The next generation of Island triathlon stars made a statement Saturday.
Andrew McCartney of Victoria recorded his biggest career move as he hopes to eventually join a pantheon that includes Olympians and fellow-Islanders such as Simon Whitfield and Brent McMahon.
The 25-year-old finished a breakthrough seventh in the World Triathlon Series race in Yokohama, Japan.
The 2012 London Olympic-medallists Jonathan Brownlee of Great Britain and Javier Gomez of Spain were 1-2 in 1:44.59 and 1:45.23, respectively, with the Claremont Secondary-graduate McCartney clocking 1:47.31.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a huge step up for Andrew and it鈥檚 nice to seem him execute a race to his potential,鈥� said two-time Olympic-medallist Whitfield, who has now greatly scaled back his competitive career schedule.
鈥淭here is nothing better then seeing someone take advantage of an opportunity.鈥�
Meanwhile, a familiar name re-emerged with Kirsten Sweetland of Victoria returning after two years away from the World Series to finish 17th at Yokohama in the women鈥檚 race.
The former world junior champion was the most torridly talked about emerging performer in women鈥檚 triathlon before the bottom seemed to drop out of her career due to multiple injuries.
鈥淚 surprised myself in some ways today, and got exactly what I thought in others,鈥� said the 24-year-old graduate of Stelly鈥檚 Secondary, in a statement.
鈥淥verall, I鈥檓 super pleased and this is a great starting point. I didn鈥檛 know what to expect today with my first race back being a World Series race. Returning to the highest level is always a shock to the system, but it could have been worse. I love racing, and I had a smile on my face the whole way today.鈥�
Gwen Jorgensen of the U.S. was first in 1:57.05 and Sweetland crossed in 2:00.47.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to see Kirsten back at it,鈥� said Whitfield, who was among Sweetland鈥檚 early mentors in Victoria.
鈥淪he鈥檚 a remarkable athlete who鈥檚 been through so much. I get the sense she鈥檚 really matured. With her talent and work ethic, anything is possible.鈥�
