Brent McMahon incorporated the 2012 Subaru Western Triathlon Series in his training as he rallied from a near-devastating injury to qualify for the London Summer Olympics.
鈥淚 can drive to the races,鈥� said the 32-year-old Olympic triathlete from Victoria, as the Western Series unveiled its dates for 2013 during a news conference Wednesday.
鈥淭here are not a lot of places that have such good racing in your own backyard. I love to join these races every year. Last year, I used the series to get ready for the Olympics. What a special journey it was to go from these races to race in front of 400,000 people, standing 15 deep in places, at London. I get goosebumps remembering it.鈥�
There will be one less Island race in the series to drive to this year for McMahon 鈥� with the formerly TSN-televised Sooke race being cancelled due to logistical issues 鈥� and a new Saskatoon race added.
This year鈥檚 races include the Subaru Shawnigan Lake Triathlon on May 26, Saunders Subaru Victoria Triathlon on June 16 at Elk Lake, the Subaru Saskatoon Triathlon on June 30, Vancouver Triathlon on July 14 and Banff Triathlon on Sept. 7.
McMahon will concentrate on longer triathlons this year and decide next year if he will again go the Olympic distance for Rio 2016 in the same city in which he won silver in the 2007 Rio Pan American Games.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 counted it out,鈥� he said.
If he goes for it, he will use the Western Triathlon Series as a valuable training ground, as have numerous top Olympic distance, Ironman and Half-Iron triathletes over the past several years.
鈥淭his [sports hosting] is truly a brand new industry and a really important industry for our region,鈥� said former Colwood mayor Dave Saunders, now a local businessman whose family is deeply involved in sponsoring the series through its Subaru dealership.
Sarah Malerby, race director for the Shawnigan Lake Triathlon, can attest to the event鈥檚 impact on her community.
鈥淲e expect 600 competitors from around the world, which is a 20 per cent increase from last year,鈥� she said.
