“All of you can congratulate yourselves. You are all winners. We wanted to create a race that everyone can do. And you did it.”

Competing against almost 200 racers on the new 2009 course, 36-year-old Oakland firefighter Hanns Detlefsen set the new unofficial World Record for Emeryville’s Shortest Triathlon Ever with a time of 22:51 (22 min. and 51 sec). The top female competitor, 23-year-old Berkeley resident Eve Archer finished with a time of 30:29. Triathlon first-timers, long-timers and few-timers all completed the 100-yard swim, 2.5-mile bike ride and 2.1 mile run, finishing the race in front of City Hall this year. Presented by BOSS (Bay Area Orthopaedic Sports and Spine) and the City of Emeryville, the Shortest Triathlon Ever benefits the Emeryville Unified School District’s Health and Fitness Programs.

Tour de France and US Champion racer Freddie Rodriguez and son

Emeryville resident Fast Freddie Rodriguez, National Road Racing Champion and veteran of the major Tours and Classics of Europe, enjoyed the Shortest Triathlon spectacle with his family. He trains around the Bay and in Gerona Spain and was charmed by the fact that something so great was happening in his little City where his wife and two children could enjoy it in comfort.