Desirae Ridenour of Cowichan Bay, British Columbia stunned the triathlon world on Sunday with a World Cup victory in Ahuriri, New Zealand. Ranked 133rd in the world before the weekend, Ridenour moved into the top 100 in the women’s international triathlon rankings with an unexpected win. Ridenour is now 97th in the world as the victory moved her up 36 spots.
Ridenour posted a winning time of 56 minutes and 24 seconds. She had a swim time of nine minutes and 34 seconds, a transition time of 38 seconds from the swim to the bike, a cycling time of 28 minutes and 38 seconds, a transition time from cycling to running of 17 seconds and a run of 17 minutes and 19 seconds.
Emma Jeffcoat of Australia won the silver medal with a time of 56 minutes and 26 seconds. Ainsley Thorpe of New Zealand won the bronze medal with a time of 56 minutes and 33 seconds. Ridenour reached the podium by 41 seconds over Erika Ackerlund of the United States, who had a fourth place time of 57 minutes and five seconds.
According to Chris Dornan of Triathlon Canada, Ridenour is the first Canadian woman to reach a World Cup triathlon podium since 2013. Twelve years ago we saw a Canadian sweep of the podium in Edmonton, as Amelie Kretz of Blainville, Quebec won gold, Ellen Pennock of Calgary, Alberta won silver, and Kirsten Sweetland of Victoria, British Columbia won bronze. The gold medal for Ridenour will give her confidence as she prepares for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
