
iCAN Junior Triathlon Team sent eight members to West Des Moines, Iowa last Saturday to compete in the 2011 Hy-Vee IronKids National Championship and returned with four podium finishers.
Unseasonably cold-water temperatures (nearing 60 degrees) forced the cancellation of the swim portion of the triathlon, turning the race in to a run-bike-run format.

Ten-year old Chloe Waldner earned her second consecutive IronKids National Title in her division. Waldner has now earned five national titles in the past three years (3 USA Triathlon and 2 IronKids).
Jordan Ruffino, competing in the 13-year-old male category, finished 4th.
Both Connor Tabatabai (14) and Jared Eytcheson (12) finished fifth in their age category.
Ashley Vitale (10) and Joey Turner (10) finished 13th and 25th in their respective age divisions. Cole Fleming finished 40th in the 11-year-old male division and Even Fleming finished 26th in the seven-year-old male division.
The event was the culmination of 23 different IronKids races held across the United States. The top five athletes within each age category from those 23 races earned automatic qualifying places to the National Championship, making the championship race the biggest representation of the best youth triathletes in the nation.
Over 1,000 youth participated in the event.



