Jen Suverkrup and Malachi Henry pose for a photo following their victories in Saturday’s TRI Columbus.
Ted Schultz | The Republic
Two years had passed since Malachi Henry competed in a triathlon, and for him, it was a long two years.
Aftter turning pro, Henry underwent one surgery on the labrum in his left hip and three surgeries on the labrum in his right hip. Saturday morning’s TRI Columbus in his hometown was the first step in his comeback to competitive racing.
“I just wanted to see if I could do a triathlon healthy and pain free and not hurt myself,” Henry said. “It’s been a hard two years physically and mentally. This sport is a big part of my life, but when you’re injured, it sucks and takes a toll on other aspects of your life. “
The 35-year-old Henry didn’t have much trouble cruising to victory in the event, which was shortened to a 500-meter swim this year to go along with the 13 1/2-mile bike and 5K (3.1-mile) run. Henry finished in 1 hour, 2 minutes, 0.57 seconds. Tyler Meyer took second in 1:05:01.80, and Joe Calandro was third in 1:05:55.60 to complete a Columbus sweep of the top three places.
“It was just fun to be back,” Henry said. “I told myself I was going to take it easy, but I got a little bit of an ego I have to keep up with and still have the competitive spirit. Ultimately, it’s for fun. I enjoy working out. I enjoy exercising, so it’s just nice to get back out there and see what I can do and make sure I’m healthy. Now, I can see what I can do later on in the year.”
The top two women’s finishers also were from Columbus. Jennifer Suverkrup came in fourth overall in 1:06:22.96, and Kayla Hercamp was 13th overall in 1:13:11.34.
“Malachi has taught me everything I know,” Suverkrup said. “It’s a fun group. This is a fun local race, and it’s nice to go to sleep in your own bed the night before a race.”
IU Columbus cross-country coach Tim Hoeflinger won the duathlon (run-bike-run) in 1:20:04.97. He had competed in the triathlon in previous years, but switched to the duathlon after having surgery last week.
“I had a biopsy done on my face last week, and my goggles wouldn’t fit over that spot, so I had to change to the duathlon this week,” Hoeflinger said. “That was a bit of a change-up for me, but I’ve been running a lot, so it didn’t matter to me. I was happy. Stuff like this, I just kind of go out and run my own race. I try to be competitive. I try not to base my effort on other people because you never know where other people are at, so just try to go out and do your own thing, and sometimes, it works out in your favor.”
Ryan Bledsoe of Zionsville finished second in the duathlon in 1:21:05.32, and Gabe Ocasio took fourth overall in 1:25:25.00. Ocasio, the boys cross-country coach at Columbus East, plans to compete in the Tough Mudder Indiana Sunday at Ceraland.
Sydney Larkin of Louisville was the women’s duathlon winner in 1:24:43.77. Shelli Carothers of Elizabethtown was the second female duathlon finisher in 1:42:16.19.
Jared Imlay and Nathan Imlay combined to win the male team competition in 1:04:59.8. Fernando Casillas, Nick Luce and Pepa Madrigal were the coed team winners in 1:33:07.41.
“The camaraderie is always the fun part of this sport, especially in Columbus,” Henry said. “The support for this race is always spectacular with volunteers and that’s what makes the sport fun. The community is always here. You can support, you can race, you can do whatever, but people are special, and that’s what makes it great.”
