YMCA 43rd annual Wrightsville Beach Sprint Triathlon sees big turnout

WRIGHTVILLE, NC (WWAY) – The YMCA held its 43rd annual Wrightsville Beach Sprint Triathlon over the weekend.

Founded in 1979, according to organizers,  it’s the longest-running triathlon in the nation, and Saturday they saw a big turnout.

Last year the swimming portion of the race was canceled due to high levels of bacteria. bad weather caused run-off – the race became a run-bike-and- run event.
This year, there were no issues

Organizer Sarah Gibbs with YMCA of Southeastern North Carolina the annual race is seeing new promise.

“A lot of our athletes came back this year, we had a thousand registered to participate today,” she said. “We got to do the full race, it was just a great day for that, it was perfect a lot of athletes had a great race today.”

According to Gibbs, the event now includes the traditional sprint triathlon, a youth triathlon and a corporate relay challenge.