SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Naugatuck’s Cassie Maximenko finished fourth in her age group (25-29) and 26th overall for women June 24 in the Ironman 70.3 Syracuse triathlon.
Maximeko’s time of 5 hours, 5 minutes and 37 seconds was the 194th fastest overall time on the day at the half-ironman distance. The finish qualified Maximenko for the Ironman 70.3 world championships in Las Vegas, Sept. 9.
She completed the 1.2 mile swim in 32:48, biked 112 miles in 2:42, which was the fastest ride in her age group, and then ran a half-marathon (13.1 miles) in 1:46.
“I came out of the water in the top 10, then a 56 mile bike on a nice hilly course through the farm land. By mile 10 I had claimed the lead and by mile 20 I was passing a few of the pro women,” Maximenko said via her Facebook page as she returned from Syracuse. “The run is always something I have to work on. I was a little slower than I had hoped for. It was pretty hot and there wasn’t much shade on the course. I was still feeling the effects of being sick for the past three weeks, but still hung on for fourth in my age group and a slot for the half ironman world championships in Las Vegas this September.”