More than 40 age-group champions were crowned on Sunday at the USA Triathlon Aquabike and Long Course Triathlon National Championships in Miami, marking the last stop of the 2017 USA Triathlon National Championships calendar. The event was held in conjunction with the Miami Man Triathlon organized by MultiRace.
The aquabike featured a 1.9km swim and 90km bike, while the long-course triathlon featured the same distances on the swim and bike with the addition of a 21km run.
Athletes faced windy, challenging conditions on the bike course. The run passed directly through Zoo Miami, giving competitors a unique opportunity to run past giraffes, elephants and other animals on their way to the finish line.

In the Aquabike National Championships, Adam Voss (M25-29) claimed the men’s overall crown in 2:44:19, while Karin Biskovich (F40-44) took the women’s overall title in 3:00:53. Several others defended their age-group national titles from 2016.
In both races, the top 18 finishers in each age group (rolling down to 25th place) earned the opportunity to represent Team USA at the 2018 ITU Multisport World Championships Festival in Odense, Denmark. The festival is set for July 6-14, and includes world championships in six disciplines.
In the Triathlon, Kirsten Sass (McKenzie, Tenn., F35-39) earned her third consecutive overall long-course national title, breaking the tape with a time of 4 hours, 50 minutes, 49 seconds.
“I had a way better race than I could have hoped for. With the conditions coming in, I know a lot of people were worried about the wind and the chance of storms, but it really ended up quite alright. It was a little windy on the bike, but the bike is my strength, so I was alright with that. The competition is always stiff here at Nationals. It’s the best of the best in the nation.” Sass said.

Luis Pou (M40-44) was the men’s overall long course triathlon champion, clocking in at 4:27:01 while Mike Wien, Vice President of the USA Triathlon Board of Directors, defended his 2016 national title in the men’s 65-69 age group with a time of 5:25:39.
Both the Aquabike and Long Distance Triathlon World Championships will take place July 14. In 2018, the Miami Man Triathlon will host the inaugural USA Triathlon Multisport National Championships Festival. The event, set for Nov. 10-11, will feature national championships in long-course triathlon, long-course duathlon, long-course aquabike, international-distance aquabike and aquathlon.
Read more on USA Triathlon.