Congratulations to Kathy Winkler, 2007 Age Group winner at the Wildflower Triathalon, Escape from Alcatraz Triathalon, and 4th place finisher in the 2007 National Triathalon Competition at Hagg Lake in Forest Grove, Oregon.
]]>EQ is proud to sponsor Kathy Winkler, a talented, well rounded athlete that embodies the spirit of EQ. Kathy is a Mom, Teacher, and phenomenal Triathlete. She has competed in Olympic distance triathalons for the past twelve years, consistently finishing at the top of her age group. For the first time in 2001, Kathy qualified for the Ironman in Kona Hawaii, where she was hoping to just finish the race.
Kathy's performance was triumphant to say the least!! She won her age group, in an impressive time of 10:53. She humbly states about her race 'the gods were smiling on me'. Kathy's training continued to go well in the 2002 season. In fact, she won her age group at the Wildflower Triathlon by over 9 minutes.
EQ honors and supports Kathy's dedication to her sport. Her focus, commitment and level of optimism inspire us all to reach our potential whether it is in the athletic arena or the boardroom. We congratulate Kathy and wish her much success this season!
]]>Lauren has come back to competitive swimming at the age of 27 and is turning in some of the best times of her life. After attending Stanford University, she moved back to Portland Oregon and had the desire to race once again. Last month she competed in the US Nationals in East Meadow NY. Lauren, representing the Multnomah Athletic Club, won the 100 Meter Freestyle in a time of 55.93, nearly a second ahead of the second place finisher. She later went on to gain her second title in the 200 Meter freestyle in a time of 1:59.81. Lauren broke out to an early body-length lead and finished about two seconds ahead of the rest of the field.*
"That was on par or better than I expected," Thies said. "I put in some good training this winter, so I knew I could go some good times. But for sure I didn't think I'd break two minutes for the 200, so that was very exciting."*
"I think it's encouraging because I had another eight months of training since Nationals last summer, and with another few months of training, I'll be refining my stroke and possibly drop some more time for Team USA (at Pan Ams)."*
Lauren will be representing the USA at the Pan American Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil in July 2007.
Lauren trains in EQ Swimwear at the Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland Oregon, and all of us at EQ wish Lauren continued success with her upcoming meets.
(Race photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
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