Dalton is an Ultraman
ST. EDWARD – Until this year no Canadian from east of Ottawa had ever finished the Ultraman Canada triathlon.Paul Dalton from St. Edward helped re-write the history pages, crossing the finish line in Penticton, B.C., with an overall time of 33 hours 17 minutes and 15 seconds.
Dalton finished 29th over all. Of the 39 athletes who started the three-day endurance event, 32 completed the course.
The event started Friday with a 10-kilometre swim followed by a 144.8-km bike race. On Saturday participants were tested on a 273.5-km bike race and they finished off Sunday with a double marathon run, 84.4 km.
Before leaving for B.C., Dalton said he found the swimming to be the most challenging of the three race disciplines. Swimmers needed to complete the course in under six hours or they would be pulled from the race. Dalton had hoped to cover the distance in four and a half hours. It took him just nine seconds longer than his target.
He had also said Day Two is considered the most demanding part of the race. He covered the 273.5 km in 11 hours, 13 minutes and 10 seconds. Dalton’s prerequisite that enabled him to qualify for his first-ever Ultraman were two Ironman races in Penticton. An Ironman goes non-stop and is roughly one-half the distance of an Ultraman.
This year’s field included nine Canadians, and two of them finished at the top of the pack.
Kevin Cutjar from Penticton was the first-place finisher in a time of 21 hours, 49.45, chopping an hour, 10 minutes and 50 seconds off the event. He finished an hour and seven minutes ahead of the second-place finisher who also eclipsed the old standard.
Tracey McQuar, 34, also from Penticton, was the first female to complete the course. Her time of 26:08.24 makes her the second fastest female in the 10-year history of the event.
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