Rain didn’t deter committed athletes in June’s Tinman events

by Dan McClelland

It was one of the soggiest Tupper Lake Tinman’s in recent history- and fortunately there were no rain-related mishaps.

The 41st version of the major June athletic event here started off under overcast skies as the triathletes entered the water in waves at 8a.m. But there were some major rains throughout that Saturday a week ago that made for slippery road conditions for the cyclists and cooling baths for runners in the final leg.

This was the first year the Tinman was sponsored by the Town of Tupper Lake Recreation Department, after a pass over last fall where the town board agreed to take charge of all of the chamber of commerce’s traditional summer events.

A familiar face was first over the finish line in the full triathlon. Eric Roy, a Canadian from Gatineau, Quebec, was this year’s Tinman king, the third time he was crowned since his first attempt at the half-Ironman in 1997.

Eric won Tinmans in 1998 and 2009.

His winning time was four hours, 18 minutes, 48 seconds- more than 16 minutes faster than second place finisher Matt Crave of Schenectady. Third best full triathlon time of the day came from another Quebec athlete: Olivier Breton of Quebec City.

It was a double win this year for the Roy family. Eric’s 14 year old son Simon won the sprint division for the second year in a row. It features the shortest distances for a single athlete each year.

Simon’s time this year was one hour, 13 minutes and 13 seconds.

We carried Simon’s photo on our front page last week, as he crossed the finish line.

In second and third place in the abbreviated event were Andrew Putnam of Ithaca and Wesley Hall of Troy.

Three locals tried their hand at the sprint this year. They were Timothy Swierad (1:45.01), Shannon Littlefield ((1:52:53) and Rachael Wild (2:02:11).

Tupper Lake was well represented in the 41st version of the event again this year. Completing the challenge again was one of the most senior men in the sport- Tupper Lake’s Bob Tebo, who finished the three legs in six hours, seven minutes and 39 seconds. Bob, in addition to the many triathlons he’s tackled around the country, also has also completed a number of Ironmans in Hawaii, Lake Placid and other venues under his belt.

Ironman events challenge the best in the sport to double the Tinman distances.

Tinmans are commonly known as half-Ironmans.

Another local athlete who finished this year’s Tinman and who like Bob is seen running through the community in training often, was Mark Yamrick. Mark’s time this year was six hours, 31 minutes.

Another avid runner here, Town Accountant Samantha Davies was back in the field of competitors again this year, tackling the aquabike competion (swim and bike legs only) in a time of three hours, 23 minutes, 33 seconds. Sam was the fastest woman and placed second overall in that division.

A complete list of winners is available on the Tupper Lake Tinman web site.

The event was again well directed by Wendy Peroza, with help from very able event captains: Dan Brown, Brian and Courtney Bennett and new this year to the team, Hayden LaMere.

Wendy was very happy how the Tinman again turned out, she noted in an interview last week.

“The weather reports were forecasting thunder storms all that week for that Saturday, and fortunately they didn’t materialize.”

She said the swim started out under cloudy skies and the rain arrived about 10:30a.m. when most competitors were on their bikes. “I could see the rain come in across the pond,” she said of its arrival.

The bike riders, she said, weren’t daunted by the wet road conditions, and as usual there were a few flat tires, but nothing major on the rides west.

“We’re always concerned about safety,” and she was glad to report there were no major accidents this year.

There was what she called “a good chunk of rain” through mid- to late morning and then it was on and off throughout the afternoon.

It made for unpleasant conditions for many of the local volunteers who man the various aid stations on the bike and run legs.

Mrs. Peroza said the rain persisted through most of the finish period.

She said she felt the triathletes this year were happy with the 41st hosting of the Tinman for the most part.

She gave credit for a smooth-running Tinman to “the many local and area volunteers” who help stage the popular June event each year.

Volunteer numbers of climbing back to normal, after a couple of the COVID years where a shortage of volunteers was seen here by the event organizers.

“We can always use more volunteers,” she admitted. She said it’s becoming pleasantly commonplace in recent years to have the family members of the athletes offer to help- as they are typically very familiar with the workings of these types of events.

She also offered praise for the state and local police departments and the Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies. Traffic control during the event, she said, went very well.

Our thanks this week to Photographer Jim Lanthier for these photos displayed here.