Ohioan fastest of 1,259

Dean Davis wasn't the overall champion of Sunday's Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon. His finishing time of 3 hours, 55 minutes, 14 seconds did not qualify him for any future USA Triathlon events.

But when you're 81 years old, shouldn't just finishing count for something?

Davis, from Fort Myers, Fla., was one of 1,259 competitors in the Sunday event at Ross's Landing. He also was its oldest finisher.

"When you get my age, all you have to do is be in shape and learn any sport, because there aren't many competitors," said Davis, who raced in 96 events last year. "It was a great race -- extremely well done and everything was just superb."

The event was sponsored by Team Magic and the Chattanooga Track Club. Twenty-six states, Germany and Uganda were represented.

Eric Limkemann of Dayton, Ohio, was the day's top finisher and men's pro-elite division champion in 1:57:37. Jessica Jacobs of Maylene, Ala., was the women's pro-elite winner in 2:13.41. She also won in 2008.

Limkemann posted the second-best time for the 1.5-kilometer swim and opened a sizable lead in the 42k bike ride before closing with the 10k run. James McCurdy of Auburn, Ala., was the pro-elite runner-up with a 1:58:36 total.

"I felt good out there today," said Limkemann, who swam at the University of Pittsburgh and now coaches the Washington Township (Ohio) Recreation Center Sharks. "It's difficult to simply say you specialize in one of the three events. You can put all your energy into swimming, but if you do it'll be hard to hold onto a lead. I've worked hard the past five years on my running and biking, but it's nice to have that ace in the hole with my swimming ability."

As much as Limkemann enjoyed the swim, Jacobs was just as ready to get out of the water.

"The water was hot," she said. "I was very excited to get out of there."

Jacobs enjoyed a standout college track and cross country career at the University of Wisconsin.

"My run is my strength," she said. "It's what I have in my back pocket. I come from a running background."

Second place in the women's pro-elite division went to Hallie Blunck of Mountain Brook, Ala., who was a diver for Sewanee and graduated in 2006. She finished in 2:17:51.

Kimberly Humphries of Chattanooga was the women's overall runner-up, not counting the pro-elite group, in 2:27:25. Chattanooga's Doug Jipping and Signal Mountain's Ben Boyer were second and third in the men's beginner division, and Rossville's Becky Beasley was the women's beginner runner-up.