Whether you’re a first-time triathlete starting your swim-bike-run adventure or looking to smash your fitness goals feel like a champion crossing the finish line at a T100 Triathlon event 40 of the world’s best female and male pros battle over a year-long series of races culminating in the T100 Triathlon World Championship Final With over $7M on the line plus the chance to become the T100 World Champion The PTO World Rankings highlight triathlon’s top-scoring athletes – the swim-bike-run superstars who’ve powered their way to victories at the biggest races around the globe UK: The San Francisco T100 Triathlon will see Marten Van Riel Kyle Smith and Rico Bogen line up for a repeat of their 2024 sprint finish after the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) and World Triathlon announced the contracted T100 male athletes racing the Escape From Alcatraz course on Saturday 31 May Kiwi and German produced the most exciting T100 race last term in a sensational three-way dash to the line that saw the eventual 2024 T100 World Champion Van Riel edge out Smith by less than a second; with Bogen only a further 3 seconds back T100 commentator and triathlon GOAT Jan Frodeno described it as the best finish to a triathlon he’d ever seen Also lining up are home favourites Sam Long Long delivered a creditable 8th place in Singapore but with the strong currents of San Francisco Bay expected to sweep the athletes along and reduce his swim disadvantage – much as they did in 2024 when he emerged less than a minute down to swim leader Rico Bogen – the home crowd will expect him to challenge for the podium West begins his T100 season determined to improve on a largely disappointing 2024 series whilst Pearson will be itching to make his mark having had to pull out of Singapore due to a fractured wrist The remaining slots will be taken by Wildcards who will be announced on T100 social channels at the end of this week The contracted T100 women racing in San Francisco were announced yesterday The 2025 T100 Triathlon World Tour got under way in Singapore earlier this month (5-6 April) when professionals Kate Waugh of Great Britain and New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde produced two world class performances to win and take the lead in the T100 Race To Qatar Rankings Singapore also saw 7,000 amateurs compete in a combination of a 100km triathlon two distances of duathlon and an untimed 5km music run How the 2025 T100 Triathlon World Tour works: Anthony Scammell E: [email protected] World Triathlon is the international governing body for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of triathlon and all related multisport disciplines around the world Triathlon made its Olympic debut in Sydney 2000 while para triathlon was first added to the Paralympic programme at Rio 2016 World Triathlon is proudly committed to the development of the sport worldwide sustainability and transparency at our core as we seek to help triathletes at all levels of the sport to be extraordinary The T100 Triathlon World Tour is supported by these outstanding partners The T100 Triathlon World Tour is recognised by World Triathlon as the official World Championship Tour of long distance triathlon Receive exclusive PTO content in your mailbox discounts and exclusive partner news/offers from PTO including age-group participation events and pro racing broadcasts you confirm your consent to receive email updates and marketing offers from the PTO Up and coming German star Rico Bogen has made some dramatic changes as he embarks on the 2025 season, including dropping his bike sponsor, coach and management team. (Oh, there were some changes to his home life, too – he got married at the end of last year.) Bogen burst onto the world stage in 2023 when he won the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship (the youngest to ever win the title and leading a German sweep of the podium) in Lahti but he’d set the stage for that big win with his victory over Patrick Lange at IRONMAN 70.3 Kraichgau earlier that season The 24-year-old grew up as a competitive swimmer which has done him well during his triathlon career When he realized as a U23 racer that he wasn’t likely to earn a spot on Germany’s Olympic team he turned his sites to long-distance racing Initially part of Ku Cycles’ development team as an age-grouper he made his pro debut in 2022 with a third-place finish at the Bilbao Triathlon He took fourth at IRONMAN 70.3 Lanzarote at the beginning of 2023 signalling he was ready to race with the world’s best Bogen had a strong relationship with one of the founders of Ku Cycles who those who have been in the sport long enough will remember as one of the men behind Team TBB the team coached by Brett Sutton that numerous big-name triathletes including four-time Kona champ Chrissie Wellington Bok had helped Bogen connect with coach Jo Spindler in November Ku announced “a long-term exclusive athlete management