Venus and Serena Williams.
Emily and Abby Waner.
Lina and Isabela Krueck.
What? You’ve never heard of the Krueck girls?
Well, let’s just say they’re the latest and greatest in athletic sister acts. With the Sept. 6 IronKids triathlon in Avon serving as their stage, the Krueck girls put on a show of their budding athletic prowess.
Lina, a 10-year-old fifth-grader at Greenwood Elementary, won her age division in the sixth stop of the national triathlon series by finishing a 150-yard swim, a 4-mile bike ride and a 1-mile run in 29 minutes, 14.7 seconds. The runner-up was nearly four minutes behind.
“I was pretty surprised, actually, because I thought there’s no way I’m going to do well with a race like this,” said Lina, who overcame a fall near the finish line as well as a struggle with a clothing change and bike transition en route to her commanding victory. “But then I looked at other people’s (times) and I was like, ‘Wow, I actually won.’ “
When it came to her turn, Isabela, a 7-year-old second-grader at Greenwood, wasn’t about to allow her big sister to hog all the spotlight, winning her event (50-yard swim, 2-mile bike and 500-yard run) in 16:53.6.
Their impressive victories earned the sensational sisters selection as September winners of The Denver Post Youth Excellence in Sports award.
And, for an encore, the girls will be competing today at the IronKids national championship in Tucson.
YES!
“I feel like they have a really good shot at coming in first because they both are little fireballs,” said Ingrid Krueck, the girls’ mother. “They’re both go-getters, but the main thing I’m worried about is that they go out there and see what a great experience it is.”
Asked if she was excited about going to nationals, Isabela said: “Yeah, pretty much.”
But it was something else that had the 3-foot-9, 44-pound fireball’s heart racing.
“When I heard that I was going to be in The Denver Post,” Isabela said, “I felt like I was going to have a heart attack.”
Al Daniel: 303-954-1892 or adaniel@denverpost.com
Honorable mention
COLORADO SELECT 12AAA
Talk about some serious girl power — and perseverance.
After opening the Sept. 18-20 Front Range Amateur Hockey Association Fall Classic with a 5-4 loss to the Littleton Hawks, the Select girls responded with a 3-3 tie against Hyland Hills and a 7-2 victory over Front Range to end up where they started — facing the Hawks. Except this time it was in the championship game. And this time the results were different against the all-boys Pee Wee Division B team.
Caley Mueller scored with about three minutes remaining to force overtime and struck again in the shootout — along with teammate Kristin Cobbett — while first-year goaltender Julia Johnson held the Hawks to one goal on three attempts.
“To see this group of girls gaining such confidence by playing with the boys, competing with the boys and beating the boys, it’s very humbling,” said Select 12AAA coach Dan McComb, whose daughter Regan is a member of the team. “It’s really enlightening to me to watch these girls gain so much confidence and, rightfully so, to be able to go out and do anything they want.”
Al Daniel, The Denver Post
Know a top athlete?
Youth Excellence in Sports honors those 17 or younger who have excelled in an athletic endeavor unaffiliated with the Colorado High School Activities Association. To submit your choice for the top individual or team achievement during October, visit for an online form or fax a brief description of the achievement to 303-866-9004 (Attention: “Youth Excellence”).
