“Repeat” was the word of the day at the 2014  Challenge Penticton after hometown champion Jeff Symonds (CAN) and Carrie Lester (AUS) successfully defended their titles from last year.

Symonds crossed the line at 8:26.58, shaving nearly three minutes off his 2013 time. Sunday’s finish was 20 minutes ahead of Chris Bagg (US) and Nathan Cochrane (NZ) to round out the top three. Victoria’s Andrew Russell had been trailing Symonds in second for the first half of the run, but Bagg’s challenge and steady pace proved too much after the Okanagan Falls turnaround. Bagg captured second (8:47.01) with Cochrane finishing third (8:50.05).
The Penticton triathlete in his sophomore year of full-distance competition summed up his feeling at the finish line: “Winning in your hometown: it is hard to get any sweeter than that.”
The swim began with near-perfect conditions – a placid Okanagan Lake recorded at 24 degrees Celsius to make officials declare no wetsuits for the pros.

Josh Seifarth (CAN) emerged from the water first at 53:40, seven seconds ahead of Symonds, Sean Bechetel (CAN) and Russell (CAN). Reminiscent of the 2013 race, Symonds powered his way to the front early on the bike, carving out a 10-minute lead ahead of Russell and Bechetel by the Keremeos out-and-back. He entered T2 after 4:39.28 on the bike, and ran a 2:50.36 to a 20-minute lead ahead of the pack Symonds bounded across the line again, reminiscent of his 2013 championship win taking the first Challenge Family title in North America.

Although more healthy at the finish than last year, Symonds said the run was a grind. “I just had to get ugly and get it done. No excuses, just go hard. I believe in myself, but I didn’t know how my body would respond, so I am pretty stoked,” said Symonds, noting it’s a mental battle leading a race for so long. “I like being the hunter, I love that kind of mentality of chasing them down. When you are out front, you are the hunted and thinking ‘I can’t let these guys catch me.’”