agreement.” In June of 2024 Saucony announced that Bogen would become “its newest elite athlete ambassador.” Bogen enjoyed another successful year in 2024 second at the T100 Grand Final in Dubai and third overall in the T100 series He wasn’t able to duplicate his 70.3 worlds success News of the various changes Bogen is making in terms of training and sponsors began a few weeks ago. He announced that he would no longer be working with Ku or Spindler “Since 2022, @ku_cycle has been my steadfast companion—my first supporter in the middle distances who recognized my potential to become a world champion,” Bogen wrote on Instagram. “In 2023, together with my coach @jo_spindler an incredible success we never imagined so early by securing third place in the overall T100 season ranking I affirmed my place among the world’s elite.” we have mutually decided to part ways,” Bogen continued “We are proud to have played a part in Rico’s journey,” Ku posted in a video at about the same time “Ku Cycle wishes Rico all the best in his future endeavours.” Bogen also announced that he’s now part of the Erdinger Alkoholfrei Team alongside IRONMAN world champ Patrick Lange. Shortly afterward that news was announced, we learned that he was training in St. Moritz with new coach Philip Seipp who is Nice world champion Laura Philipp’s husband and coach Yesterday we learned that he was joining “the Canyon family,” solving the mystery of which bike he would be riding this season A post shared by Rico Bogen (@ricobogen) Bogen has signed a contract with the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) to compete on the T100 Triathlon World Tour for 2025 and will no-doubt look to try and earn another 70.3 world title in Marbella later this year We’ll have to wait and see if the training and sponsor changes pay off The German words for “Canyon pays WAY more” To say that a German team and a German bike manufacturer and a German coach “stealing” a German athlete from his Dutch entourage is cliche would be the understatement of the year We’ll see how this will affect Rico’s bike and maybe run Ku are known for customizing the hell out of bikes for their athletes and generally nursing the aero thing for the athlete to the point where it becomes an obsession Fully expected from a mom & pop shop of positively crazy individuals Erdinger team also does training camps together The common theme about a few German squads is that they create a group with similar coaches Many people from English-speaking countries underestimate the German market © Slowtwitch - Built with Federated Computer we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site and show (non-) personalized ads may adversely affect certain features and functions Click below to consent to the above or make granular choices. Your choices will be applied to this site only. You can change your settings at any time or by clicking on the manage consent button at the bottom of the screen Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly E-edition PLUS unlimited articles & videos Personalized news alerts with our mobile app *Refers to the latest 2 years of stltoday.com stories Please subscribe to continue reading… Oliver Properties acquired Bogen Lofts in downtown St LOUIS — Oliver Properties is planning a $6 million renovation after buying a downtown loft building at North Tucker Boulevard and Washington Avenue has 125 apartments and two commercial spaces “The Bogen is another example of the beautiful historic architecture mixed with modern residential living,” owner Alex Oliver said in a statement “We’re proud to add this property to our Wash Ave portfolio and are committed to preserving its character while making the upgrades necessary to continue to attract and grow downtown residents and businesses.” Louis-based Oliver Properties has renovated several historic residential buildings along Washington Avenue It started with the eight-story Merchandise Mart apartment building at 10th Street and Washington upgrading the city landmark’s mechanics and amenities The company invested about $7 million into that building which features a restaurant on the ground floor and amenities like a coffee lounge Oliver said his firm uses a mix of bank loans and investor money to acquire and fund projects he closed on the Ventana Lofts at 1635 Washington the company plans to upgrade the resident lounge Email notifications are only sent once a day Oliver Properties started with the Merchandise Mart building at 10th and Washington The local real estate investment firm now envisions takin… Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device Be one of the first to try our new activity feed Defending 70.3 World Champion Rico Bogen talks with Bob Babbitt about his preparation ahead of this weekend's title race in Taupo Rico Bogen is the defending Ironman 70.3 World Champion He’s had a solid season racing many of the T100 races Rico worked with his coach to plan his season to peak