Creeker David Barnum is gearing up to compete on the world triathlon stage.
Barnum will represent Canada in the 45 to 49 age group sprint distance race to be held on the Friday, before the elite athletes vie for the big prize purse at the 2008 BG Triathlon World Championships this June in Vancouver. The event will attract 2,600 athletes from 45 countries. Olympic champion from Victoria Simon Whitfield attended the Feb. 5 press conference to kick off local awareness of this event. The age group athletes, athletes with disabilities and elite junior/senior competitors will take part in the events June 6 to 8. The swim begins at the foot of Denman Street, ending at Second Beach. Athletes ride their bikes east over the Burrard Street Bridge, returning to Stanley Park in a series of loops. The run is an out and back course following the seawall. Barnum qualified by placing second at the ITU trial event last June, in Stanley Park. "It will be quite something to watch the world's best. Even putting on your shoes takes on new meaning when only seconds can separate competitors after two hours of intense racing," he said.
There is a very active triathlon group on the Coast that began when Mokie and Mike Burnham hosted the Halfmoon Bay event, now held every Father's Day. Over the years local athletes have competed in all types of events including the ultimate endurance test, the Ironman.
This season Braeden Cam-posano, Tanya Camposano, Glen Illingworth, Pat Dickie, Paul Wright, Dave Gordon, Rudy Schneider, Alex Forrester and others will attend races throughout B.C. The group meets for swimming workouts at the Sechelt Aquatic Centre on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 7 to 8 p.m.
Watch for the Trout Lake Triathlon this summer, organized by Teresa and Larry Nightingale.
