over the duathlon format of a 2.5km run, 18km bike and a 5km run. But, despite the change in course and stifling heat, the British Paratriathlete was still able to continue his dominance in the PTS2 category.

Trialling a new blade and bike set-up in Sarasota, Lewis proved too quick for the rest of the field, completing the course in a time of 1:11:50, to claim his fourth win of 2017.

The European, world and Paralympic champion held off a strong American challenge, with the USA’s Allan Armstrong (1:13:01) and Adam Popp (1:16:08) finishing second and third respectively.

In the women’s PTS2 race, Paralympic bronze medallist Melissa Stockwell (1:46:20) took silver in her first international event since giving birth in August as Japan’s Yukako Hata secured the victory in a time of 1:33:45.

Germany’s Benjamin Lenatz (58:19) was victorious in the men’s PTWC race, pulling away from the rest of the field on the 2.5km run. Australia’s Alex Welsh cut the deficit on the bike, before Lenatz finished strongly to win by over two and half minutes.

Welsh (1:00:54) was next to cross the line to claim the silver medal, followed by Italy’s Pier Alberto Buccoliero (1:04:07), who completed the podium.

Sixteen-year-old Ahalya Lettenberger continued her impressive start to her Paratriathlon career as she beat Mexico’s Brenda Osnaya Alvarez in a thrilling head-to-head battle in the women’s PTWC event.

Lettenberger passed Alvarez on the final run to win by 31 seconds in a time of 1:19:15. Her win marked the US Paratriathlete’s first podium in international competition after finishing fourth at the World Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, last month.

Austria’s Oliver Dreier celebrated the win in the men’s PTS4 race, but there was just 21 seconds separating the top four Paratriathletes heading into transition one. Dreier pulled away on the bike, before extending his advantage on the final 5km run to win in a time of 1:05:05. The silver medal went to Ireland’s Tojo Lazzari (1:06:47) and bronze went to Denmark’s Hávard Vatnhamar (1:09:23).

Mexico’s Jose Abraham Estrada Sierra (1:05:55) claimed his first international win of his career in the men’s PTS5 event. He finished ahead of Ireland’s Aidan McGlynn (1:08:39) and Argentina’s Pablo Pomata (1:12:11) respectively.

It was a successful international debut for France’s Charles Edouard Catherine (1:11:00) as he secured victory in the men’s PTVI race. David Rangel Uzcategui of Venezuela (1:14:09) finished second, while Brandon Adame of USA (1:20:13) rounded off the podium.

US Paratriathlete Amy Dixon (1:20:44) earned her second World Cup win of the year as she saw off her compatriot Ashley Eisenmenger (1:26:01) in the women’s PTVI event.