Last August, Bill Hallett was elected Vice President and Executive Director of Triathlon Canada. The 44-year-old chartered accountant has been involved in the sport almost since its inception -- he did his first triathlon in 1981, his first Ironman in 1984, and another in 1986. He has represented Canada on four national teams, and has placed in the top three at every national championship he has ever raced in. (Five at last count!)
Hallett has devoted more than 20 hours a week in his role as national team manager, and his new position at Tri-Can. Finding time to interview him was...well, it just couldn't happen! 220 managed to catch up to Hallett via the internet.
Our primary problems arise from geography, climate, and a lack of human and financial resources. Our large country makes communication and competition difficult and expensive, and our climate prevents a lot of our athletes from training year round (BC being the exception). A lack of financial resources makes it extremely difficult to develop a truly national program. Our volunteer workers have been committed and dedicated, but we need many more in order to deal with the growth triathlon has seen over the last two years, and the demands now placed on us as we head to the Sydney Olympics.
We have been, and continue to be, solely a volunteer based organization. This must change. We cannot continue to make increasing demands of those who have unselfishly given of their time and energies in the past, and demanded little or nothing in return.
We don't have financial support from the government, which has severely limited our ability to act. We need to raise money so that we can move to the next level of development. If we don't do that, we won't be able to encourage our athletes to remain in the sport, and we will fall behind at the international level.
We were "in the sport" early but other countries have rapidly caught-up or surpassed us. If we don't move to the next plateau quickly we will be relegated to a "second-string-player" in the international arena.
It's sort of funny, being a triathlete north of the border. Canadians have to endure a painfully long off-season, but do their best to make up for it with gusto once the weather warms up. In 1995, things started really early (in March!) for the six athletes who attended the Pan American Games in Mar del Plata, Argentina.
Kirstie Otto and Mark Bates led Canada with their silver and bronze medal perfomances at the Pan American games in Mar del Plata, Argentina. Those results were just the beginning -- eventually both were named triathletes of the year.
The big time Canadian races didn't get started until July. The first was the Seagull Pewter Triathlon in Pugwash Nova Scotia, followed one week later by the very challenging Cornerbrook triathlon in Newfoundland. Otto won both with relative ease, while up-and-comers Peter Reid and Jeff Krar took the men's titles.
One week later, the scene shifted to Canada's largest city, Toronto, for the Neilson Dairy International. Won by Hamish Carter and Michellie Jones, this "double-tri" proved to be one of the most exciting races of the year. The pros did a standard swim/bike/run course twice on a spectator friendly loop course. Despite breaking her toe diving into the water for her second swim, Michellie Jones won by holding off a fast charging Karen Smyers. For the men, Hamish Carter ran away from a pack that included a fired up Mike Pigg to win his share of the $20,000 purse.
In August, the scene shifted to Quebec (pre-referendum hoopla!) for World Cup #5 in Drummondville. Australian Emma Carney continued her undefeated streak by beating France's Isabelle Mouthon, while another Aussie, Brad Bevan, capitalized on a Hamish Carter mistake (he left his singlet in the transition and had to go back for it) to run away from the pro field, keeping his own unbeaten streak intact.
The national championships, held in Fort McMurray, Alberta (which is very far up north, if you're wondering!) saw national track team member Carol Montgomery run away from a field that included Otto and new-mom Joanne Ritchie. The men's race was an exciting two-way battle between Bates and Andrew MacMartin. The run proved decisive here, too -- Bates pulled in front with just a few hundred metres to spare to claim his fourth national championship.
Later in August, Canadian distance-fanatics travelled to scenic Penticton, B.C. for Ironman Canada. American Michael McCormack won for the second time, whle another American, Holly Nybo held off Canada's Lynne McCallister to win her first Ironman race. The biggest news to come out of Penticton, though, was that Ontario race promoter Graham Fraser had bought a controlling share in the race.
It might have been late getting started, but once it did, the Canadian season was sure busy. With the world championships so close to home in 1996, look for yet another exciting year.
Former women's pro Sue Schlatter has been running up a storm -- she finished an impressive fifth overall at national university running championships...Sharon Donnely has got a release from her job with the armed forces. Look for her to race on the international scene more extensively in 1996...Former pro Erik Myllymaki will be putting on two MTB duathlons and a half-ironman in his hometown, Victoria, BC, this summer.