this week getting in some good training and course familiarization Don’t miss a second of the action this weekend – Outside TV is the exclusive North American streaming partner for the 2024 Ironman 70.3 World Championship. See the 70.3 Worlds start lists and livestream information here We take a quick flyby video tour of the 2024 Ironman World Championship Kona course This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The Pennsylvania State Senate confirmed Governor Josh Shapiro’s nomination of Dr Bogen as Secretary of the Department of Health (DOH) on Monday Bogen was appointed to her post by Shapiro following more than three decades as a primary care pediatrician and nearly three years at the helm of the Allegheny County Health Department “Secretary Bogen has done incredible work leading the Department of Health since the beginning of my Administration – she is working to ensure every Pennsylvanian has access to the care they need as they grow and age has built strong relationships across the Commonwealth and has helped keep Pennsylvanians safe in emergencies,” said the governor “I’m grateful for her leadership and proud she was confirmed by the Senate last night.” “I am deeply honored and humbled by Governor Shapiro’s unwavering confidence and the bipartisan support of the Pennsylvania Senate,” said Bogen “I look forward to continuing to focus on improving health and wellness of Pennsylvanians and working with the incredible team of public health professionals at the Department of Health and in collaboration with our sister state agencies.” Secretary Bogen has traveled across the Commonwealth to hear directly from health professionals and legislators to identify public health priorities and challenges Bogen was the Director of the Allegheny County Health Department where she and her staff stayed on top of the COVID-19 pandemic and provided consistent and common-sense information to the public while working closely with many stakeholders in the county Bogen earned her medical degree from the University of Colorado School of Medicine and completed her pediatric residency and general academic pediatrics fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital She was one of the founders of the Mid-Atlantic Mothers’ Milk Bank and served as the organization’s Volunteer Medical Director until assuming her role at the state Did Josh Shapiro "Tank" His Interview for VP Women of Influence Welcome to the Central Penn Business Journal’s 2025 Power List for Law Managing Member - 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Customers can achieve optimal sound levels regardless of the speaker type installed. Additionally, the PS120/240-G2 Amplifiers feature separate output connectors for 8-ohm/25V and 70V speakers, simplifying the setup and enhancing compatibility with various speaker systems. A daily selection of features, industry news, and analysis for AV/IT professionals. Sign up below. The AVNetwork staff are storytellers focused on the professional audiovisual and technology industry Their mission is to keep readers up-to-date on the latest AV/IT industry and product news Kindermann Unveils Next Generation of Wireless Collaboration Systems Introducing the New Compact Extron NAV Decoder Defending champion Rico Bogen was certainly the surprise of last year’s championship event and arrives here in Taupo for this weekend’s IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship ready to go after a second title His season has been built towards being in top shape for this race and his recent runner-up finish at T100 Dubai bodes well for that plan Bogen is also coming into the race with a great attitude and approach He feels like his results this season have proven that his race in Lahti last year was no fluke “I proved in the season that I am good and so now I look at this race as the ‘cherry on on top of the cake,’ so if I have a great race and could do it again and finish on the podium or defend my title Bogen is used to coming out of the water at the front of the race and has always been known for his strong biking talents Bogen decided to take a risk and push to the front early on the run at last year’s 70.3 worlds and the move paid off with the huge win in Lahti Bogen realized during his U23 days of draft-legal racing that he wasn’t likely to earn a spot on the German Olympic team which prompted his move to middle distance racing He was part of Ku Cycles’ development team as an age-grouper Bogen has become the “poster-boy” for the burgeoning brand and serves as a speedy example of the company’s approach of custom-designed bikes and extensive aerodynamic testing From day one the 24-year-old has appreciated the process – the bike is built around his measurements and he’s seen the speed gains that come from that and the bike’s radical design that features a wide and high fork that helps channel air through the riders legs We’ll look forward to seeing Bogen compete on Sunday for