33rd annual Dave Reynolds Biathlon set July 7 in Rehoboth
The 33rd annual Dave Reynolds Biathlon, one of the traditional summer events of the Nation’s Summer Capital, will be held this Sunday morning, July 7, soon after the fireworks celebration is put to sleep in Rehoboth Beach.
The event is named in memory of the late Dave Reynolds, a former member of the Rehoboth Beach Patrol family who died tragically in a surfing accident in spring 2003. Join us as we remember Dave, TC and all the others we have lost who are part of the Rehoboth Beach Patrol family. The event base will move one block south to Rehoboth Avenue due to construction of the new Rehoboth Beach Patrol headquarters at Baltimore Avenue. The biathlon, which attracts athletes from many of the Mid-Atlantic states as well as lifeguards from area patrols, is expecting 200 athletes and just as many spectators along the Boardwalk.
The male individual athletes will enter the water south of the Avenue at 8 a.m. for the half-mile swim north before exiting at Rehoboth Avenue and transitioning to the 5K run out to North Shores and back. The female athletes will follow the male athletes two minutes back, while the teams, depending on the number, will enter with the female athletes or be in a wave of their own, to be determined closer to race time.
Award medals will be presented to the overall and masters winners as well as the top three age-group finishers. Awards will also be given to the top five teams in the male, female, coed and youth divisions.
The new youth biathlon for kids 12 and under will be held just before the main event. We will gather the kids on the beach at Rehoboth Avenue at 7:15 a.m. for a 7:20 a.m. start. The kids will go about 25 yards into the water, followed by a 400-yard beach run that will take them up onto the Boardwalk for the finish.
The final award will be the Dave Reynolds Spirit Award presented to the top Rehoboth Beach Patrol finisher.
Olympic Trials
The trials ended with a great last day and a world record in the 400-meter hurdles by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone when she ran 50.65. An amazing stat on the final day was that trials records were set in all six track finals and one in the field. Grant Fisher was amazing in the 5,000 meters when he pulled away from the field to crank his final mile in just over four minutes. A four-minute mile used to be an amazing feat, but now athletes are doing it on the third mile of their 5K. How about the record of 1:42.77 in the 800-meter final by Bryce Hoppel? He ran back-to-back 51-second quarters, which is unbelievable. The women’s 1,500 meters saw the first three medal winners finish within 0.6 seconds, with surprise winner Nikki Hiltz taking first in 3:55. A 3:55 1,500 meters is equivalent to an impressive 4:11 mile. Rai Benjamin ran 46.46 in the 400-meter hurdles, which leads me to the question, “How fast could he run the open quarter?” The world record in the open 400-meter dash is 43.03, and I say if you remove the hurdles from Benjamin, that record is history. I feel this year’s trials were one of the finest in history, and the United States is poised and confident as the athletes prep for Paris. Let’s go!
