Johnson's finishing sprint wins the Georgia Veterans sprint tri title

Making up a deficit of over half a minute, Charlie Johnson of Tallahassee's Gulf Winds Tri Club outkicked Lt. Col. Joel Kinnunen 57:18 to 57:22 for the title at the 13 August 2011 Georgia Veterans Sprint Triathlon in Georgia Veterans Memorial State Park near Cordele, Georgia. Tallahassee's Sandy Holt won the women's division in 66:47, nearly a minute ahead of the 67:31 mark of runner-up and top woman master Ronda Walker of Dublin, Georgia. The annual event consisted of a 400-meter swim followed by a 13.6-mile bicycle ride and a 5K run.


Johnson was only the sixth runner out of the water, but moved up to second place during the bicycle leg. But Colonel Kinnunen, a member of the USAF triathlon team, had the fastest ride of the morning, and dismounted his bike at 38:44 into the race, a full 37 seconds before Johnson stopped pedaling. To win, Johnson would have to make up the difference during the running leg. He did. Running a 17:29, Johnson chased down Kinnunen, eking out a four-second margin of victory.


Top Ten Men, 2011 Georgia Veterans Sprint Triathlon

1. 57:18, Charlie Johnson (M, 32) Tallahassee, FL
2. 57:22, Joel Kinnunen (M, 45) Warner Robins, GA
3. 59:09, Sam Uhlman (M, 22) Atlanta, GA
4. 61:24, John Kilpatrick (M, 41) Leesburg, GA
5. 62:01, Nat Higdon (M, 37) Cairo, GA
6. 62:58, Sam Martinez (M, 46) Macon, GA
7. 63:16, Mitchell Sellars (M, 42) Leesburg, GA
8. 63:24, Gage Kronberger (M, 14) Dothan, AL
9. 63:49, Perry Thomas (M, 41) Macon, GA
10. 63:55, Tyler Sakir (M, 14) Forsyth, GA

Top Ten Women, 2011 Georgia Veterans Sprint Triathlon

1. 66:47, Sandy Holt (F, 26) Tallahassee, FL
2. 67:31, Ronda Walker (F, 46) Dublin, GA
3. 67:57, Grace Tinkey (F, 16) Macon, GA
4. 68:46, Madison Kronberger (F, 16) Dothan, AL
5. 71:12, Mary Hotz (F, 24) Albany, GA
6. 72:03, Kristy Andrews (F, 31) Gray, GA
7. 72:27, Kimberly Hull (F, 25) Macon, GA
8. 72:27, Amy Fix (F, 37) Albany, GA
9. 72:28, Alison Peters (F, 15) Valdosta, GA
10. 72:56, Alicia Christie (F, 26) Centerville, GA

Links:

• Complete results of the 2011 Georgia Veterans Sprint Triathlon at gamultisports.com
  http://gamultisports.com/georgiaveteransevents/gavets-race-results/
  
  
• Another fast finish by Johnson
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/04/red-hills-2011.html
  
  
• "Reservists part of gold medal teams at Armed Forces Triathlon"
  http://www.afrc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123252246
  
  
• Is Charlie Johnson's training secret Devil-Take-The-Hindmost runs?
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/devil-2011.html
  
  
• Upcoming triathlons, duathlons, and monathlons in the Tallahassee region
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1