a second title here’s a close look at the German’s speedy ride: Sram Red 1x 170mm Crank W/ Aerocoach 58Tooth “Gold” chain ring and ceramic speed cover Kú Cycle Rear with Contentinental TT 5000 25mm Evolve TroikaMAX+ Trispoke with Contentinental TT 5000 25mm The high and wide aero front fork design Kú is known for The cockpit is a mix of Smart Pace and FastTT with Kú Cycle hydration that can hold up to 80 oz of fluid ISM 3.0 and Profile Design Vise Kage and what looks like a WOVE Bottle Retention Loop The final two races of the 2024 IRONMAN Pro Series are nearly upon us followed by the 70.3 World Championships two weeks later And now we have the official word on who will be taking to the starting line in a couple of weeks time to battle for the 70.3 world title — and desperate for key points in the overall Pro Series standings Defending champions Taylor Knibb and Rico Bogen will indeed be taking to the streets of Taupo to try and repeat But they will have a lot of hefty company in the final race of the year which will determine both the individual championship and the season-long points race Knibb will look to take her third 70.3 World Championship — and there’s no reason to deny her favored status given her dominant 2024 campaign across race series and formats She’s unbeaten in middle distance this year Joining her on the podium last year were Kat Matthews and Imogen Simmonds and both will be vying to deny Knibb the title Matthews will also look to lock up the Pro Series title; she sits 257 points back of current leader Jackie Hering but Matthews has an open score available to her; any decent performance should be enough to have her take down that title This will be Matthews’ tenth race of the season; she’s been on the podium seven out of nine times this year Ashleigh Gentle will look to avenge her loss to Knibb at the PTO Final in Dubai Gentle is one of the best middle distance athletes in the world and she is nearly unbeatable in Pacific region races But Ellie Salthouse is another one to watch — the eighteen time 70.3 champion has taken five podiums (including three wins) this season Olympic silver medalist Julie Derron will attempt to spoil the party of the middle distance specialists Defending champion Bogen has been unable to claim a win following his shock world championship last year Results have been mixed across racing various race series’ middle distance events was second at T100 Dubai; perhaps he’s peaking at just the right time to defend his title Two Olympians will look to derail Bogen’s title defense: silver medalist Hayden Wilde and bronze medalist Léo Bergère Bergère has the more decorated history at this distance having won every IRONMAN 70.3 race he’s started Speaking of those with prior success in Taupō who was disqualified from last year’s 70.3 World Championship suffered a bike crash in training and has opted to put an end to his 2024 campaign Can you change the title to something more specific like “startlist - Ironman70.3 Worlds” Versus the nebulous title (because someone asking about wave starts or accommodations or equipment is talking about a different topic And start a new thread for other topics related to worlds (like race day thread etc) @Ajax_Bay thanks for adding startlist to the title I wonder if Derron can get closer to Knibb Knibb has more time on the bike and Derron in theory has more time on the run but that’s if she’s actually running faster than Knibb Bogen seems to be coming into great form based on T100 Dubai I think that the Dubai bike course worked in Julie’s favor due to it’s technical nature but even with that being the case Julie had to work her butt off to come in off the bike in the same zip code as Taylor the bill for the uber hard effort on the swim plus bike had to be paid by both Ash and Julie as Taylor was able to cruise it in with a reasonable even effort Really only missing LCB on the women’s side at least I’ll be interested in them (some obvious hopefully this leads to some great racing to watch I think Hayden Wilde is winning this with over a minute to spare It feels like Taylor took her time in T1 and let a few others get ahead and overbike on purpose and took her time while they buried themselves and built up lactate and once the pass was made they may have done their damage to themselves with no chance of bouncing back in Dubai heat to put down the runs they are capable of Of course we can say in Lahti cool she did the same and plenty of hard charging runners had a chance but they never even got close!! I’d like to believe Taylor was that tactical I think it’s likely she’s just ham fisted when it comes to transitions but wasn’t too bothered by it as she’d catch them anyway It’s great that 70.3 Worlds is coming after the T100 “Grand Final” and it has much of the same top racers in the Women’s field I’m way more excited about this race and course to see how they all perform Paula Findlay will hopefully be fit to race as she should be