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Chilliwack triathletes find success on national and international stage

Members of the Fit Club enjoyed a solid 2022 and look forward to even better things in 2023
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Chilliwack’s Anthony Toth closing in on the finish line during the Ironman World Championship race in Kona, Hawaii. (submitted photo)

Chilliwack triathletes from Fit Club are enjoying a return to normal, with the opportunity to participate in major events.

A handful of locals competed on the world stage this year. The club sent athletes to full-distance Ironman World Championship in Utah (representing 2021) and Hawaii (2022) along with the half-distance Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Utah. The club placed first overall at the Calgary Ironman 70.3 and had a seventh place club ranking at the Victoria Ironman 70.

“This year, not only did Fit Club have a high level of success on an international level at the world champion events and other races in Mexico, California and Arizona, but also at the national level,” said coach Anthony Toth, who represented the club at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.

With the book closed on 2022, they are ranked 19th nationally and fifth in their division. Toth said that’s particularly notable when you’re a small city competing against the likes of Calgary, Victoria and Vancouver, as well as corporate-sponsored teams.

It motivates and pushes the local athletes.

“In races that last 4-17 hours, it’s easy to slow down or drop out on a bad day,” he said. “Supporting the club and grabbing some extra points can be a tremendous incentive, providing the focus to think beyond your own performance or overcome the discomfort in order to keep going.”

The ultimate success for the club occurred in September when the Cultus Lake Triathlon returned after a two-year COVID-caused hiatus.

“Home cooking always tastes best and we had terrific results there, winning both the men’s overall standard and sprint distances and then a dozen members finishing on the podium of their respective age group,” Toth noted. “To have your peers cheering you on and pushing to beat you at the same time is as good as sport gets.”

Toth said the club model provides an opportunity for group success in an individual sport.

“We compete with each other to get better and yet, support and encourage each other to push ourselves to new milestones,” he observed. “While triathletes are certainly self-motivated, the club structure provides a common goal and support structure that is the bedrock of success. Proper guidance, training environment, group support, social and competitive growth has been the focus.

“Doing a 4 kilometre swim, 180 km bike or 42 km run on your own can be a lonely journey. To have others share your journey and go through the same experience and carry the same load or more can take you to places you never knew possible.”

For more info on Fit Club and endurance training contact, visit anthonytoth.ca.


@ProgressSports
eric.welsh@theprogress.com

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Eric Welsh

About the Author: Eric Welsh

I joined the Chilliwack Progress in 2007, originally hired as a sports reporter.
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