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Parker Takes 2nd Title At Crystal River Triathlon

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By LARRY BUGG Tribune correspondent

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 27, 2008

CRYSTAL RIVER - Tracy Parker has this great way of getting away from the kids.

The Odessa stay-at-home mother of three children travels to the Fort Island Gulf Beach to swim, bike and run in the Crystal River Sprint Triathlon.

For the second straight year, she won the female overall title. This year, she finished 16{+t}{+h} overall with a time of 1:09.02.

"I was excited to do this race," Parker said. "I do this every year. It the Crystal River Triathlon is a great one to kick off the season. It's fast. It's flat. You can let loose and go."

The mother has some ambitious plans for other races.

"I am using this as a warm-up," she said. "I am going to Vancouver British Columbia to race in the short course for Amateur Team USA."

The weather conditions were delightful.

"It's perfect," she said. "There wasn't a big head wind or tail wind. You could get into a groove and throw the hammer down on the bike."

She couldn't keep up with the male winner but no one else could, either.

Spencer Smith, formerly of Twickenham, England, sped over the course in a record time of 55:57 to win the event. The two-time world champion easily broke the record of 59:29 set in 2007 by Graham Steele.

Smith, 35 and residing in Palm Harbor, has won two adult world titles and won one junior world title as well as three European titles.

Tampa's Andres Munera was fourth with a time of 1:00.44.

"I feel good," Munera said. "Good competition. At certain points, I knew there was no way I could catch him Smith. But I've won this a couple of times."

Tampa's Kelby Roberts took the men's masters title with a time of 1:06.04 and was eighth overall.

The triathlon drew nearly 300 and race director Chris Moling was very happy with the turnout and the results.

"It's our biggest turnout for Sprint 1," Moling said. "We had something like 278 finishers, almost 300 registered. Everyone seemed to have a great team. The weather was perfect. The world-class triathlete set a new course record. We expect to see him at more races.

"We had one lady who had a flat tire and she pushed the bike in to finish the race. That was pretty good."

RESULTS

CRYSTAL RIVER MEMORIAL DAY SPRINT 1

MEN'S OVERALL WINNER: Spencer Smith, Palm Harbor, 55:57

WOMEN'S OVERALL WINNER: Tracy Parker, Odessa, 1:09.02

MEN'S MASTERS WINNER: Kelby Roberts, Tampa 1:06.04

WOMEN'S MASTERS WINNER: Denise Fairbanks, Tampa, 1:13.06

TOP 10 FINISHERS

1. Spencer Smith, Palm Harbor, 55:57; 2. Pirates Relay, Crystal River, 58:32; 3. Al Steck, Belleair, 58:36; 4. Andres Munera, Tampa, 1:00:44; 5. Lucas Caron, Palm Harbor, 1:02:28; 6. Ethan Copping, Tampa, 1:03.47; 7. Matthew Cleuaratta, Gainesville, 1:05.45; 8. Kelby Roberts, Tampa, 1:06.04; 9. Philip Lahaye, Palm Harbor, 1:06.14; 10. Joel Rich, Gainesville, 1:06.33.

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