This picture tells you almost all you need to know about Dave Matheson from Penticton.
Sure he is one of Canada’s top age-group triathletes, Ironman age-group dominator, Ultra-triathlon champion, CRA employee… but at the end of the day he’s the kind of guy you’d want to go to Cannery Brewing with and share a pint.
In Fitspeek 229, we do a catch-up episode with Dave after his recent trip to Hawaii, where he participated in the Ultraman World Championships.
You don’t survive three days of racing — 10 km of swimming, a double marathon, and brutal amounts of cycling — without an amazing crew – but even then, things can go sideways. From mechanical failures before the race even started to ill-timed red lights and competitors who forgot the meaning of Ohana, Dave lays out a journey that was at times as dark as it was determined, grinding all the way to the finish line. Hear it now by pressing play.
All road, all the time, it’s the Rogue by A2.
Getting your gear up the ski hill with the Squall 4 by Swagman.
There’s going be be even more features in the Saturday Ap. Details comimg soon.
As we put the wraps on 2025, it’s time to take a look at the biggest stories of Canadian Triathlon for the year. It was a year of movement and a hint at who and what’s to come in Canada’s triathlon future.
Desirae Ridenour is Golden Again
In an era when long-course triathlon often steals the headlines, it was a short-course specialist who delivered one of Canada’s standout international seasons. Desirae Ridenour opened her year with a breakthrough victory at the World Triathlon Cup in Napier, New Zealand, becoming the first Canadian woman in 12 years to win a World Cup race. “It’s been a long road to get here, but to finally stand on top of a World Cup podium is an incredible feeling. I just focused on staying patient and running my race,” Ridenour said after the win.
She carried that momentum back to Canada, claiming back-to-back gold medals at the Americas Triathlon Cups in Montreal and Kelowna. Reflecting on the double victory, Ridenour noted, “Back-to-back golds are a testament to consistency and focus. I wanted to finish the season strong and keep building momentum.”
Ridenour capped the year with a career-best eighth-place finish at WTCS Weihai, underscoring her progress at the highest level of the sport. If she eventually turns her attention to longer formats such as the T100 or 70.3 racing, Canada may one day see a speedy successor to Paula Findlay when she decides to step away from competition.
Penticton Moves to Ottawa
In 2025, the Ironman circus packed up and left Penticton once again, this time heading east to Ottawa and a larger pool of participants. Ironman’s return to Penticton after its stint in Whistler from 2013 to 2019 never really stood a chance. The relaunch was delayed by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 and disrupted by forest fires in 2023.
Even in its final year, Mother Nature dealt Penticton and the athletes a harsh blow, as a rare water inversion in Okanagan Lake dropped temperatures enough to force the cancellation of the swim. If declining participation numbers — fewer than 1,000 finishers — didn’t seal the event’s fate, the rising cost of traffic control, estimated at roughly a quarter of a million dollars, likely did.
Ottawa’s inaugural Ironman, by comparison, drew just under 2,000 finishers. With straightforward logistics and a notably flatter bike course — featuring roughly six times less climbing than Penticton — its outlook appears far more secure. Back in the Okanagan, however, the loss still stings: decades of history, community energy, and tourism dollars are gone. The move underscores a hard truth in modern triathlon — even the most storied races must ultimately follow the money.
PTO T-100 debuts in Vancouver.
Ottawa wasn’t the only Canadian city handed a shiny new triathlon in 2025. On the West Coast, Vancouver rolled out the inaugural T100. Unlike some “new” races, this one arrived fully formed. The event featured two age-group distances alongside the headline T100 race for elites.
The women’s start list justified the hype, with Paula Findlay, Taylor Spivey, Lucy Charles-Barclay, and Julie Derron lining up in Vancouver. The men’s field was just as stacked, showcasing the sharp end of middle-distance racing with Jackson Laundry, Sam Long, Jason West, and Jelle Geens. For a first-year event, age-group participation was more than respectable — roughly 600 athletes in each distance.
