Lynn resident Nieto represents U.S. in triathlon worlds

Alison Nieto of Lynn has competed in triathlons on many levels, from locally to nationally. Last month, she took her game to the international stage.Nieto, a Nahant native and Nahant Triathlon veteran, represented the US in the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on Aug. 29.?I had the chance to race against the top triathletes from around the world and it was an incredible experience,” Nieto said. “The competition was fierce and the course was challenging.”She participated in the sprint distance – a half-mile swim, 13-mile bike and 3.1-mile run – and finished the race 32nd of 64 women in her age group (30-34) and sixth of 12 Team USA members in her age group.The race took place in Hawrelak Park just outside Edmonton.?The park has a pond that the city dredged,” Nieto said. “They made it larger so you could swim. The pond was chlorinated, which was very odd.”She added, “The city did an amazing job. The bike course left the park. A large portion was on the highway. They closed down major roads. The bike course was two loops on local roads and part of the highway.”As for the run, she said, it was part on trails and part on the pavement, all in the park.The weather, she said, was “actually nice. It was sunny the whole time. It was definitely cooler than here, 50s in the morning. I dressed warm. Once it started – my wave went off at 10 a.m. – it was perfect, 60s, perfect for triathlon races. And there was no rain.”Nieto had plenty of support in Edmonton: her husband Miguel Nieto, and her parents Greg and Patricia MacDonald.Nieto also said that “a lot of people back home” followed her progress through a live tracking system.To get to Edmonton, Nieto flew from Boston to Toronto, a journey of about one hour, and then four more hours from Toronto to Edmonton. She left on Wednesday, Aug. 27 and stayed until Aug. 30.Her bike, a Parlee TTI made out of Beverly, actually underwent a separate journey.?It was shipped out there by a company that drove bicycles,” Nieto said, “from the East Coast to Edmonton. They dropped it off two weeks in advance.”Nieto qualified through her past performance in the sprint distance at the national championships in Milwaukee last August.?I ended up finishing in the top 18 of my age group, which automatically qualified me for Team USA to compete in the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in 2014,” she said.She could have actually competed in either the sprint or Olympic distance in Edmonton.?Anybody can sign up and go (in the sprint distance),” she said. “In the Olympic distance, you must qualify. I did, by finishing in the top 10 percent of local races. My strength is the sprint and I chose the sprint.”She trained with help from Kevin Reen, a coach with Breakthrough Performance Coaches.?I?ve known him my whole life,” she said. “I?m friends with his family. He approached me.”She added, “I started training with him last October. A couple weeks in, I sprained my ankle in a fall. I was down for the count. He was helpful in encouraging me to work through that.”Nieto, an alumna of Swampscott High and Fairfield University, now works at UMass-Boston as a financial adviser in the provost?s office. She said she tries to go to the Nahant Triathlon “almost every week.”?It?s such a good group,” she said of the triathlon, which recently completed its 34th season.She can?t go to the world championships next year – she would have had to have qualified at nationals this year, which occurred too close to the worlds at Edmonton. However, she has her sights set on nationals in Milwaukee next year.In the meantime, she said, “I am still finishing out the triathlon season and have one more race this weekend in Duxbury!”