more in contention as well given the course Margirier and Keulen might have something to say too if they have their day Knibb typically puts on socks in T1 (she did in Dubai) hence why her T1 is much slower than everyone else she could probably work on a few things to get faster but its putting the socks on that causes the biggest delta That’s a fair point but when she’s not putting on socks in ITU she’s still among the slowest at transitions American superstar will bid for a threepeat but will need to overcome a stellar field in Taupo so will the activities of the Milton Garden Club That starts with the garden club electing a new president who has been a member of the club for eight years “I’m trying to do some interesting things to help our members learn about gardening so we try to have an educational session with each monthly meeting so we can grow and help each other The garden club was founded in 1998 with 12 members The club sponsors two major events: the garden tour in September and Holly Festival in December The club also holds a huge plant sale during the Horseshoe Crab Festival in May a member of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society She became aware of the garden club after she saw the club’s efforts firsthand And I was just so impressed with this little town and how the gardeners in town opened up their gardens for people to come and see Bogen said her favorite part of gardening is learning more about flowers and taking pride in making her yards beautiful She said one of the biggest problems the club faces is fixing irrigation lines for the town’s existing gardens and getting more flowers planted around town Bogen said it would also be nice if it rains more this year than it did last The club’s theme is to make Milton beautiful with flowers and the club has six gardens and nine planters around town including the planters on the Union Street bridge and the garden at the corner of Union and Magnolia streets Bogen said her personal favorite gardens are the planter pots around town Bogen said the club gives out $3,000 scholarships to students in agricultural programs at both the high school and college level The money raised by the club goes to support its local gardens and the scholarship program a two-time scholarship winner attending Delaware State University where she is studying agriculture and plant science “I was very blessed to be a recipient of the scholarship twice I enjoy volunteering and helping out with events I believe it is very generous of the Milton Garden Club to offer scholarships to students in need in order to continue their education.” Information on the scholarships and the garden club can be found at themiltongardenclub.org Ryan Mavity covers Milton and the court system He is married to Rachel Swick Mavity and has two kids Ryan started with the Cape Gazette all the way back in February 2007 previously covering the City of Rehoboth Beach Washington Capitals and Baltimore Orioles in his spare time AI Policy & Governance, CDT AI Governance Lab, Government Surveillance Today, CDT’s Director of AI Governance Lab, Miranda Bogen, is speaking before the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) Public Forum on the Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Counterterrorism and Related National Security Programs Miranda’s remarks shed light on the reality that even though artificial intelligence technologies have rapidly evolved in recent years many of the challenges they present and the questions they pose have been surfacing for some time Bogen’s remarks recognize the potential new capabilities in AI to promote our national security but urges caution — especially when considering uses in high-stakes context such as national security — given the many well-known but unresolved risks that AI systems pose to people’s rights and safety “[Bogen’s remarks address] some themes responsive to questions PCLOB posed in their invitation to provide insight in the context of this panel: how AI will impact privacy and civil liberties whether human operators will be able to understand and provide sufficient oversight to AI-powered systems and how such oversight could be most effective We also offer reflections on the role PCLOB or analogous independent agencies could play in providing oversight to the uses and implementation of AI so that national security and intelligence agencies are not left to “grade their own homework.” Read the full written statement. CDT works to strengthen individual rights and freedoms by defining and influencing technology policy and the architecture of the internet that impacts our daily lives The content throughout this website that originates with CDT can be freely copied and used as long as you make no substantive changes and clearly give us credit. More on CDT's content reuse policy is available here. CDT’s generative AI usage policy is available here DULUTH — January is National Mentoring Month a one-on-one