Katy Wiita of Vancouver won a bronze medal as a member of the United States national synchronized swimming team at the first Brazil Open, held June 4-5 in Rio de Janeiro.
Team USA snagged third-place finishes in both the team free (177.426 points) and team tech (88.063) events, both of which included Wiita.
This week, Wiita is part of Team USA competing at the Spanish Open in Barcelona. The major event of the summer will be the FINA World Championships in July at Shanghai.
Wiita, 17, was selected in January to train with the national team in Indianapolis. She started synchronized swimming at age 6 at the Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland.Among her achievements in the sport are a first place in the trios event at the 2010 U.S. Open last July.
Wiita is one of four teenagers among the 12 swimmers on the national team.
Marathon weekend arrives
Final preparations are underway for the first Vancouver USA Marathon, which will take place on Sunday.
Staged by Energy Events, the new event will also include a half marathon on Sunday. The 26.2-mile marathon begins at 7 a.m. and the 13.1-mile half marathon at 8:30 a.m.
On Saturday, a 5-kilometer race and a 1.3-mile race for children ages 5-12 are planned starting at 10 a.m.
All of the races start and end at Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver.
Organizers estimate a combined 3,000 runners and walkers will participate in the marathon, the half-marathon, and Saturday’s Freedom 5K.
Online registration is closed.
In-person registration will be available Friday and Saturday during the Fit Right Northwest Sports and Fitness Expo at the Hilton Vancouver, which is also where participants pick up their race packets. The expo is open from 2-7 p.m. Friday (with a special happy hour promotion from 5-7 p.m.) and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. Registration costs $110 for the marathon, $70 for the half marathon, and $40 for the 5-kilometer race.
Approximately 40 exhibitors will participate in the expo, according to race organizer Brian Davis said.
The marathon course sends runners out to Frenchman’s Bar and back for the first half of the race, then east from downtown almost as far as Andresen Road before returning downtown along the waterfront trail and through the Vancouver National Historic Reserve.
Run benefits YWCA
The Summer Solstice Fun Run and Walk, a benefit for the YWCA Clark County, will take place at 6 p.m. on June 25.
This all-ages event includes a 3-mile or a 6-mile loop that begins and ends at Northwest Personal Training, 1011 Broadway in downtown Vancouver. Cost is $55, $60 on the day of the race.
To learn more, or to volunteer, visit www.nwpersonaltraining.com, or call 360-574-7292.
Girls lacrosse camp
A free lacrosse camp for girls entering grades 6-9 is planned for Aug. 15-19 at Frontier Middle School. The camp runs 9 a.m. to noon each day, with lunch provided.
Organized by Heritage High School senior Jocelyn Cole, this camp is intended as an introduction to lacrosse. Evergreen Lacrosse Club coaches and players will run drills and scrimmages.
The camp will be free, including a free lunch at the end of the camp session each day. It is offered through Evergreen Community Education, but is open to girls from any school.
To register, or to learn more, visit www.evergreenps.org and click on the Community Education link, or call 360-604-4082.
For more area summer sports camps, check out the Community Sports Calendar.
Eclectic golf
Hartwood Golf Course in Brush Prairie is starting a summer-long eclectic tournament. For a $20 entry fee, golfers can compete for prizes based on their best score on each of the nine holes at any time during the summer.
To learn more about this tournament, call 360-896-6041.
To submit news items for listing in the Community Sports report, or events for inclusion in the online Community Sports Calendar at Columbian.com, send email to paul.danzer@columbian.com or call 360-735-4521.
