34 Photos
Holly Hinchliffe pushing toward the finish. RON ESPOSITO
A member of EventPower, the organizer for the race, speaks. RON ESPOSITO
Triathletes during the national anthem just prior to the start of the MightyMan Montauk Triathlon on Sunday morning. RON ESPOSITO
A member of EventPower, the organizer for the race, speaks. RON ESPOSITO
Triathletes started off in the bike portion. RON ESPOSITO
Triathletes started off in the bike portion. RON ESPOSITO
Triathletes started off in the bike portion. RON ESPOSITO
Triathletes started off in the bike portion. RON ESPOSITO
Sunday's races included a rolling start to the bike races because the swim portion was canceled due to unfavorable swim conditions in Fort Pond. RON ESPOSITO
Sunday's races included a rolling start to the bike races because the swim portion was canceled due to unfavorable swim conditions in Fort Pond. RON ESPOSITO
Triathletes getting ready on Sunday morning. RON ESPOSITO
Nicolas Myrial, left, and Michael Isler. RON ESPOSITO
A triathlete does the running portion of the race. RON ESPOSITO
Starting the run. RON ESPOSITO
Handing out water. RON ESPOSITO
Caitlin Kappel of East Hampton won the sprint triathlon. RON ESPOSITO
Brody Hoffman finished first in his age group. RON ESPOSITO
Julia Bechtolsheimer of Montauk starts her run. RON ESPOSITO
Finishing the bike portion. RON ESPOSITO
Triathletes come in to finish the bike portion. RON ESPOSITO
A triathlete starting the running portion. RON ESPOSITO
Finishing the bike portion. RON ESPOSITO
Finishing the bike portion. RON ESPOSITO
Kristen Shapiro takes off on her run. RON ESPOSITO
Adam Blumencranz finishing the bike portion. RON ESPOSITO
Finishing the run portion. RON ESPOSITO
Matteo Somma, left, with Neil Falkenhan. RON ESPOSITO
Cheering everybody on. RON ESPOSITO
Caitlin Kappel was the female champion of the sprint tri. RON ESPOSITO
Brody Hoffman with his medal. RON ESPOSITO
Henry Donald crossing the finish line. RON ESPOSITO
Julia Bechtolsheimer at the finish. RON ESPOSITO
Aya Abdallah close to the finish. RON ESPOSITO
Joshua Jastemski, left, Tim Steiskal and Michael Fallarino. RON ESPOSITO
The MightyMan Montauk Triathlon, one of the final triathlons of the season, took place on Sunday morning, despite not having a swim portion due to poor water quality in the area from the heavy rainfall in the days prior to the race. Instead, the race started with the bike segment, followed by the run.
The swimming portion of the race typically takes place in Fort Pond, but there have been issues in the past with blue algae, which can be harmful to swimmers. Race organizers have had a backup plan in place to move the swim down the road to Navy Beach, but apparently that wasn’t an option either.
“We received notification from the town that we cannot swim in the water due to the water quality from the heavy rainfall. We are very sorry to have to cancel the swim segment of the event,” race organizers said on the eventpowerLI.com website. “We did have a backup plan in place, but that location is not an option either.”
The triathlon, like many in Montauk, tends to be a big draw because it offers three different courses to accommodate all race levels and interests. The longest distance, the half-iron, includes a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run, and usually a 1.2-mile swim. The Olympic distance is a 40K bike ride, 10K run, and usually a 1.5K swim. And the sprint distance is 17K bike ride, a 5K run and a 750-meter swim.
Matthew Raske, 41, of Bronxville, New York, a common face on the East End triathlon circuit, won the half iron distance in 3:49:34. Harrison Desio, 29, of Ronkonkoma placed second in 4:09:37 and Mark Spottiswood, 49, of Merrick placed third in 4:15:02. Katharine O’Brien, 30, of Nesconset was the female champion of the half iron, crossing the finish line in 4:55:32, followed by Catherine Baisley, 27, of Wantagh (5:07:22) and Meghan Corbesero, 32, of Philadelphia.
Tim Steiskal, 33, of Brookhaven, another familiar name, repeated as champion of the Olympic distance, finishing in 1:52:49. Joshua Jastemski, 44, placed second in 1:56:42 and Michael Fallarino, 35, of Wantagh placed third in 1:58:43. Fallarino had placed third last year in the half iron.
Elizabeth Mittan, 28, of New York City was the female champion of the Olympic distance. She won it in 2:08:52. Amanda Whittaker, 31, of Bay Shore placed second in 2:11:50 and Ally Parker, 38, of New York City placed third in 2:12:42.
Matteo Somma, 16, won the sprint distance in 45:05, Neil Falkenhan, 40, of East Hampton placed second in 45:17 and Kenneth Moore, 48, of Sayville placed third in 50:50. Caitlin Kappel, 40, of East Hampton was the female champion after crossing in 1:28:07. Iman Chaya, 29, of New York City placed second in 1:28:16 and Veronique Ansorge, 47, of New York City placed third among women in 1:33:29.
All results can be found at eventpowerli.com/race-results/2023-results.
