Seafair Triathlon | Chris Tremonte, Teresa Nelson earn victories

The eighth Seafair Triathlon produced two first-time winners, and its field of 1,856 registered adult competitors was distinguished by two assisted blind athletes, who finished within seconds of each other.

After four straight top-five finishes in the men's overall standings, Chris Tremonte of Redmond broke through Sunday and won the sprint distance event (half-mile swim, 12-mile bike ride, 3.1-mile run) in 59 minutes, 9 seconds.

Teresa Nelson of Redmond, the fourth-place women's finisher a year ago, took the top spot in 1:08:11, more than a minute faster than her closest competitor. Both she and Tremonte earned a $500 first-place prize.

Tremonte, 27, acknowledged his friend and last year's winner, Ben Collins of Seattle, while accepting his first-place medal. Collins, who set a course record (57:13) in 2007, competed at a triathlon in New York City on Sunday.

"It was nice of him to race in New York today," said Tremonte.

"We've raced each other five or six times, and he's had my number more often than I've had his," he said. "We've known each other for years. It would have been nice to have given him a run for his money today."

Nelson qualified for October's Hawaii Triathlon after competing in the Coeur d'Alene Triathlon four weeks ago.

Nelson, a triathlon coach at Herriott Sports Performance in Seattle, had 17 trainees in the race. Two age-category winners, Natalie Komar (40-44) and Karen Jones (55-59), both of Seattle, are tutored by Nelson.

Probably the biggest finish-line cheers greeted 70-year-old John Upthegrove of Burien and 54-year-old Barb Oswald of Seattle, two blind participants who crossed the line with their guides within moments of each other.

For Upthegrove, it was his sixth Seafair Triathlon — his fourth as a blind competitor. A mutation in his blood, Upthegrove explained, led to clogged arteries in his optic nerves that cost him about 95 percent of his sight.

Since he had raced as a sighted competitor, Upthegrove said his family encouraged him to continue with the tradition after he became blind. "They told me, 'Why not?' So I kept taking part," Upthegrove said.

This was Upthegrove's first race with his 37-year-old son, Dave, in the role of guide. The younger Upthegrove, a former swimmer at Lakeside High School, admits he doesn't train athletically much any more. "But I figured if he's going to do it, I ought to be able to do it," Dave said. His father laughed.

"If he gets in really good shape, I won't be able to have him as my guide dog," he said.

Oswald, who serves as disabled student services director at Centralia College and is a cancer survivor, said she races to prove a point: "That I'm going to live a long time," she said.