By USAT
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — U.S. Olympians and multiple-time Pan American Games medalists Sarah Haskins and Hunter Kemper headline the six-person U.S. Pan American Triathlon Team roster for the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto next month.
The triathlon events feature a standard Olympic-distance 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run course, with the women set to compete on Saturday, July 11, and the men on Sunday, July 12. Races will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET both days.
Haskins (Clermont, Fla.) won gold in 2011 when Pan American Games were held in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and she raced to a silver medal in 2007. Haskins started her 2015 season in March with a Continental Cup victory in Clermont, Florida, and made her IRONMAN 70.3 debut in Puerto Rico that same month, winning by a gap of more than seven minutes.
Chelsea Burns (Seattle, Wash.) and Erin Jones (Hood River, Ore.) will make their Pan American Games debut alongside Haskins. Burns was a collegiate runner at Colgate University before transitioning to triathlon in 2013 as part of the USA Triathlon Collegiate Recruitment Program. She finished eighth at the Huatulco ITU World Cup on June 14. Jones recently captured wins at two Continental Cup events and is a graduate of the Elite Triathlon Academy at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.
Kemper (Colorado Springs, Colo.) is set to make his third Pan American Games appearance after winning gold in 2003 and silver in 1999. The four-time U.S. Olympian was named to the 2011 Pan American Games roster but missed the event due to an injury. He earned a podium finish earlier this year at the CAMTRI Championships and finished fourth at the Chengdu (China) ITU World Cup.
Joining Kemper on the start line will be Eric Lagerstrom (Portland, Ore.) and Kevin McDowell (Geneva, Ill.), who are also making their debut at the Pan American Games. Lagerstrom has earned three podium finishes, including two wins, in Continental Cups this season, and he won the non-drafting Escape from Alcatraz on June 7. McDowell finished third at the Chengdu ITU World Cup, fourth at the Huatulco ITU World Cup and posted a top-10 finish at an ITU World Cup in New Plymouth, New Zealand, at the start of the 2015 season.
The U.S. has captured 10 all-time Pan American Games medals, including five gold, since triathlon made its debut in 1995. In addition to Haskins’ gold medal in 2011, the Americans swept the top spots in 2007 with Julie Ertel and Andy Potts winning gold in Rio de Janeiro.
Visit toronto2015.org for more on the 2015 Pan American Games triathlon.
Held every four years in the year before the Olympic Games, the Pan American Games are the third largest international multi-sport Games after the Olympic Games and the Asian Games. The history of the Pan American Games dates back to 1951 when the Games were first hosted by Buenos Aires, Argentina. The 2015 Pan American Games mark the 17th celebration of the Pan American Sports Organization event. The U.S. has hosted the event twice, in Indianapolis in 1987 and Chicago in 1959.
USA Triathlon Pan American Games Roster – Toronto, Ontario
Women – July 11
Name (Current Residence/Hometown)
Chelsea Burns (Seattle, Wash./Seattle/Wash.)
Sarah Haskins (Clermont, Fla./St. Louis, Mo.)
Erin Jones (Colorado Springs, Colo./Hood River, Ore.)
Men – July 12
Name (Current Residence/Hometown)
Hunter Kemper (Colorado Springs, Colo./Orlando, Fla.)
Eric Lagerstrom (San Diego, Calif./Portland, Ore.)
Kevin McDowell (Geneva, Ill./Geneva, Ill.)