Triathletes prepare in the transition area for Saturday’s Tri-Columbus Triathlon at Tipton Lakes Marina in Columbus.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
With Malachi Henry a prohibitive favorite to win Saturday’s inaugural Tri-Columbus Triathlon, a couple of relay teams were formed to try to compete with him.
One team even affectionately called themselves “Faster Than Malachi Henry, Professional Triathlete,” and Blair Frastaci, Nate McLeese and Matt Geer lived up to their name.
Frastaci, McLeese and Geer combined to cover the 800-meter swim, 17-mile bike and 5K run in 1 hour, 10 minutes, 53.69 seconds. That was a little more than a minute faster than Henry’s solo 1:12:02.61.
“There were a couple local people that made some tough relays, so I had my eyes set on them and they had their eyes set on me,” Henry said. “It was a fun challenge for sure.”
Henry, who became a pro triathlete last year, took home the men’s title as a consolation prize.
“Racing in Columbus is always great,” Henry said. “We’re glad to bring this event back. It’s kind of where I started, and the journey that it’s taken me on has been a blessing. It’s always nice to bring new athletes into the community.”
Meanwhile, Leah McClure, who recently moved to Columbus, won the women’s title. The Indianapolis native and former Miami (Ohio) track athlete finished fifth overall in 1:26:51.60.
“I started in college because I realized that I loved swimming, biking and running and wanted to put them all together,” McClure said. “I really have grown in appreciation for the sport and how it lets you really work for your body, but also care for your body well. It was fun to race on home turf.”
Megan Bos of Columbus finished second in the women’s division and ninth overall in 1:29:43.98.
“I was pleased on the bike course,” Bos said. “It wasn’t too bad. You never know riding around Grandview how ugly it’s going to get, but you were able to pass, so it was good. And the weather held out real nice. It’s not too hot today, which is good.”
Joe Calandro was the second overall and second men’s finisher in 1:22:28.71.
The triathlon started and finished at Tipton Lakes Marina and was a similar course to the one used for the former Columbus Challenge Triathlon, which ended in 2018.
“It’s a great event,” Calandro said. “I’m glad to see it come back. It’s great camaraderie around here. I felt like the course was good.”
Thanks to the quick thinking of three heroes, a near-tragedy at the beginning of the event was averted. One of the later swimmers to start got about 10 meters into the water when he began flailing his arms trying to stay afloat.
Tim Howard of Indianapolis, who was a photographer for the event, set his camera down, took his keys and phone out of his pocket and went in after him. When Howard started getting pulled under, Eric Bradley and Ben Wagner, both of Columbus, came to the rescue, and the trio were able to get the man safely to shore.
“I was taking photos of him going in, and he looks out of place,” Howard said. “He didn’t have goggles. I looked back and he was bobbing up and down, and I yelled at him and I said, ‘Get on your back and just float,’ and then he went under. So I threw off the camera and jumped in, and he was in a full panic. He started pulling me under and drowning me, and I’m just trying to keep him afloat. But luckily those two other people came in because he was not coming out. He was definitely going to drown.”
As a former lifeguard, Bradley had training for the situation.
“(Howard) saw it, and threw his stuff down and went in,” Bradley said. “The guy was strong and almost took him out. I watched for a second and then got all my stuff off and went in. I’m an old lifeguard, so it was easy to take care of it. If you hadn’t done that before, it could be a little daunting.”
