Great Snake River Triathlon features Olympic connection

IDAHO FALLS — More than 200 athletes competed Saturday at the Great Snake River Triathlon, braving a chilly swim in the Snake River before charging through the Idaho Falls streets on bikes and eventually finishing up with a run.

Among the area and regional athletes were competitors from Canada and Germany, giving the race a bit of an international flavor, but it was one mother-son combo that brought out the Olympic spirit.

Zane Lindquist, a 17-year-old out of Alta, Wyoming, won the Sprint division race. Lindquist, who is homeschooled, is a state medalist in cross country and track for Teton High School. He added another medal on Saturday and took a few minutes to cool down and grab some water before the race announcer called out Barb Lindquist as she crossed the finish line.

Barb is a highly decorated triathlete, having finished ninth in the 2004 Olympics in Athens for the U.S. and was inducted into the USAT Hall of Fame in 2010. She retired from competition in 2005, but still is a coach for triathletes.

Saturday, she got to race with her son.

“He expressed interest in (competing in a triathlon) this summer,” Barb said, noting she didn’t want her background to influence Zane if he wasn’t interested. “All through, both my husband and I have tried to downplay that.”

That wasn’t the case for Zane, who is one of the state’s top distance runners, but said he wasn’t afraid to try new things.

“This is an opportunity to try something out and see what I enjoy,” he said, adding he wasn’t necessarily a fan of swimming in the river, but once he was on land he was back in his element.

The Sprint race was a 0.67-mile swim, 13.9 miles on the bike, followed by a 3.1 mile run.

The Olympic division race included a 0.94 swim in the river, followed by 23.9 miles on the bike and a 6.13 mile run.

“Coming off the bike my legs felt like Jello,” Zane said. “I kind of had to shake them out. It’s very unique and challenging in a different way than track and cross country.”
He took the lead during the run and didn’t let up.

Barb said they may compete in a local race next summer before Zane heads off to college.