Knight captures event for 11th time

Barry Knight captured the Coors Light/Trail of Tears Triathlon on Saturday for his 11th win in the event's 16-year history.

A field of more than 170 participants competed in the event, which featured a 1/2-mile swim, a 15-mile bike ride and a 4-mile run at Trail of Tears State Park in Cape Girardeau County.

"Everything went smoothly," race director Jared Tanz said. "The weather was great. We only had one triathlete go down because of the heat."

Knight, a Paducah, Ky., resident who holds the current course record of 1 hour, 7 minutes, 40 seconds, finished this year's event in a time of 1:10:48.

Finishing first in the women's division was Helen Alexander-Kratz of St. Louis, who posted a time of 1:22:53.