BOULDER — Matthew Reed’s training for the Beijing Olympics is beginning to pay off.
The defending Boulder Peak Triathlon champion captured his second consecutive title Sunday, pocketing a $7,000 check.
Despite fatigue and struggling in the water, Reed finished the race, made up of a 1.5-kilometer swim, 42K bike ride and 10K run, in 1 hour, 51 minutes, 52 seconds, beating his previous time by more than four minutes.
“I am happy,” Reed said. “It was a good workout. It really helped a lot. Beijing is going to be super hard as well.”
The 32-year-old native New Zealander, who lives in Boulder and will compete for Team USA in China, beat a handful of other Olympians, including his older brother, Shane Reed.
The elder Reed will be competing in the Olympics on the New Zealand team and finished 17th in the race, which had more than 1,500 participants.
“It’s just another competitor,” Matthew Reed said of Shane. “We definitely look out for each other when we’re out there. But he’s just another person who’s going to take money off me if he beats me.”
On an extremely hot day, athletes poured water over their bodies and placed wet towels over their heads to keep cool.
Boulder’s Simon Lessing, a five-time world champion and the 2006 winner, finished second in 1:52:29.
Lessing said he was not overly confident coming into the race because of the large number of elite athletes.
“I think this was the best group we have ever had at the Boulder Peak,” Lessing said. “There are past Olympians and current Olympians.
“It was extremely competitive, and that’s why I was a little bit hesitant coming into the race.”
Lessing said he plans to retire at the end of the season, ending his 23-year racing career.
“I feel like I’ve accomplished what I wanted to do in this sport, and it’s time to set new goals and new objectives,” he said.
Making her first appearance in the race, Angela Naeth placed first in the women’s division with a time of 2:10:07, edging Jasmine Oeinck.
“I thought I was going to come in last because it’s my first race back from a broken toe. I had no expectations,” said Naeth, who recently moved from Canada to Colorado. “I just wanted to have a fun race and give it all I’ve got.”
Yvette Lanier: 303-954-1033 or ylanier@denverpost.com
