Trail triathlete Jackson Konkin picked up a pair of victories at the Pushor Mitchell Apple Triathlon in Kelowna on the weekend.
The J. L. Crowe student won the 1.5 kilometre open water swim on Friday before cruising to a first-place finish in the U16 triathlon on Saturday.
His sister Kira also performed well in the water finishing seventh overall in a race that saw Pan Am Games 200-metre breaststroke gold medalist, Keira Smith, win the women’s open water swim.
On Saturday, the U16 triathlon included a 750-metre swim, a 10-km bike, and a four-km run. Jackson jumped out to an early lead completing the swim in six minutes and 28 seconds, almost 30 seconds ahead of Aiden Comeau. The 15-year-old Konkin would increase his lead in the bike, pedaling two laps of a five-km loop in 15:22 to extend his lead to almost a full minute, despite a group of four riders who had formed a draft pack in an effort to catch him.
Konkin then posted the fastest time in the run to finish the race in 38:04, one minute and nine seconds ahead of Three Hills, Alberta native Brock Hoel, and 90 seconds in front of another Albertan in third place Neo Gleason of Canmore.
Gleason also competed in the Youth Triathlon Nationals in Magog, Quebec where he placed fifth and Konkin captured bronze.
The Trail native will cap off the summer with a trip to Edmonton, where he and his father Mike will watch the ITU World Triathlon championship, and where Jackson will also compete in the Youth Elite category.
