Returning Champion Dye and Sixth-Time Top Finisher Haskins Claim Victories at 33rd Annual St. Anthony's Triathlon

"The run was as nice as it's ever been. No one was behind me on the turn so I knew I had it because before, when I've been caught, it was halfway on the run," said Dye who has competed here nine times and finished first at St. Anthony's a total of three times. "The water was the flattest ever and there was not a single bump all the way. This race is fantastic. Other than Boulder, it feels like I have home field advantage here," Dye said.

Haskins, 35, of Clermont crossed the finish line with a time of 1:58:31, 23 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Alicia Kaye, 32, also from Clermont, who followed at 1:58:54. Lauren Goss, 28, from Mount Pleasant, SC, earned a spot on the podium finishing third with a time of 2:02:11.

"I was leading most of the way on the bike, minus the last half mile. That was when Alicia passed me and it turned into a footrace for the first half of the run. I figured I could out sprint the others so I backed off a bit until the last 400 meters, sprinted and that was that," Haskins said.

The professional field included past winners, Olympians and accomplished athletes who came from around the world and throughout the Tampa Bay area to race. The triathlon course incorporated a variety of distances from the sport including Ironman and 70.3 racing, to the non-drafting Olympics distance and the ITU.

St. Anthony's Triathlon's scenic course winds along the waterfront of downtown St. Petersburg and encompasses the following distances: 1.5K (0.9 miles) swim, 40K (24.8 miles) bike and 10K (6.2 miles) run.

Winning the Third Annual St. Anthony's Sprint Triathlon men's division was John Reback, 46, North Palm Beach with at time of 1:00:20. Coming in second was Anthony Aseere, 40, of Clermont, at 1:03:34, followed by Jeff Hoffman, 37 from Tampa, who finished at 1:04:20.

In the women's Sprint race, Celia Dubey, 44, of Tarpon Springs, won with a time of 1:07:41. She came in ahead of Yelena Maloney, 36, of Tampa, who had a time of 1:09:36 and Rebecca Martz, 22, of Berkeley Springs, WV, who finished third at 1:09:41.

The sprint race followed the same course as the Olympic distance event but with shorter distances – a 750-meter swim, 20K bike and 5K run. It featured hundreds/thousands of athletes of all ages and all abilities.

For more information about the 2016 races, athletes and fans can also visit the St. Anthony's Triathlon Facebook page: Facebook.com/StAnthonysTriathlon. Registration for the 2017 races will begin Dec. 1, 2016.

About St. Anthony's Hospital
St. Anthony's Hospital is a 393-bed hospital founded in 1931 as a ministry of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany. Celebrating its 85th year in 2016, St. Anthony's continues its rich history dedicated to improving the health of the community by providing high-quality, innovative and compassionate care. For more information on St. Anthony's, call (727) 953-6993 or go to www.BayCare.org/SAH.

About BayCare Health System
BayCare is a leading not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 14 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. Inpatient and outpatient services include acute care, primary care, imaging, laboratory, behavioral health, home care and wellness. Our mission is to improve the health of all we serve through community-owned health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care.

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SOURCE St. Anthony's Triathlon