Breakfast with Bob: Challenge Penticton Edition - Babbittville

Penticton has won a bid to host the first ever ITU Multisport World Championships Festival. The 10-day event, to be held in August 2017 will see athletes compete in five separate World Championships: duathlon, aquathlon, cross triathlon, aquabike and the coveted global title for long-distance triathlon. The international significance of Penticton 2017 means the region will welcome up to 7,000 athletes, spectators, media and members of the global triathlon family.

“Penticton is special because of the long history of triathlon with the community. The people and the tradition of volunteerism in and support of sport,” says Les Pereira, President of Triathlon Canada. “We are very proud to be the first country to host this event. The sport of triathlon has its roots deeply entrenched in North America and much of it’s soul is in Canada.”

This year’s Challenge Penticton is doubling as the Canadian Multisport National Championships and a test event for the world championships next year.

Watch all the Breakfast with Bob Challenge Penticton interviews on our Babbittville YouTube Channel.

Race Director Michael Brown is putting on four multisport events over five days this year. Next year? How about six ITU World Championships over ten days!

Bob gives an overview of his Day 3 Breakfast with Bob Challenge Penticton interviews, filmed on location at the Hooded Merganser Bar and Grill on Okanagan Lake.

Liz Lyles is a two-time Wildflower Triathlon champion, a three-time Ironman champion and a mother of two. After Challenge Penticton she is off to Ironman Wisconsin, the site of her first Ironman win, and then on to Kona.

Karsten Madsen won the Cross Triathlon National Championship in Penticton and, at the age of 25, he has been in the sport of triathlon since the age of four. What an awesome interview!

Jasper Blake won over 30 races in his career and now coaches fellow Canadian Jeff Symonds. As a former top skier and tennis player, his triathlon journey has been an interesting one.

Two-time Challenge Penticton champion Jeff Symonds lives by the ‘Get Ugly’ mantra. Penticton being his hometown, winning this Sunday is his total focus.

Melanie McQuaid is now 40, but the three-time XTERRA World Champion still feels that she can race at the very highest level. I am intrigued by athletic rivalries and we got into one of the very best: the one between Melanie and Jamie Whitmore.