Triathletes who participated in Event Power’s triathlon festival in Montauk Sunday morning were generally disappointed that the Sprint, Olympic, and Half-Ironman-distance swims that had been scheduled to take place in Fort Pond were canceled (owing to high bacteria levels), but reveled in the bike and run legs that were contested, and in the vibrant energy that greeted them at the finish line.
Tim Steiskal, 33, of Patchogue, a veteran triathlete who usually can be found in the top three in these swim-bike-run contests, was the Olympic-distance winner, topping a field of 117 in one hour, 43 minutes, and 20 seconds. He last won this race in 2017, he said. “I like the swim,” he added. “Not having it meant that you had to start out hard on the bike — my heart rate went to the moon.”
Steiskal’s 24.8-mile bike time was the Olympic race’s fastest, at 1:04:03, and his 38:07 was the race’s speediest 10K run. Remembering, Terry Bisogno, Event Power’s longtime announcer, who died in August at the age of 68, Steiskal, who has competed in triathlons for over 20 years, said that he missed the man whose encyclopedic knowledge of Long Island long-distance competitors was buoying. “He made this sport so special.”
Joshua Jastemski (1:47:00) and Michael Fallarino (1:48:07) rounded out the Olympic’s top three. Elizabeth Mittan was the women’s winner, and 27th over all, in 2:08:43. Ally Parker was the second female finisher, and 33rd over all, in 2:12:42. Maribeth Holland of Montauk, who on Aug. 26 competed in the Ironman 70.3 world championships in Lahti, Finland, was fourth — and first among the 55-to-59 females — in 2:12:58. Her 1:16:52 bike leg was the quickest among the women.
“Swimming’s my strength — I missed it,” Holland said after crossing the line, “but I had a good bike. . . a good run too.” A triathlete since 2012, she agreed with Steiskal that the contestants had to put the hammer down right away on the bike leg.
The world championships next year will be in New Zealand, she said, sighing when she considered the first “leg,” the 17-hour flight required to get there.
East Hampton’s Neil Falkenhan was the Sprint’s runner-up, in 45:17, just 12 seconds behind Matteo Somma. Kenny Moore was third, in 50:50. Erik Engstrom, also of East Hampton, was 11th, in 53:35. The Sprint’s top three females were Caitlin Kappel (52:47), who was 10th over all, Iman Chaya, 20th over all, in 57:57, and Veronique Ansorge, 22nd over all, in 58:21.
Also among the Sprint’s 138 finishers were Carlos La Riva, the head professional at the Buckskill Tennis Club in East Hampton, who teaches curling there in the winter, and a fellow tennis pro, Anett Ferenczi-Bako. She placed 37th, in 1:02:01. La Riva, who began triathloning this year, was 46th, in 1:12:01.
Mark Raske, 41, won the Half-Ironman (56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run) in 3:49:34; Harrison Desio, 29, was second, in 4:09:37, and Mark Spottiswood, 49, was third, in 4:15:02.
The Half’s top three women were Katharine O’Brien, 30, 12th over all in 4:58:32; Catherine Baisley, 27, 18th over all in 5:06:13, and Meghan Corbesero, 32, 20th over all in 5:08:29.