Aptos’ Tommy Zaferes wins Santa Cruz Sprint Triathlon

Aptos resident and pro triathlete Tommy Zaferes won the Santa Cruz Sprint Triathlon on Saturday.

Zaferes, who also won the Sandman Triathlon in Aptos a couple weeks ago, beat runner-up Dylan McNeice of New Zealand by a minute and change. Zaferes crossed the finish line in 54 minutes, 11.5 seconds. McNeice finished in 55:35.9 and  and Eric Clarkson of Santa Cruz took third in 57:50.7.

Zaferes finished the 750-meter swim in 8:57.3, the 12.5-mile bike in 27:52.8, and the 5-kilometer run in 16:51.2, clocking in as the fastest competitor in all events.

Australia’s Annabel Luxford won the women’s race in the USA Triathlon-sanctioned event, taking fourth overall. She finished in 59:21.4. Los Gatos resident Becky Lavelle was second [1:00:07.1], and American Kathy Rakel was third [1:01:25.2].

Results included in this report are from the Finish Line Productions website.

Two-time Olympic medalist Bevan Docherty takes 3rd in Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon

Aptos’ Becky Lavelle finishes as the sixth fastest woman; Santa Cruz’s Eric Clarkson breaks into the top 20

Santa Cruz resident and native New Zealander Bevan Docherty, a two-time Olympic medalist, placed third in the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon in San Francisco over the weekend.

Docherty, who will again represent New Zealand in the London Games, crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 4 minutes, 32 seconds. Colorado’s Andy Potts won the race in 2:03:17 and Australia’s Courtney Atkinson placed second [2:03:53].

Docherty completed the 1.5-mile swim in 27:37, the 18-mile bike in 46:14 and the 8-mile run in 46:06. He finished the sand ladder in 1:51.

England’s Leanda Cave was the first finisher among women, coming in 17th overall [2:18:17].

Santa Cruz had one other triathlete in the top 20: Eric Clarkson placed 16th in 2:16:03.

The top female finisher from Santa Cruz County was Aptos’ Becky Lavelle, 38, who was sixth among women and 37th overall [2:27:09]. Lavelle finished the swim in 30:04, the bike in 54:24 and the run in 56:58. She did the sand ladder in 2:33.

Results in this report are from the Escape from Alcatraz website.

– Christina Gullickson, on Twitter @CGullTweets