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Swim, bike, run at 28th annual event

Back Mountain area plays host to 2009 Wilkes-Barre triathlon.

Although the Wilkes-Barre Triathlon attracts athletes from all over the world, it is very much a Back Mountain event – the swim portion of the three-legged event is held in Harveys Lake, the bike portion of the event ends on the campus of Penn State Wilkes-Barre while the running portion begins and ends at Penn States.

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Con McCole, left, congratulates Sean Robbins, center, of Shavertown, on his third place finish. Robbins has been competing since 1994 and McCole has been a participant of the local event for 28 years. With them is Bill Sprau, of Shavertown, right.

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Team entries and some of the youngest competitors create a wave as they make their way into the water.

Charlotte Bartizek photos/ For The Dallas Post

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And the Back Mountain embraces the event – providing plenty of athletes participating in the competition as well as hundreds of volunteers who make the event as successful as it is.

This year was no different as the 28th edition of the annual event was held on Sunday, Aug. 1 under cloudy, rainy skies and humid conditions.

This year’s winners of the competition were Joe Maloy and Kristin White.

Maloy, 24, of Brignton, Mass., and formerly from Freeland, crossed the finish line in 2 hours, three minutes and 26 seconds.

White, 38, of Manlius, New York, won top female honors with a time of 2:21:33.

Sean Robbins, 39, of Shavertown, was the first local male finisher, placing third in 2:10:24. Robbins finished second last year.

Monica Obsitos, 22, of Wilkes-Barre, was the first local female to finish, clocking in at 2:27:13 to finish second.