mentorship program based in the Twin Ports mentors and community partners and will be on display Jan 7-31 on the fourth-floor balcony at the St An opening reception will take place Tuesday a student-led jazz quartet and art-making stations a pair of bearded dragon sculptures named Sadie and Melissa and we've made some pretty fun art projects," Bogen said "We also will let our imagination go wild in the woods and spend that time playing games like 'What's the worst invention humans have ever created?' and then we think of reasons why our choice is the best." "You have to get to know each other and start with things you can find in common but you also have to be open-minded and find out what your mentee really likes to do," Bogen said "And that's when you find yourself doing things that neither of us have done before Jeff Skrenes and Nate Lee have only been in a mentorship for about eight months but already they've found some common ground in appreciating activities such as trampolining at Sky Zone "I like the opportunities it has to learn and grow as a person," Lee said Skrenes said he decided to become a mentor partly because he had one growing up in the Big Brother Big Sisters of America program "I just remember how much it meant to me," Skrenes said "So when I was looking to volunteer with something Skrenes submitted a drawing of Yoda that he made to the Mentor North art show while he and Lee also worked on and submitted a model of a twin-engine boat to be placed on display The two also attended a Mentor North art night where they decorated ceramic tiles This is Mentor North's second time running an art show Mentor North development and communications coordinator the event was very popular in their community last year They brought their whole families to see it and were so proud to see their work on display in a public space," Smingler said "We wanted to give our youth an opportunity to express themselves And it's a wonderful opportunity to highlight the joy of mentoring during National Mentoring Month." People spend more time indoors and increase the chance to spread viruses “Now is the time that we should be getting our flu Bogen was joined by Pennsylvania Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich at the Taylor Community Center to encourage all citizens — especially older adults — to get the three vaccines before the holidays She said it's been a little over a month since respiratory virus season officially kicked off vaccine prevention is by far the best option," she said Bogen said vaccines boost the body's defenses against germs it's also important for people at increased risk of severe outcomes due to respiratory infections to make sure they test themselves at the first sign of illness," she said Since respiratory viruses share similar symptoms testing helps find the best way to treat a viral infection "It's really important to establish a relationship with your health care providers," added local pharmacist He gave Bogen her flu vaccine after the event all forms of information flowing out into the community from a central point .. to talk about what they have in common," he said “Make sure you tell everybody that you know and encourage them to come out and do this This is the time of year to do it," she said WVIA News wants to hear from you! If you have a story idea for one of our journalists, it's as simple as sending an e-mail. Reach out anytime at wvianews@wvia.org A returning champion and some very dangerous short-course talent makes the men’s race at the 2024 Ironman 70.3 World Championship almost anyone’s game Thorsten Radde talks about the contenders and how the Ironman Pro Series could play out After a long season of racing, this weekend’s Ironman 70.3 World Championship race will see returning champion Rico Bogen (GER) attempt to defend his title in Taupo. The final race of the 2024 triathlon season will also close the inaugural Ironman Pro Series and series leader Gregory Barnaby (ITA) will be on the start line in Taupo We’ll have a closer look at the overall men’s favorites and the top contenders for the men’s Ironman Pro Series below Taupo is the beautiful site of the Ironman 70.3 World Championships 2024 Its location in New Zealand requires a lot of travel for most athletes and with a date in mid-December it makes an already long season even longer It’s been planned for a long time: Originally Taupo was awarded the 2020 70.3 World Championships but with COVID travel restrictions the event was moved to 2022 and then to 2024 Taupo is also the site of Ironman New Zealand the full-distance race had 870 competitors a 70.3 event held on the same day attracted a similar number of athletes a freshwater lake set among the surrounding mountains It’s likely going to be a wetsuit swim making it a point-to-point swim following the shore before exiting the water a short run from the transition zone The one-loop bike course will follow the “Thermal Explorer Highway,” a