Team Sanders, Shepherd, Felder Wins PTO Pro Am
It is rare when Pro-Am athletes take precedence over the overall professional contenders, but this Professional Triathlon Organization (PTO) triathlon production in Los Angeles garnered the most air time on the live streaming show sent to audiences on several continents.
Six top PTO professional athletes were joined by nine Challenged Athlete Foundation (CAF) athletes along with former UFC star Paul Felder, Olympic modern pentathlon silver medalist Heather Fell and Herbalife ambassador and lifestyle influencer Shirley Alvarez on the course which began with a 1.5 k swim at Venice Beach, progressed on a 40k bike course to downtown Los Angeles and concluded with a two-loop10k run amidst the high rises.
When the Olympic distance excitement was over, the relay team spearheaded by star triathlete Lionel Sanders of Canada and including the Challenged Athletes Federation (CAF) swimmer Haven Shepherd and former UFC fighter Paul Felder finished in 2:03:50 with a 10 minutes 4 seconds margin over the Team led by pro Daniel Baekkegard of Denmark and including CAF swimmer Allysa Seeley and 2008 Olympic modern Pentathlon silver medalist Heather Fell.
The Team led by pro triathlete Sam Long and including CAF swimmer Emily Gray and CAF runner Rudy Garcia Tolson took third place, 4:08 behind the Baekkegard aggregation.
Finish Line Quotes
“I knew they had assembled a strong team because we were going to dominate this event from start to finish,” said Sanders. “Haven got us a big lead and then I just tried to hang on to it and then Paul brought it home so it was a lot of fun… It was a full-blown competition. I knew I’d be out here trying to compare my bike time to the pros and to Sam Long and to Daniel [Baekkegard] so I rode as hard as I can and I’m excited to go look at the results and see where I stacked in the bike portion of the race.”
“I would definitely say this is the greatest way to go into your late teens,” said Shepherd “I’d just turned 18 years old going into my Olympic Games and then being asked to do this triathlon with these guys… I was very thankful that they chose me to be on their team… I wanted to go out really nice and smooth but I definitely booked it on the way back to shore!”
Elite Races
While the Pro-Am secured attention for deserving charities, a $100,000 purse awaited a notable field of elite men and women. When the hotly contested point-to-point triathlon was over, Jamie Riddle of South Africa and Vittoria Lopes of Brazil took home the $9,000 checks. Riddle finished in 1:48:53 with a 2:09 margin on Australian Steven McKenna and 3:19 over third place finisher Jason West of the U.S. Women’s champion Lopes finished in 2:03:49 with a 1:01 margin on Amy Sloan of the U.S. and 1:31 on 3rd place finisher Amelia Watkinson of New Zealand.
With $100,000 of PTO prize money up for grabs in the elite race, a fast swim and a strong bike legs from the USA’s Eric Lagerstrom and South Africa’s Jamie Riddle put these two at the front of the race by T2 with just over a minute’s lead to Australia’s Steve McKenna. Pushing the pace towards the finish, it was Riddle who kicked ahead to score the victory with Lagerstrom second and McKenna third.
In the women’s race, Brazil’s Vittoria Lopes was first out of the water, first off the bike and first across the line to claim the win. New Zealand’s Amelia Watkinson was next off the bike ahead of the USA’s Amy Sloan in third. But by the finish the positions were reversed and Sloan was second and Watkinson third.
Herbalife24 Los Angeles Triathlon PTO Pro Am
Venice Beach / Los Angeles California
May 15, 2022
S 1.5k / B 40k / R 10k
Elite Men
1. Jamie Riddle TOT 1:48:53 S 18:45 / B 56:23 / R 31:43 – $9,000
2. Eric Lagerstrom -$7,500
3. Steven McKenna TOT 1:51:02 S 19:55 / B 56:41 / R 32:13 – $6,000
3. Jason West TOT 1:52:12 S 20:09 / B 57:49 / R 31:56 – $5,000
4. Rodrigo Gonzalez TOT 1:52:58 S 19:52 / B 59:03 – $4,000
*While Eric Lagerstrom and Andrew Starykowicz were seen finishing high up on the streaming broadcast, they were not listed as official finishers initially. Lagerstrom has since been placed in second.
Elite Women
1. Vittoria Lopes TOT 2:03:49 S 20:25 / B 1:04:01 / R 36:57 – $9,000
2. Amy Sloan TOT 2:04:50 S 23:39 / B 1:04:10 / R 34:46 – $7,500
3. Amelia Watkinson TOT 2:05:20 S 23:38 / B 1:02:44 / R 36:23 – $6,000
4. Milan Agnew TOT 2:06:49 S 23:37 / B 1:04:08 / R 36:44 – $5,000
5. Lizeth Rueda Santos TOT 2:06:56 S 21:25 / B 1:06:21 / R 36:31 – $4,000
Pro Am International Relay
1. Team Sanders TOT 2:03:50 S 29:04 / B 53:27 / R 45:34
2. Team Baekkegard TOT 2:13:54 S 34:03 / B 56:45 / R 1:05:08
3. Team Long TOT 2:18:02 S 31:20 / B 59:16 / R 1:10:23
4. Team Chura TOT 2:26:39 S 27:48 / B 1:03:39 / R 1:03:01
5. Team Moench TOT 2:33:42 S 27:23 / B 1:07:43 / T 1:24:56
Team Jackson DNF Flat tire
Pro-Am Teams
Team 1
Haven Shepherd CAF Athlete Swimmer and Track Runner
Lionel Sanders PTO World #3 Silver 2021 Ironman World Champs
Paul Felder Former UFC Star Current triathlon addict
Team 2
Emily Gray CAF Athlete Para-climber, Ice-climber, swimmer
Sam Long PTO World #8 Silver 2021 70.3 World Champs
Rudy Garcia-Tolson CAF Athlete Swimmer and para-triathlete
Team 3
Allysa Seeley CAF Athlete Para-triathlete
Daniel Baekkegard PTO World #4 Bronze 2021 70.3 World Champs
Heather Fell GTN Presenter 2008 Olympic silver medalist modern pentathlon
Team 4
Ahalya Lettenberger CAF Athlete Swimmer
Haley Chura PTO World #65 Ironman winner
Roderick Sewell CAF Athlete Swimmer and para-triathlete
Team 5
Jamal Hill CAF Athlete Swimmer
Skye Moench PTO World #7 2019 Ironman European Champ
Dr. Kent Bradley Herbalife Chief Health and Nutrition Officer
Team 6
Chris Hammer CAF Athlete Para-triathlete
Heather Jackson PTO World #14 6x Ironman Winner
Willie Stewart CAF Athlete Para-triathlete, cyclist and marathoner.
