Sass-Hatler Family to Compete in Australia

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (September 15) — Three world-class athletes from McKenzie will compete in Wollongong, Australia next year after qualifying in Atlantic City in the USA Triathlon National Championship.

Kirsten Winkler Sass and her sister, Robyn Winkler Hatler, and her husband, Fred, all advanced to the world competition. The three are from the “Pea Ridge” community of McKenzie. Robyn attended a university in Australia.

Kirsten finished first in the female age group of 45-49. Robyn finished 16th in the female age group 40-44 and Fred finished 13th in the 35-39 men’s age group.

Thousands of the nation’s fastest amateur short-course triathletes swam, biked, and ran on Sunday, Sept. 15 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, for the second day of the 2024 USA Triathlon Sprint & Olympic Distance National Championships, USA Triathlon’s largest and longest-running National Championship event. Kirsten Sass (McKenzie, Tenn.) won the overall women’s Sprint-Distance national titles, racing the 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike and 5k run course that started in the water near Bader Field and took athletes on a bike ride down the Atlantic City Expressway with a run finish on the Boardwalk. USA Triathlon partnered with event production company DelMoSports C, which organizes events along the southern New Jersey shore and Philadelphia areas, to support production of 2024 USA Triathlon Sprint & Olympic Distance National Championships.

Sass took the overall women’s Sprint-Distance National Championship, racing to another national title in her illustrious career with a time of 1 hour, 4 minutes, 47 seconds.

One of the country’s strongest age group cyclists, Sass turned in the day’s fastest bike split, averaging 23.88 miles per hour. She followed with a strong 5k run, averaging 6:20 per mile to run down the overall win and the 45-49 age group title.

Robyn earned 16th overall in the 40-44 women’s age group and Fred earned the thirteenth place in the men’s 35-39 age group.