new section that wasn’t previously used and some of New Zealand’s famously slow “chip seal” roads lead to the Waikato River following the route typically used for Ironman New Zealand quite similar to the March event which uses four loops for the full marathon It’s mostly flat along the lakefront but with short steep hills at each turn the main goal for Jelle Geens was racing at the Olympic Games His 42nd place was a disappointment for him but he’s produced a great series at the half-distance: fourth at 70.3 Oceanside and then a win at Lake Las Vegas T100 – making him a top contender for the 70.3 world title and the only athlete who has been able to beat the new T100 World Champion Geens was especially impressive on the run pressuring and eventually breaking van Riel with a couple of uphill surges This means that the others will make him work extra hard in the first two legs he always had some help in closing the gaps after the swim (he was 33 seconds behind) and on the bike he was 28 seconds behind the bike leaders van Riel and Mathis Margirier (FRA) before a combination of less urgency at the front and a hard effort by Justus Nieschlag (GER) and Geens allowed them to bridge up again to set up an epic run battle With Hayden Wilde (NZL) and Kyle Smith (NZL) Geens will face two other athletes who have been running well this season Hayden Wilde has already won the WTCS Grand Final in Torremolinos and the overall SuperTri series After winning the silver medal in the Paris Olympic Games he’d love to add a big title such as the 70.3 World Championships contested in his home country of New Zealand he’s had mixed results on the half distance: He was third at 70.3 Taupo in 2019 losing his match against Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) by eight minutes and at the end of 2023 he won 70.3 Melbourne against a field of Australians and New Zealanders He’ll be racing 70.3 World Championships without much experience racing deep fields on the half distance it would be a surprise not to see Wilde in the lead group after the swim He did not look very comfortable on the time trial bike at the Collins Cup – how often was he able to ride it in his busy 2024 draft-legal season Will he be able to stay with the best 70.3 athletes such as Bogen or Margirier who know they have to make a difference on the bike And how much will the long-and-hard bike ride leave for a solid run and it’ll be fascinating to see how well he can perform especially in the last 30 minutes when the title will be decided Can he become the first Kiwi to take the 70.3 world title Even though they have focused on different distances there is an interesting parallel between Kiwis Hayden Wilde and Kyle Smith: Wilde’s first serious attempt at the middle distance was third place at 70.3 Taupo in 2019 – an event that was Smith’s first professional race and win Of course both athletes’ careers have made huge advancements since then but the race might still be an indication of how this year’s world championships in Taupo might play out: There were just a few seconds between them in the swim then Smith had the much better bike leg (he was five minutes faster!) and even though Wilde had the better run split by almost two minutes he was too far back to challenge Smith for the win So far in 2024 Smith has had a great season winning the Challenge Championship in Samorin and coming very close to wins at the San Francisco and London T100s After struggling with a chest infection in late summer he wasn’t yet back at 100% for the T100 Season Finale in Dubai He still raced hard to pressure Marten van Riel for the win and potentially the T100 World Championship but then struggled in the second half of the run to fall back to fourth place But that hard race may have been just what he needed to be in top shape for the final race of the season If he’s able to grab the win in the town he grew up in he’d become the first male athlete since Tim Reed in 2016 to win 70.3 World Championships in his home country Rico Bogen is the defending 70.3 world champion – yet he’s only a wildcard This shows both the caliber of the field in Taupo and also what a big surprise Bogen’s win in Lahti was Even though Lahti was still the last race he was able to win racing the best fields and coming away with a close third place at the San Francisco T100 and a second place at the Dubai T100 Bogen will be in the mix on the swim and bike for sure and he has shown again and again that he’s not afraid to go for it on the run Can he once again run at his best when it matters most Leo Bergere is another athlete who is stepping up from short course to the middle distance His 70.3 resume is impressive with wins at 70.3 Lanzarote 2022 the field in Taupo may test the Frenchmen on a different level He won his races mainly with a strong bike leg so he can be expected to push the pace in the first two legs likely reaching T2 as part of a lead group He’s shown at the Paris Olympic Games