I've wanted to write about Kirsten for a while but never got around to it until now.
She set off alarm bells in my head when she had success as a junior and when I saw her compete at the National Duathlon Championships in Hamilton last year.
Without a doubt, she is Canada's best female Olympic distance triathlete.
Thus, I was shocked when she was picked as an alternate for the the Pan American Games team back in May. I realize that there was some selection criteria but Canada should be represented by our best and she definitely is. I suppose some sort of vindication came a few weeks later when she went out and won her first ITU World Cup race in South Africa.
Fastforward to this past weekend where the huge ITU World Cup race took place in Des Moines, Iowa. How huge was it? Well, the men and women's winner each got a $200 000 US first place cheque, and a brand new Hummer (Yes, the car). Kirsten was racing and I thought she had a great chance of winning. In fact, heading into the final lap of the run, she was running alongside Laura Bennett (the eventual winner) and Annabelle Luxford (2nd place). However, in the last 500 m, severe heat exhaustion took Kirsten out of the race. She was taken to hospital where she made a quick and full recovery. Simon Whitfield finished 6th in the men's race and took home a $10 000 US payday. More money for baby clothes :)
She is still Canada's best and at such a young age she has the potential to re-write the record books. I look forward to tracking her career and cheering her on.
Here are my early Beijing Olympic Picks:
1. Kirsten Sweetland
2. Vanessa Fernandes
3. Emma Snowsill
Right now I would only have patriotic guys picks:
1. Simon Whitfield
2. Colin Jenkins
3. Paul Tichelaar
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