Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Bianco, Fairley finish 1-2 at East Coast Triathlon Festival
5/7/2021 12:00:00 AM | Triathlon
Liberty University graduate Giovanni Bianco ('19, M.S. in Human Performance) and graduate student Mark Fairley, who will receive his M.S. in Sport Management next week, finished first and second, respectively, in Sunday's Draft Legal men's sprint race at the East Coast Triathlon Festival in Glen Allen, Va., near Richmond.
Bianco, who is planning to complete his final season of eligibility with the men's triathlon team starting this fall while working with Liberty's Athletics department, completed the 750-meter swim, 25-kilometer cycling stage, and 5K run in 56 minutes, 18 seconds, eight seconds in front of Fairley.
"Giovanni has definitely stayed in shape, which is exciting for me to see especially if he is going to be coming back and racing for me next year," Head Coach Heather Gollnick said. "He is definitely a spiritual leader as well, and has the respect of the younger athletes, as he is older, wiser, and more experienced."
Fairley earned his pro card by finishing runner-up in two Elite Development Races at the Clermont (Fla.) Draft-Legal Challenge in early March and will begin competing professionally this summer.
"They had a great time being able to work together in the draft-legal format," Gollnick said.
The festival's eight races attracted 700 contestants from 42 states, including 119 in the men's (16-and-over) draft-legal race, which served as a qualifier for the 2021 World Triathlon Age Group Sprint Championships set for Oct. 15-17 in Bermuda. However, that is the same weekend as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Triathlon Championships, an Olympic-distance event that Liberty will host at Smith Mountain Lake.
Flames freshman Jack Pizor finished 26th overall and third out of 15 competitors in the 16-19 age group in 1:04:10
"He is definitely one of our most improved athletes this year," Gollnick said, noting that he also had a podium finish at the A1A Triathlon in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "We have a handful of freshmen that I am excited to see how much they have improved. They have seen Mark earn his pro card and they want to be able to do that as well. They are highly motivated to keep training."
Pizor was followed by sophomore David McCurdy (32nd in 1:04:54), Hayden Russell (48th in 1:28:34), and sophomore Jared Hoober (60th in 1:10:42).
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| Sophomore Anna Kate Wirsing was Liberty's only female representative, racing just outside of her hometown near Richmond, Va. |
Sophomore Anna Kate Wirsing completed the junior elite female race in 1:10:48.
Gollnick said her triathletes train as many as 20 hours per week under her watch, which has allowed them to progress quickly.
"We have a really young team, and about five or six of them are planning on doing a Half Ironman this summer," Gollnick said, with a few registered for the May 23 Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga (Tenn.). "I have encouraged them, especially the younger athletes, to keep competing over the summer to gain experience. From a coaches' perspective, to have so many new athletes that are motivated enough to pay for their own travel and registration fees because they want to get racing experience is really great."
She also monitors their off-season training virtually through a program they log onto and see workouts developed for them before completing them and giving her feedback.
When her triathletes return to campus in August, she and her husband, Assistant Coach Todd Gollnick, will put on their own triathlon, with the swim stage in the Liberty Natatorium and cycling and running stages on East Campus to serve as tryouts in early September and again in January to see who stayed in training over Christmas Break.
Gollick, a five-time Ironman champion, continues to inspire her student-athletes as she and a group of five Christian friends recently completed a 48-mile "Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim" endurance race along the Grand Canyon, featuring 11,000 feet of elevation gain, in just over 16 hours.
"That was an amazing extreme endurance challenge," said Gollnick, who completed it for the second time. "We did it in one day. Most people do it in three days. Practices with the team are fun because I'm out there with my athletes as a 51-year-old woman. They know when I tell them to go do this crazy workout, I'm literally doing it with them."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
Liberty's five men's age group sprint contestants all finished in the top 60 out of 119 triathletes.
