Photo courtesy BYU-I Activities
Jackie Johnson, a junior from Sierra Vista, Ariz., cycles during a BYU-Idaho triathlon she participated in last fall. Johnson recently placed fifth in the Jordanelle Triathlon, which took place Aug. 27 in Utah. Overall she placed 170th out of 630 men and women who competed.

Student places fifth in age group at Utah triathlon

Jade Swartzberg SWA03006@BYUI.EDU Sports Editor

Jackie Johnson, a junior from Sierra Vista, Ariz., placed fifth in her age group in the Jordanelle Triathlon Aug. 27.

The triathlon, which took place in Park City, Utah, was the fifth one Johnson has competed in.

“I did better than I expected,” Johnson said. “I hadn’t expected that there would be so many people.”

Overall, Johnson placed 170th out of 630 competitors including men and women with a final time of 1:44:08.

The triathlon included a 750 meter swim in the Jordanelle Lake, a half-a-mile run to the first transition to the bike and a 13.2 mile bike ride and a 5 km run.

“It was the first [triathlon] I ever did in a lake,” Johnson said. “I liked it a lot but it was harder to pace yourself. In a pool you have the wall, but in a lake you have no perception of where you are.”

Johnson, who has been swimming for 16 years, performed her strongest leg of the race in the water.

Running, she said, is not her favorite. “At one stage during the run I got a huge cramp in my side and I couldn’t breathe. I even started hyperventilating,” Johnson said. “I started walking and crying, but I managed to pull myself together and finish strong.”

Although there was no one else around at that point of the race, Johnson said that throughout the rest of the competition, both competitors and spectators were encouraging.

“From each of the transitions people called my name and lots of people would cheer you on as they passed you, or as you passed them,” she said. “It really gives you a boost.”

To separate the competitors into their respective categories each person had their age written on their left calf, and whether they were running sprint or Olympic on their right calf. During the run, Johnson would look at the calves of the girl’s running by.

“As long as they weren’t in my age group, I was okay,” she said. “I didn’t see anyone in my age group pass me, so the ones that were ahead of me were ahead of me the whole way.”

Johnson’s brother crossed the finish line about five minutes before she did. Johnson said finishing felt good especially after a rub down from a massage therapist and about two or three bottles of water.

Johnson is the current swimming coordinator at BYU-Idaho for the fall semester and she has both coached and participated in the swimming in the past semesters.