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St. Petersburg resident Donald Ardell is quickly running out of places to store his championship medals and trophies.
Ardell collected his fourth world title at the 2010 ITU Triathlon World Championship in Budapest, Hungary, on Sept. 11, winning the men's 70-74 age group after covering the sprint distance course (750-meter swim, 20K bike, 5K run) in 1:25:12.
Ardell won by 57 seconds.
Ardell was fourth after the second (bike) leg of the race but sprinted to the head of the field during the run. His 5K time was 23:48.
Ardell's gold-medal performance was one of 15 golds and 52 medals overall Team USA captured in the aquathlon, sprint triathlon and Olympic-distance triathlon world championship events in Budapest.
SAND KEY TRIATHLON: More than 400 triathletes finished the seventh annual Sand Key Triathlon, a 600-meter swim, 13.2-mile bike and 3.1-mile race through the streets of Clearwater and Clearwater Beach, on Sunday.
Among local triathletes, Lee Stephens, 30 of St. Petersburg, was the first to the finish line, taking just more than an hour to wind his way through the course in 1:05:50.
Stephens was third overall and only five seconds out of second place.
Also in the top five, Clearwater's Chad Siple grabbed fourth after crossing the finish line one second behind Stephens.
Craig Dixon, 25 of Gainesville, was the overall champion in a time of 1:02:43.
Cassie McWillian, 44 of Clearwater, was the women's champion after making it to the finish line in 1:07:43. McWillian, buoyed by a time of 18:07 on the 3.2-mile run to close out the race, placed sixth overall.
Celia Dubey, 38 of Tarpon Springs, was a top-five finisher on the women's side after finishing in 1:10:25. Dubey was fourth among women and 18th overall.
Among Pinellas County runners, age group winners were: (F1-14) Alexis Stevens, Seminole, 1:24:03; (F15-19) Sarah Sykes, Largo, 1:15:34; (M25-29) Siple; (M30-34) Stephens; (M35-39) Gene Wong, Clearwater, 1:09:02; (F35-39) Dubey; (M masters) Arthur Halttunen, St. Petersburg, 1:07:52; (M40-44) Scott Hacking, Clearwater, 1:13:10; (F55-59) Clare Kelly, St. Petersburg, 1:24:14; (M60-64) Gary Bonacorsi, Seminole, 1:24:00; (F60-64) Sofia Bereza, Clearwater, 1:34:51; (F70-74) Judith Stewart, Clearwater, 2:15:26; (M80-84) Larry Yost, Treasure Island, 1:47:43; (F80-84) Jackie Yost, Treasure Island, 2:38:29; (Athena 1-39) Wanda Daniels, St. Petersburg, 1:31:55; (Clydesdale 40-99) Ron Wordon, Palm Harbor, 1:12:37; (Athena 40-99) Heather Kizzie, Dunedin, 1:35:00; (F military) Chelsea Smith, St. Petersburg, 1:34:53; (M first-timer) Ivan White, Clearwater, 1:17:32.
CRIME RUN 5K: Jaeson Clayborn of Gulfport was the overall winner at the Crime Run 5K in St. Petersburg on Saturday.
Clayborn, 26, broke the tape in 21:17, nearly two minutes ahead of the rest of the field.
Joe Anna Neeley, 30 of St. Petersburg, was the women's champion in a time of 23:59.
The following runners were age group winners: (F6 and under) Libertee Smith, St. Petersburg, 38:07; (M7-12) Christopher Washington, St. Petersburg, 29:54; (F7-12) D'Asia Hobbs, St. Petersburg, 29:02; (F13-16) Ta'Vasha Lovette, St. Petersburg, 1:03:26; (M17-21) Ted Cooper, St. Petersburg, 23:40; (F17-21) Tiana Wilson, St. Petersburg, 59:01; (M22-29) Alex Shedley, St. Petersburg, 26:27; (F22-29) Megan Beamer, St. Petersburg, 33:03; (M30-39) Markus Hughes, St. Petersburg, 29:20; (F30-39) Bernadette Cliett, St. Petersburg, 31:41; (M40-49) Mitch Detty, St. Petersburg, 24:25; (F40-49) Yvette Carather, 42:14; (M50-59) Melvin Nurse, St. Petersburg, 23:10; (F50-59) Juanita El-Amin, St. Petersburg, 42:02; (M60 and over) Melvin Smith, St. Petersburg, 27:43; (F60 and over) Victoria Ryan, South Pasadena, 33:13.
ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE CURE 5K: Keith Sawayda of Clearwater won the inaugural One Step Closer to the Cure 5K at Albert Whitted Park in St. Petersburg on Saturday.
Sawayda, 47, crossed the finish line in 17:49 to win fairly comfortably.
Local resident Hunter McCann, 13 of Treasure Island, placed in the men's top three in a time of 18:59.
Tarpon Springs resident Kari Grippo ran 18:38 to cruise past the rest of the field and take the women's championship.
Grippo, 14, won by nearly four minutes.
Jeanne Townsend, 36 of St. Petersburg, placed second in a time of 22:36. Pila Cadena, 53 of St. Petersburg, took third after running 22:42.
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