click on image to view 01.jpg

02.jpg

05.jpg

06.jpg

07.jpg

08.jpg

09.jpg

10.jpg

11.jpg

THURSTON COUNTY -Chip Cooper holds some lofty goals, among them the intention of becoming a professional triathiete in 2001.

A 25-year-old native of Memphis, Tenn., who now lives in Tacoma, Cooper took a step toward that end Saturday when he captured the 20th annual Black Lake Triathlon at the same time rewarding his wife, Shana, with a birthday present.

And, while Cooper's story was of the warm-fuzzy variety, the women's race produced an aging refrain - Linda Nelson wins, Linda Nelson wins.

A multiple winner of the race, Nelson logged a time of 2:14.34 to win for the second straight year after a flat tire derailed the Olympia native two years ago.

"I've started to come on, and my hope is to turn pro," Cooper said after covering the 3/4-mile swim, 30-mile bike race and 5.5-mile run in 2 hours, 1 minute and 8 seconds.

"I took this past month off of work to train for the national championships (in St. Joseph, Mo., on Sept.25), and this was a training race for that.

"But the key to everything is spousal support, and my wife has given me that. Its her birthday, and this win was for her."

Cooper won after making it to the staging area in second place behind Frin Eronemo of Kent entering the running portion.

"I did really good in the water, and I started out really good on the bike but slumped in the middle," he said.

"The run used to be my worst part, but I've worked hard on it and now it's my strongest. I lucked out on the transition, because sometimes if you hurry too much you catch a cramp. It went smooth, and I just built a cushion and held it.

Eronemo, 35, wasn't so for- tunate as his hamstrings acted up.

"My hammies cramped up, and he just buried me in the transition," Eronemo said. "It took me about a mile to get them loosened up in the run, and he got a nice lead in the first mile.

"I had won three triathlons in a row and was hoping to get this one, but it didn't work out. There were just too many young legs. I'm 35, not 25."

Eronemo finished with a time of 2:03:40.

While Cooper had to come from behind to win the men's race, Nelson was pretty much in cornmand in the women's and won with a time of 2:14:34.

"This is my eighth year in this race, and I've won it four or five times, but this was an obnoxious wind on the bike," Nelson said.

"Everywhere you went, there was a crosswind or a headwind. Sometimes you get a taliwind at least occasionally, but not this time. And they put the hill back in, and that's always a good leg-burner."

Still, she held a comfortable enough lead over runner-up Kelly Molaski of Bellingham, who clocked in at 2:16:41.

Next on the agenda for Nelson is the national meet in St. Joseph.

"If I qualify for the world meet, I'll go to Perth, Australia, for the world meet in April," Nelson said.

For now, though, it's off to Boulder, Cob., where she is living while on leave from her job as a teacher and coach in the North Thurston School District.

"I've been teaching for 16 years, and I wanted to do something different," she said. "I feel fortunate to be able to do that. It's good to go out and see different things and bring them back to the school district."

Darrell Root covers sports for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5481.