Prince George triathlete Josiah Wilkinson got his B.C. Summer Games off to a winning start on Friday morning when he was the first to cross the finish line in the junior boys super sprint.
Wilkinson completed the course at West Lake Provincial Park in 30 minutes and 7.7 seconds - 20.6 seconds ahead of James Sikich of North Vancouver. Sikich's Zone 6 teammate, Jace Mace, also from North Vancouver, took third with a time of 32:19.02.
Wilkinson may have passed Sikich on the run but he actually won it on the cycle when Sikich ran into some misfortune and Wilkinson put his drafting skills to good use.
Wilkinson came out of the 400-metre open water swim in Nadsilnich Lake in West Lake Provincial Park in first place (5:12.3) but Sikich was just three seconds behind an sprinted past Wilkinson on the transition to the 10-kilometre cycle. By the time they were on their pedals, Sikich was ahead by 21.6 seconds.
"But my head was not in it, I was out of oxygen," Sikich said. "So I was running up the hill, mounted my bike and wasn't really paying attention and rode into the ditch on the side of the road so I got back on and I was gone.
"I didn't know that he knew how to draft so I was pulling the entire way and I was a bit out of it and my bike was kind of slow."
Wilkinson narrowed Sikich's lead to a mere three seconds heading onto the three-kilometre run then passed the North Vancouver native for the win.
"It was good to be able to pull off him," Wilkinson said of drafting Sikich on the cycling leg. "I would've had way less energy for the run if I hadn't had drafted."
Wilkinson followed up with a second-place finish in the junior boys duathlon (2.5-kilometre run, six-kilometre cycle and 1.5-kilometre run) on Friday afternoon. Sikich finished first in a time of 24:31.2 with Wilkinson trailing by just 8.4 seconds.
Biathletes shine in duathlon
A pair of Caledonia Nordics found their abilities on cross country skis are a transferable skill.
Biathletes in the winter, both Gabby Hoehn and Ewan Hawes finished third in the youth division of the duathlon, made up of a 2.5-kilometre run, six-kilometre cycle and 1.5-kilometre run.
In fact, Hawes held the lead for the duration of the first run before he was overtaken on the cycle. Hawes finished in 26 minutes 20.2 seconds.
Maddox Johnson (Zone 1 - Kootenays) was the winner in 25:28.5. Second was Austin Beese (Zone 7 - Northwest) in 25:56.2.
Hoehn crossed the finish line in 31.10.5. First was Lisa Crump (Zone 7 - Northwest) in 30:16.2 and second was
Merina Lau (Zone 5 - Vancouver Coastal) in 30:30.1.
For full results click here.
