Eighteen years ago today, Amanda Smith plunged herself into the water and swam her heart out, then jumped on her bike and pedalled feverishly around Langley City, before ditching her wheels and running around City Park to the finish line of the inaugural Langley City Tri-It Triathlon.
Today, she is still involved. And she is currently serving as the official race coordinator.
“I worked on up as an adult racer, and now I’m helping out as a volunteer,” she told the Langley Advance, downplaying her role which is to direct the more than 200 athletes through their paces.
“It’s a great community event,” she said. We’re so happy that so many Langley City participants have come out to join us today,” she said, between giving a friendly helping hand to many of the youngest races scrambling to mount and unmount their bikes in the Al Anderson Memorial Pool parking lot.
“We’ve seen a lot of kids from the Langley Olympians, and Langley Flippers and the local community around here. It’s great to see them enjoying today’s events,” Smith said.
“It’s been a great day,” she added amid a bit of a lull between the children and adult legs of the triathlon. “And it continues to be a great day.”
She’s already looking forward to years 19.
Attendance traditionally sticks around 200, with about 140 kids and 60 adults, said Christine Daum, the City’s recreation supervisor.
“We can’t grow much bigger,” she said, explaining that the event is limited by the capacity of the City’s outdoor pool and keeping the event to an appropriate length.
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