2012 USA Triathlon Elite Duathlon Winners

At the US Duathlon Nationals the men's and women's winners earned the right to represent the United States at the 2012 ITU Duathlon Worlds in September. See the full USA Triathlon Press release below.

PELHAM, Ala. (March 25) - Daniel Hedgecock and D'Ann Arthur recorded convincing victories Saturday to capture the USA Triathlon Elite Duathlon National Championship titles at Oak Mountain State Park. The race was run in conjunction with Powerman Alabama.

Racing his first-ever elite duathlon event, Hedgecock (Minneapolis, Minn.) covered the 10-kilometer run, 40-kilometer bike, 5-kilometer run course in 1 hour, 50 minutes, 48 seconds to outdistance defending champion Matthew Russell (Scottsdale, Ariz.), who finished in 1:51:44, by nearly a minute. Former champion David Thompson (St. Paul, Minn.) was third in 1:52:08. Hedgecock, a former University of Missouri runner, led after the first 10k run and posted the second-fastest 5k split on run No. 2 to lock up the win.  

Arthur (Dallas, Texas) also picked up her first elite duathlon victory in 2:05:27 - more than 2 minutes clear of the women's field. Angela Axmann (Phoenix, Ariz.) was the runner-up in 2:07:55, while Amy Kloner (Phoenix, Ariz.) rounded out the podium in 2:09:02. A third-year medical student, Arthur built a lead of more than a minute on the opening run and was never challenged over the course of the 40k bike and 5k run.

By virtue of their victories, Hedgecock and Arthur earned the right to represent the U.S. at the 2012 ITU Duathlon World Championships on Sept. 22-23 in Nancy, France. Each champion also claimed $1,500 with the win. 

Elite Duathlon Nationals was held in conjunction with the Powerman Alabama Multisport Weekend, which also featured the PowerKids Duathlon on Saturday and the Powerman Alabama Duathlon and Double Oak Duathlon on Sunday. Visit team-magic.com for more on the event. 

USA Triathlon Elite Duathlon National Championship - Pelham, Ala.
(10k run, 40k bike, 5k run) - Complete Results 

Men's Top-Five Finishers
1. Daniel Hedgecock (Minneapolis, Minn.), 1:50:48      
2. Matthew Russell (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 1:51:44      
3. David Thompson (St. Paul, Minn.), 1:52:08      
4. Joshua Merrick (Alamosa, Colo.), 1:53:09      
5. Ryan Giuliano (Schaumburg, Ill.), 1:53:21 

Women's Top-Five Finishers
1. D'Ann Arthur (Dallas, Texas), 2:05:27      
2. Angela Axmann (Phoenix, Ariz.), 2:07:55      
3. Amy Kloner (Phoenix, Ariz.), 2:09:02      
4. Deanna Newman (Birmingham, Ala.), 2:09:55      
5. Michelle Parsons (GBR), 2:10:17  

 

Photo: USAT (Kelli Eldridge)

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