Canada’s Kathy Tremblay took the spoils in the women’s race at Lake Louisa State Park.

Canada’s Kathy Tremblay took the spoils in the women’s race at Lake Louisa State Park.

Tremblay won a tightly contested women’s race in 1:01:01. Kelly Whitley (Colorado Springs, Colo.) edged Sarah Haskins (Colorado Springs, Colo.) for second in a sprint finish in 1:01:10. Haskins finished in 1:01:12 to give the U.S. four of the six elite podium spots on the day.

In the women’s race, a lead group of six, which included top Americans Haskins and Whitley, opened up a one-minute gap on the chase pack heading into T2. The eventual podium finishers — Tremblay, Whitley and Haskins — built a 10-second lead on the field at the 2.5k mark of the run before Tremblay pulled away for the win. Whitley, who trains with the Colorado Springs-based Elite Triathlon Academy, and Haskins battled it out for second and third. Saturday’s runner-up performance capped a memorable week for Whitley, who was named USA Triathlon’s 2011 Rookie of the Year and Junior Triathlete of the Year earlier this week.

Jessica Harrison finished fourth in her first hit-out of 2012, while Ai Ueda came in fifth. 2012 U.S. Olympic qualifier Gwen Jorgensen (Milwaukee, Wis.) was sixth in her season opener. After riding just off the back of the leaders for much of the bike, she hit T2 with the chase pack and posted the day’s third-fastest run split to finish in 1:02:01.