Most athletes have one chosen sport, an activity that they excel at above all others. But there are a few athletes that can do it all. They can bike, they can ski, they can skate, they can run and they can even run in snowshoes.
They’re a rare breed, but on Jan. 23, a handful of Jasperites proved themselves to be a part of that elite group, completing the seventh annual Jasper Winter Pentathlon solo.
Jocelyn Nadeau, who started the event with his partner Caroline Roy in 2010, is one of those athletes. In 2014, after running the event for a few years, Nadeau decided to compete for the first time and he came out on top as the fastest solo male with a time of one hour, 42 minutes and 28 seconds.
And this year, he did it again, besting his own time and proving himself as the fastest solo athlete, completing all five events in one hour, 22 minutes and 51 seconds—nearly 20 minutes faster than in 2014.
In that hour and 22 minutes, he biked 5.33 km up Pyramid Lake Road, skied 6.7 km on the lake, snowshoed 3.35 km, skated 6.2 km and ran 3.8 km.
This year there were four other athletes who were brave enough to fly solo.
Coming in second was Matt Staneland with a time of one hour, 42 minutes and 16 seconds. In third was Fraser Bjornson with a time of one hour, 45 minutes and 19 seconds. Fourth place went to the only female soloist, Jenny Wilson-Gibbons, who completed the competition in one hour, 46 minutes and 51 seconds. The fifth and final soloist was Steve Lahaie who came in with a time of two hours, 16 minutes and 12 seconds.
There were also 12 teams that competed this year, with a duo coming in first place. Bruno Bergeron and Pierre-Antoine Carret finished in a time of one hour, 42 minutes and 52 seconds, taking the prize for the fastest team.
Beyond the athletics, there were also prizes for the best costumes and the best team spirit.
The best dressed went to Death Star Rebels Unite, with Darth Vader riding the bike, Luke Skywalker skiing, a Stormtrooper running in snowshoes, Chewbacca skating and R2-D2 hitting Trail 15 for a 3.8 km run. The team was made up of Julie-Anne Weaver, Julie Des Becquets, Marnie Oatway, Jeff Fraser and Fern Yip.
Best team spirit went to a Bunch of Winos—a group of Jasper ladies (the Fitzhugh’s editor and production manager included) who dressed as wine bottles and spent the whole day dancing and cheering. The team was made up of Tanya Desjardins, Karly Savoy, Nicole Veerman, Brianna Robinson and Laura Coulson.
The Jasper Winter Pentathlon is organized by the l’Association Canadienne Francaise de l’Alberta (ACFA). To find out more about the event, visit the event’s Facebook page by searching “Jasper Winter Pentathlon Hivernal.”
Nicole Veerman [email protected]
