Epic torch relay, basketball game define London Olympics for local man
August 14, 2012
The action surrounding the 2012 Summer Olympics extended far beyond London.
Kyle Haddad-Fonda experienced the Olympic Torch Relay in Oxford and later headed south to experience the games. (Haddad-Fonda’s parents live in Issaquah.)
London Olympics organizers intended for the 70-day torch relay to crisscross the United Kingdom in the run-up to the July 27 Opening Ceremony.
In Oxford, Haddad-Fonda and a friend stood along St. Clement’s Street to see the torch speed past.
Beaver Lake Triathlon takes off Aug. 18
August 14, 2012
The Beaver Lake Triathlon is set to kick off Saturday Aug. 18 bright and early at 7:45 a.m.
The triathlon will consist of a one-fourth mile swim in 68 to 77 degree water, a 13.8-mile bike route with 510-foot elevation gain and a 4.3-mile run through the hills that surround Beaver Lake.
Registration by Aug. 16 is $82 and bumps up to $87 on Aug. 17. Register at blt.beaverlake.org/registration.html. Registration is limited to 600 participants.
Rough waters continue for Miss Red Dot
August 7, 2012
Miss Red Dot racing in Heat 2B of the Lamb Weston Columbia Cup in the Tri-Cities. By David Cormier
Issaquah driver is out of Seafair after crash
It was just your typical 190 mph morning stroll along the waters of the Columbia River when Miss Red Dot driver Kip Brown took the ride of his life.
“We had a steering failure,” he said. “At that point, it went into a pretty violent hook and I was just along for the ride.”
Issaquah High grad Jennie Reed earns cycling silver medal in London
August 7, 2012
Jennie Reed
After a 10th-place finish in Athens and a seventh-place finish in Beijing (amid a swarm of controversy) Jennie Reed finally has her medal.
The 14-time USA Cycling National Champion and Issaquah High School grad earned a silver medal in the team pursuit event in London on Aug. 4.
Reed participated in the semifinal and preliminary heats of the event. In the finals, Great Britain broke the world record for the gold medal while Canada took the bronze.
Reed started her track cycling career at the Marymoor Velodrome in Redmond. She resides in Long Beach, Calif.
Cougar Mountain Trail run series continues Aug. 11
August 7, 2012
The fourth installment of the SCOTT Cougar Mountain Trail Run series will take place Aug. 11.
“The course builds on itself throughout the series, and brings runners through a lush forest of fern-lined, single-track trails, over hills and along marshes and wetland habitats,” according to the Northwest Trail Runs website.
The series will culminate in October with at 20-mile event.
The only distance option for this race is 13 miles. Runners can register online at www.ultrasignup.com or by mail.
Issaquah Gliders alumni return to coach, support track and field team
July 31, 2012
Runners from local municipal parks and recreation teams jump at the starting gun for a 1,600-meter race hosted by the Issaquah Gliders recently at Issaquah High School. By Greg Farrar
Joanne Hartmann has volunteered with the Issaquah Gliders for 15 years.
The Issaquah Gliders is a track and field team featuring events for young children between ages 5 and 14.
Skyline High School graduate, Olympic cyclist Tela Crane, races for gold
July 24, 2012
Tela Crane, a 2004 Skyline High School graduate now riding for the USA Cycling Team, sets the national record for the 200-meter event during time trials in Colorado Springs, Colo. By Sandra Wright Sutherland
Under the scorching June 22 Colorado sun, Tela Crane zoomed around the velodrome, reaching 45 mph on her bike. After finishing the flying 200-meter sprint, Crane had a smile on her face.
Olympics-bound Egyptian fencer trains in Issaquah
July 24, 2012
Mannad Zeid, Egyptian Olympic fencer ranked 39th worldwide in the saber, lunges at Washington Fencing Academy expert saber coach Wang Yung July 18 in Issaquah to improve his technique with a few adjustments prior to the XXX Olympiad in London. By Greg Farrar
At just 22 years old, Egyptian fencer Mannad Zeid is just days away from competing on a stage reserved for only the world’s elite athletes.
On July 29, Zeid will grab his saber, put on his mask and prepare for one of the most intense moments of his fencing career when he participates in the men’s individual saber competition at the 2012 London Olympics.
Zeid is from Alexandria, Egypt, and has been fencing nearly all of his life. The road to London took a stop in Issaquah last week when he came to train with Wang Yung, an expert saber coach at the Washington Fencing Academy.
“I came here to train with him for a week because he has a lot of experience,” Zeid said. “He has already improved me within three days.”
Duthie Hill mountain biking competition sweetened with all women riders
July 10, 2012
Women from across the United States and Canada flocked to Duthie Hill Park to prove that women belong in mountain biking.
Hailey Starr, an amateur rider from British Columbia, dons her protective gear before heading out on the course. By Brittany Cardoza
The Sugar Showdown on July 8 was the first women’s freeride competition in the state of Washington. The sold-out event featured 20 professional female bikers and 45 amateurs.
The two-day event was about “building sisterhood in freeride,” said Kat Sweet, founder of Sweetlines, a women’s-specific training program.
The event was a way for women to improve their skills, compete and bond with other female freeriders.
Freeriding is a style of mountain biking that focuses on riders doing tricks and using trail features to show off creativity, style and speed.
The first day of the Sugar Showdown consisted of a clinic taught by the pros. It focused on providing inspiration to women mountain bikers through building confidence to try new things and improve their skills.
Runners break course record at 10-mile leg of trail run series
July 10, 2012
Beating the course record by nearly two and a half minutes, Seattle resident Eddie Strickler crossed the finish line of the latest installment of the Cougar Mountain Trail Run series July 7 with a time of 1 hour, 14 minutes and 54 seconds.
Iliana Sach (right), the first woman to cross the finish line at the 10-mile Cougar Mountain Trail Run on July 7, narrowly beats her husband Eric Sach. By Christina Lords
The previous record for the 10-mile run was held by Matt Messner’s 2006 time of 1:17:28.
Strickler, a 28-year-old software engineer who ran track and field and cross country for Seattle Pacific University, said he participated in each of the Cougar Mountain Trail Runs last year and plans to run in each of the five events this year.
This was Strickler’s first first-place win in the Cougar Mountain series.
“I probably run five days a week,” he said. “For me, it’s a good switch from sitting at a desk all day.”
Keegan Symmes, the race’s second-place finisher, and Gareth Jones, the runner who took third place, also beat the course record with times of 1:16:20 and 1:17:23, respectively.
“I love the park,” Strickler said. “I’ve run out here since being in college. I just love the trails … on a day like this you just want to get out into the woods and enjoy the day.”
