Race Coverage

Breakouts and Fun...

Monday, 01 September 2025 00:10

2025 HOPKINS ROYAL TRIATHLON COVERAGE - Despite the conspicuous absences of ANDREA MYERS and BETTE ROWLEY, who were doing other stuff last weekend, and especiially HEATHER LENDWAY, a late scratch due a recurring ankle injury, it was the women who stole the competitive show at Shady Oak Beach on Saturday.  Five relatively evenly-matched women duked it out for the overall top spots, and a few others reset divisional marks....

Exciting stuff!

This is not to suggest that nothing cool happened on the men's side of the competitive equation. In fact, a breakout performance by TYLER FRANK (photo with girlfriend, Emmy) delivered him to the Top Step of the men's overall podium. His prior results did not foreshadow such and effort, but he knew in his heart that this day was coming.  Then his Strava readout clearly showed that he outraced the men's field.

The MTN Guys love breakouts!

And speaking of breakouts, SHANNON BRAUN, like Frank, threw down the fastest women's bike split of the day which took her from a projected 5th place based on her prior efforts, all the way up to 2nd.

Unsurprisingly, ERIN ROCK, winner of two of the three in-state races she did this summer, rounded out the podium. It was her run split, the fastest of the morning, that allowed her to shrink the distance between herself and Braun to 47 seconds.

Finishing 4th in an AG record was ADELINE ALTHAUS-KOTILA, 16, who has emerged over the last two seasons as Minnesota's premier junior female triathlete.

Outrunning the women's field and finishing in the 5th sport, just 23-seconds behind the teenager, was JENNA MITCHLER, who has cracked the women's overall Top 5 in three of the four local races she's done this season. 

So, who won the women's race? It was a statuesque young lady with true star potential and a great genetic pedigree. (Her dad is an elite Age Grouper who, at 65, is totally ripped like the AI guys in the social media ads.) Her name is CHANTAL NACK, who was an All American swimmer at The U.

Chantal's profession (Structural Engineer) doesn't give her much time to race, but she rocks when she does. In two prior efforts at HoRT, she finished 4th and 5th; her best time being a 1:14:47. Her limited results since then have been stellar. On Saturday, she turned in a 1:12:48, giving her a margin of victory of 2:24.

Who, alongside Athaus-Kotila lowered AG records? MARY DEEG took the 60-64 mark from 1:31:34 all the way down to 1:25:06! And HELEN GUNTHER, 68, took her division's record from 1:34:38 to 1:30:53.

And oh yeah, the guys who filled out the men's overall pordium were YAROSLAV PERVENTSEV, who like Chantal, is a talented yet infrequent racer, and three-time Hopkins winner BRETT LOVAAS. 

Selling out with 407 entrants, the Hopkins Royal Triathlon once again proved itself to be one of the finest triathlons in our region. RESULTS