Saskatoon man dominates local triathlon

Kougiya, who won $100 and a hydration vest, noted the fastest triathletes of the province didn’t show up, so part of winning was participating. He added the race, however, was well-organized and the scenic drive to La Ronge made the competition well worth it.

This marked the first time the Freeze, Breeze and Wheeze was held since 2019. It included the longer Olympic race, which Kougiya won, as well as the short sprint race consisting of a 500-metre swim, a 20-km bike and a 5-km run.

“Overall, it went so much better and smoother than we expected,” said organizer Emma Smallwood.

“It was my first time being a race director, so it came with a lot of learning curves and just a lot of things I didn’t know heading into it. I had so many people around me that this was their area of expertise that I could really rely on and go to if I had questions. Everyone was so willing to help that that made it come to be what it was.”

In the Olympic category, Kougiya was the fastest swimmer, biker and runner, while for the women Nichole Robinson was the fastest swimmer, Rochelle Yelland was the fastest biker, and Elle Peters was the fastest biker.

Smallwood wants to host the triathlon again in 2027 and Kougiya is planning to attend.

“I felt like this year was such a big learning experience for myself and now we kind of ironed out areas we could improve to get it running again, and more people can speak about it, so I think next year will be just as good, if not better,” she said.

derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com

by Derek Cornet

Saskatoon man dominates local triathlon

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