Hite places 11th in World Duathlon

Jim and Joyce Hite at the World Duathlon in Hungary. (Photo Contributed)

On May 20, Jim Hite competed in the World Duathlon Short Course Championships in Gyor, Hungary, placing 11th in the 70- 74 age group. The event consists of a 10 kilometer run (6.2 miles), followed by a 40 kilometer bike ride (approximately 25 miles), followed by a 5 kilometer run. Jim finished in a time of two hours, 50 minutes, 14 seconds.

Team USA was represented by 109 athletes from 37 states, from those in the under-23 age group through the elite/professional and those over 30 in five-year age groups, the oldest being 80-84. Female members of Team USA won three age-group gold medals as well as several silver and bronze, while the team's 83- year-old was the only male to medal, winning the gold. Over 880 athletes from 31 countries took part in the two days of competition.

Hite had qualified for the world championships with his third place finish at Powerman Alabama in April. This was his third time as a member of Team USA, having competed in Affoltern am Albis, Switzerland in 2003 and Geel, Belgium in 2004.

There was little time for sightseeing except for a couple of hours Saturday morning, as meetings and practices took up much of Jim's time, and his wife Joyce did her daily one- to three-hour training runs. But they did enjoy musical and dance presentations, both during the team dinner on Thursday evening and during the opening ceremonies following the parade of each nation's athletes through the city on Friday.