The inaugural Couples Championship promised a unique format with an enticing purse for some of the fastest triathlon couples around the world. Despite scratches from some notable teams including Vincent Luis/Taylor Spivey and Josh Amberger/Ashleigh Gentle, the $100,000 winner’s purse meant the competition stayed hot in this early season race. In the end, it was the short course athletes who showed their prowess with ITU stars Aaron Royle and Non Stanford taking the victory.
The relay format race consisted of a single 1/4mi swim, 10mi bike, 3.1mi run for each athlete. With no requirements for which partner took the first leg, strategy was clearly on the mind prior to the start of the race. In what would prove to be the winning approach, all but three teams elected to begin with their male athlete.
Leg 1
It was immediately clear the swim was either much longer or much slower than anticipated. A lead pack consisting of Matt Sharpe, Aaron Royle, and Eric Lagerstrom (who lost a few seconds being caught unaware by the start) found their way out of the water in well over nine minutes and onto the bike first. Despite following long course rules with a 12m draft zone, the ITU veteran Royle powered his way through the flat but gusty 10mi bike course, building almost a minute lead on Sharpe. Tim O’Donnell, in his first race since his heart scare at Miami nearly a year ago, chased hard on the bike, catching Lagerstrom and exiting T2 in third with Lagerstrom just behind.
Royle would maintain his lead on the run, finishing his leg in 51:15 and passing the baton to his partner, Non Stanford, to begin her swim. Sharpe and Clement Mignon would follow not far behind, tagging in Kirsten Kasper and Marjolaine Pierré to give chase to Stanford.
Leg 2
Stanford held a small gap over Kasper during the swim. The short course athletes extended their lead over Pierré and Paula Findlay, both of whom focus primarily on long course racing. After battling together on the bike, Kasper was first out of T2 and onto the run with a 12 second gap to Stanford. With Seth Rider roughly five minutes down from the leaders, it seemed unlikely any of the teams that elected for their male to anchor would be in the running for $100,000.
Stanford dominated the run and crossed first, earning the six figure payout for the pair. Kasper was just 30 seconds behind, securing second place for her and Sharpe and cementing the top two podium places for ITU pairings. Pierré ran hard to finish just 20 seconds back from second, closing out the podium for her and Mignon.
In addition to the triathlete couples who competed, the event featured a relay consisting of swim splits from three time gold medalist Brooke Bennett, bike splits from ex-pro cyclist Phil Gaimon, and run splits from Ashleigh Gentle and gold medalist Gwen Jorgenson. Prior to the podium awards, Waterfall Bank presented $120,000 in donations to local charities, showing their generosity extends beyond the pro athletes supported on the day.
Top 8 Teams
1. Aaron Royle + Non Stanford
2. Matt Sharpe + Kirsten Kasper
3. Clement Mignon + Marjolaine Pierré
4. Eric Lagerstrom + Paula Findlay
5. Justin Metzler + Jeanni Metzler
6. Roksana Slupek + Seth Rider
7. Sam Osborne + Samantha Kingsford
8. Rachel Klamer + Richard Murray