Thousands Turn Out For The Philadelphia Triathlon
By Syma Chowdhry
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Three-thousand athletes and their fans took over the city for the TriRock Philadelphia Triathlon this weekend.
"Competitors will be swimming just under a mile in the Schuylkill River, they'll be biking 24.8 miles through Fairmount Park and they'll be finishing a 10K run which is 6.2 miles," says Molly Quinn of TriRock Philadelphia.
The two-day event began Saturday with a shorte Spring race which led to the Olympic race held Sunday.
Many of the participants raised money for a good cause.
"We had 80 triathletes who raised a combined total of $250,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society," says Leigh Ann Parente of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
More than 50 athletes crossed the finish line for Saturday's sprint race and came back again Sunday for the longer, more challenging Olympic race.
"We call that the combo...The combo sport," says Quinn.
For many athletes, this was their first attempt at a triathlon.
"I'm not a swimmer. I'm not a biker and I'm not a runner. In fact I don't like running, swimming or biking too much but that's how motivated I was and really anyone can do it," says Bill Procopio, a first-time triathlete.
Pros like Sarah agree. She was a contestant on CBS's "The Amazing Race" and competes in triathlons with a prosthetic leg.
"We all have 'disabilities' or challenges. I just happen to have one you can see. But we all have things that challenge us in life, but we can't let that stop us from living full, active lives," says Reinertsen.
And the results are in. The first five to cross the finish line of the Olympic Distance Race were:
- Cameron Dye, Age 29, Male, 01:49:02
- Andy Potts, Age 37, Male, 01:49:37
- Matty Reed, Age 38, Male, 01:52:53
- Jason West, Age 20, Male, 01:56:05
- Mike Gadzinski, Age 38, Male, 01:57:14
For more information on the competition, visit: trirock.competitor.com/results.
