Jun 28, 2008

Triathletes 2nd, 3rd in world in age group

Portola Valley moms Nybo, Carrino share podium in Vancouver

FROM DAILY NEWS DISPATCHES

Portola Valley's Holly Nybo and Annie Carrino placed second and third respectively in the women's 45-49 age group June 7 at the International Triathlon Union World Championship in Vancouver, British Columbia.

More than 2,000 athletes took part in the event, 80 in their age group.

The training partners covered a course that included a 1,500-meter, open-water swim in English Bay; a four-loop, 40-kilometer bicycle ride through the technical and hilly Stanley Park; and a flat 2 1/2-loop, 10-kilometer run.

Carrino was introduced to triathlons in the fall of 1996, when her longtime coach, Bruce Smith, encouraged her to join his fledgling Alpine Hills Triathlon Club, based out of the Alpine Hills Tennis and Swim Club in Portola Valley. This was a big leap because, although Carrino was a fitness swimmer and runner, she did not even own a road bike. But after her first triathlon - the 1997 Wildflower Triathlon at Lake San Antonio, Calif. - she caught the triathlon bug. Carrino enjoyed the challenge of racing, the sense of satisfaction from setting and achieving goals and hanging with the people in the sport, and she looked forward to experiencing the many trails and back roads in the foothills around Portola Valley.

Carrino and Nybo, who was a professional triathlete with a victory at the 1995 Canadian Ironman, were first introduced at an Alpine Hills Triathlon Club clinic in 1998, and they became training partners. They push each other, support each other and help get each other get out the door when motivation wanes.

In 2000 - while Nybo, after giving birth to her first child, was training for the Hawaiian Ironman - Carrino, at Smith's suggestion, began training for her first USA Triathlon Nationals. She placed sixth in her age group and qualified for the 2001 ITU World Championships in Edmonton, Canada. Soon afterward, Nybo retired from Ironman-length triathlons and joined Carrino in the Olympic Distance Triathlon arena. Since that time, Nybo and Carrino have raked in numerous national and world podium spots, including a win by Nybo at the 2006 World Championships in Switzerland and a second-place finish by Carrino at the 2007 World Championships in Germany.

The question was whether they could continue their run of podium performances at this year's World Championships, especially considering there was an added challenge - Vancouver was experiencing its coldest June temperatures on record. On race morning, the air temperature was 48 degrees, the wind was howling, and the water temperature was 58 degrees. The athletes had only one concern - how do I stay warm? Do I wear gloves and arm warmers on the bike, or will they take too long to put on? Eventually, the ITU decided to shorten the swim to 1,100 meters, citing safety concerns. As the day progressed and conditions worsened, the ITU ended up eliminating the swim for the men's races.

Tracy Mitchell of Canada was the first swimmer to exit the water, with Carrino and Nybo only 35 seconds back. With numb hands and feet, the women struggled to remove wetsuits and buckle cycling helmets, but Carrino and Nybo left in hot pursuit of Mitchell. With each lap of the bike course, the Portola Valley training partners used their strong cycling ability to close the gap, passing her with 10 kilometers left.

Re-entering the transition area after the bike, Nybo and Carrino had taken over first and second, remaining within seconds of each other. They pushed on in the run, trying to hold off the charge of 78 of the top 45-49-year-old women triathletes in the world.

With each lap of the run, they could sense Juliet Vickery from Great Britain eating away at their lead. Halfway through the last lap of the run, Vickery passed Carrino and then Nybo, earning the gold medal in a time of 2:13:05. Nybo and Carrino finished seconds later. The fourth-place finisher, Judyann Cummings of the U.S., was a distant 79 seconds behind Carrino.

It was a great victory for these two Portola Valley moms, a victory made sweeter because they shared the podium with each other.