Triathlete proves naysayers wrong

"Has he lost his mind? Can he see or is he blind? Can he walk at all, or if he moves will he fall?" - Ozzy Osbourne

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Some say Arnold Barrett lost his mind when he decided to enter the unforgiving world of competitive triathlon at age 45 last year.

Some say the Augusta native has been blinded by his own desire to test the limits of his own body every time he mounts a road bike, hits the water or pounds the pavement on the open road.

Some say the local CPA has absolutely no business walking at all in the wake of a grueling 112-mile bike ride, 26-mile run and 2.4-mile swim.

But, don't you see? Dude is absolutely relentless. Dude is Ironman.

You probably remember a few weeks back when we profiled Barrett, a man who did the unthinkable last year in Kona, Hawaii.

Barrett made his competitive debut at the Ironman World Championship - the premier event of multisport - where he finished 338th out of more than 1,600 competitors from across the globe.

Golfers don't launch their career at The Masters Tournament. And triathletes simply don't debut at Kona.

Barrett did, and he did it again last week at the Suburu Ironman Canada amid raging wildfires ravaging the forests in and around Penticton, British Columbia.

He finished 104th out of 1,965 starters, including 55 professional triathletes.

In his age division (45-49), Barrett finished third in a field of 175. That earned him a trip back to this year's Ironman World Championships in Kona in October.

Canada was only his second triathlon, and some of his buddies at the local bike shop used to call him an out-of-shape schlep.

Schlep this. Dude is for real.

What's most impressive about Barrett is that he already earned a spot in the Ironman nationals through a lottery system. All along, he said he wouldn't go unless he earned his own spot there.

He delivered, in spite of the massive headache and stomach pains he woke up with the morning of the race.

And in the immortal words of the legendary Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, Arnold Barrett is Ironman.

"It gives me more gratification than last year since I got in the (Ironman worlds) by the lottery or lady luck," Barrett said. "This year, I went for it, and I actually earned it."

ICE CAPADES: Members of the Figure Skating Club of Augusta at the Augusta Ice Sports Center closed out their competitive season last weekend at the Peach Open at the Atlanta IceForum in Duluth, Ga.

Nine-year-old Shelby Mueller of Augusta, won the gold medal in the United States Figure Skating Association Pre-Juvenile freeskate, defeating skaters from programs in Atlanta and across the Southeast.

Zia Camacho, 13, of Augusta placed fourth in the same event. She also placed first in Pre-Juvenile jumps and second in Pre-Juvenile compulsories.

Chelsi LeBlanc, 11, of Augusta, took the gold medal in Pre-Juvenile spins. Ashley Frankenfield took first in the Basic Skills 8 freestyle event and Kaysy Mitchell won gold in the Basic Skills 2 freestyle.

In the adult competition, Suzanne Brannam took first in Adult Silver Ladies freestyle. Other first place finishers were Betsy Cade (Adult Preliminary Dance) and Denise Evans (No-Test Freestyle).

Several of the local club skaters also medaled in various events at the Magnolia Open (Atlanta), Atlanta Open and Charleston (S.C.) Open held this spring and summer, including LeBlanc, Camacho, Kaley Parker, Jenna Parker, Kelly Polonus and Laura Andrews.

The local skaters are coached by Renee Lipscomb and Andrew Austin.

OLD HOME WEEK: From middle-aged triathletes to golden-aged athlete, we bring you the Georgia Golden Olympics to 50-and-older athletes to be held Sept. 17-20 in Warner Robins, Ga.

The competition is open to all 50-plus weekend warriors competing in tennis, golf, track and field, cycling, bowling and other sports. Each event is divided into age groups and medals will be awarded for each division.

For information on how to enter the event, contact Sandra Johnson at (770) 794-5603 or log on to www.georgiagoldenolympics.org.

--From the Thursday, September 4, 2003 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle