Team Atomica is thrilled to share that after a breakout season for Tamara Jewett, the cross-country runner turned triathlete has been named Triathlon Ontario’s long course female triathlete of the year.
Overcoming an injury last season, Tamara worked hard with Team Atomica coach Suzanne Zelazo and a strong team around her to get her running back on track and improve her swimming and biking to become a top-of-her-age group triathlete. It wasn’t long before Tamara showed her true talent and wowed the local tri scene with a remarkable 1:16 half marathon split on her way to the win of Ironman 70.3 Muskoka. To put that in perspective, such a run split would be competitive among the pro men’s field at many 70.3 races globally. What’s probably most inspiring to many is that Tamara has not sacrificed other major goals in her life to achieve this success in triathlon. Like all age group triathletes, she is carefully balancing career, family and friends and making sure to keep the sports fun along the way.
“Tamara is an inspiring and dedicated athlete who is also articling at a law firm while racing up a storm, demonstrating the power of sport to fuel other areas of our lives,” comments coach Suzanne. “Among her many impressive contributions, Tamara’s performances consistently erode the gender barrier in sport and in this way she is an incredible advocate for gender parity in all aspects of athletics. As a coach (part-time) for the junior development track team at UofT, Tamara is empowering young women to see beyond perceived limitations of all kinds.”
A win at Muskoka and later at Barrelman, where she won provincial long course championships, are not outlying results for Tamara this year. She won all but one race she has entered (short and long course) this season, including road races. The only race she didn’t win was the Montreal ITU Olympic where she was second because she did an extra 5km on the bike. (There was some race-wide confusion as to the number of laps needed).
She credits Team Atomica’s 2-hour Saturday swim clinics and indoor cycling sessions for her improvement on the swim and bike. We look forward to watching Tamara’s continued improvement this year!