Overall, the first-year Vancouver T-100 delivered. The event received good reviews from the local tri-community. It is returning on the 2026 calendar but unfortunately will only feature a women-only pro race. With the long-established Victoria 70.3 in May and now the T-100 in August, Western Canadian triathletes will have quite the challenge in choosing an A race for next year.
Luke Tasker World Champion
In a year when Canada’s professionals failed to reach the podium at the 2025 Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Spain, it was an amateur who carried the Maple Leaf. Vancouver’s Luke Tasker won his age group at the championships, posting a time of 4:08:18 that placed him second overall among amateurs. Tasker also claimed the overall amateur title at his home race, the T-100 in Vancouver. Originally from the UK, the former rower and pentathlete also tested himself at the Ironman distance, recording an 8:35 debut.
In 2026, Tasker will face a different challenge as he transitions to the professional ranks; while wins may be harder to come by, his presence on the Canadian triathlon scene is likely to be felt more widely.
Sophia Howell Puts Airdrie Back on the Canadian Triathlon Map
About a decade ago, the bedroom community of Airdrie, just north of Calgary, produced one of Canada’s most versatile triathletes in Jordan Bryden. An Olympic Team hopeful in his early career, Bryden eventually shifted his focus to long-course racing, where he built a reputation by excelling in some of the sport’s most demanding and unconventional events.
Today, Airdrie is producing another Olympic hopeful in Sophia Howell, and 2025 marked a meaningful step forward in her development at the elite level. Still early in her international career, Howell showed growing consistency throughout the season, highlighted by a second-place finish behind Desirae Ridenour at the women’s elite race in Kelowna in August. She saved her best performance for last, earning her first World Triathlon Cup podium with a third-place finish at the season-ending race in San Pedro de la Paz, Chile — a result that firmly established her as one of Canada’s emerging talents on the world stage. Her season starts in March and Sophia says she’s ready to graduate from the U-23 division and take on the world’s best.
An interesting thing happened 20 minutes before the Fitspeek microphone was turned on. I just heard that the Ironman race in Arizona was being discontinued after this year – bummer. Not just for me, as I had planned on doing it in 2026 but for my guest Danielle.
From Kamloops Danielle Fauteux has been ripping it on the North American long course triathlon scene for about 5 years now and has an ambitious fall lined up. She is doing Ironman Chattanooga later this month and then 6 weeks later is lining up for (sadly) the last Ironman Arizona race. 2 Ironmans in 6 weeks? How wise is that? I had to ask!
Also in our conversation, we chat about the injury that took her out of Challenge Roth, her search for a compatible coach, our affinity for Precision Nutrition Gels, her battles with guys on the run course in Oliver, her role as a prof at Three Rivers University. We end the podcast on an awkward moment, when I asked her “what is a question you have always wanted someone to ask you, but nobody ever has?” – she/me/we couldn’t think of one. Fitspeek listeners, help us out! E-mail me your Danielle question at kknnheinze@yahoo.com
The Fold It Deluxe by Swagman turns choas into order.
Most gels and powdered sports drinks are great, but they are expensive. The Saturday Ap can help you save $ by making it yourself.
Here’s my A2 that I call Borris. He is as fast as he is good looking!
One of Canada’s longest-running triathlons is Penticton’s Peach Classic. The race has had its share of setbacks (Covid) but 2025 promises to be one of the biggest years in its five-decade long history.
Over the years, both Steve Brown (organizer) and Steve King (announcer) have been a big part of the event. In this week’s podcast we get a historical perspective on the race from Steve and Steve.
We also have current race director Dave Michael on the show. He gives us an update on this year’s registrations and reveals plans for 2026 and beyond.
The Peachsicle Winter Triathlon? A kids’ race?
Hear it now by pressing play.
Speed personified. It’s the SP. Your next tri missile has arrived. Click on the bike for build options.
Sports nutrition ain’t rocket science – it’s chemistry. The Saturday Ap does the grunt work. You do the mixing. Your wallet gets a break. Download here.