where he won the bronze medal that he’s also a good runner – how well will he be able to run at the longer distance Mathis Margirier struggled to overcome an injury but he’s getting faster and faster the longer the season lasts At the Dubai T100 he helped to push the pace on the bike and to split the big lead group but then wasn’t able to run at quite the same level as the top athletes and can he close the season with his best run of the year Gregory Barnaby took the lead in the Ironman Pro Series from Germany’s Patrick Lange who has decided to end his season after winning in Kona But Barnaby is far from being safe: He already has five results in his total and any improvement requires a finish within 8:43 minutes of the winner in Taupo The biggest threat for Barnaby comes from American Matthew Marquardt who is currently only in eighth position but can add one more result to his total He is currently 2,478 points behind Barnaby (almost exactly Barnaby’s fifth score) so in order to win the series he has to finish just ahead of Barnaby and not lose more than 8:42 to the winner There is a third athlete who still has a chance to jump into first place in the pro series: Kristian Hogenhaug (DEN) He can’t afford to be more than 3:51 behind the winner to make up the gap to Barnaby and he has to finish almost five minutes ahead of Barnaby and Marquardt – a tall order Matthew Marquardt is probably the strongest swimmer of the male series contenders – and probably the fastest on the bike Marquardt doesn’t have too much experience in pro races at the half distance but he should be able to stay close to the leaders into T2 which should also give me a sizable gap to Barnaby That way he’d be able to control the race for the series title: As long as he stays within nine minutes of the winner When they raced each other at the 2023 PTO US Open Marquardt was able to gain about a minute on the bike but then lost about three minutes on the run to Barnaby Will he be able to stay ahead of Barnaby in Taupo and become the first men’s winner of the Ironman Pro Series Gregory Barnaby took the lead in the pro series but Taupo shapes up to be a close deciding race: In order to stay ahead of Matthew Marquardt in the series Barnaby still has to finish ahead of him in Taupo As Marquardt is likely to swim and bike faster Barnaby has to have a great all-around race to beat Marquardt in Taupo: It’s not likely that Barnaby can stay in the lead group for the swim – will he then be able to ride in a good group in order to limit the time they lose or will the lead bikers – possibly including Marquardt – ride extra hard in their fight for the title and put massive time into the chase group Barnaby should be able to run about two minutes into Marquardt can he reach T2 with a good chance to catch Marquardt The race for the overall series might come down to the final kilometers on the run of the final race of the season With his eighth place at 70.3 Western Australia Kristian Hogenhaug made a nice jump from sixth to third place in the Standings But Marquardt is in a good position to overtake him with his Taupo result so the “base goal” for Hogenhaug should be to pass Lange and to stay in third place in the series That would mean a $15,000 difference and requires him to stay within 11 minutes of the winner If Barnaby or Marquardt don’t have a good day Hogenhaug is still able to catch them with a good race in Taupo and finishing second in the series would mean another huge $50,000 difference to third place Global running brand Saucony has announced the youngest ever 70.3 IRONMAN Champion, Rico Bogen According to Saucony… ‘The partnership marks a significant milestone in a commitment to elite performance supporting a world-leading athlete at the pinnacle of his sport renowned for his extraordinary achievements in triathlon will be representing Saucony in competitions and events across the globe as he sets his sights on a period of sustained dominance in the sport.’ “Rico embodies the spirit of our brand with his relentless pursuit of excellence and his passion for sport His achievements at such a young age are truly inspiring and we are excited to support him on his journey It´s a big step for Saucony signing the current 70.3 IRONMAN World Champion and building on past successes in triathlon He will undoubtably continue to set new standards in triathlon and we will be with him every step of the way.” Bogen will be running in Saucony’s Endorphin Elite The Saucony logo will also feature prominently across the elite athlete’s triathlon apparel and his Kú Cycle TF1 bike “I am honoured to become a Saucony athlete,” said Rico Bogen “Saucony has a rich history of supporting athletes and their commitment to innovation aligns perfectly with my goals The Endorphin Elite shoe is a game-changer and I am excited to represent a brand that is dedicated to helping athletes unlock higher levels of performance.” www.saucony.com  “We are not in a position to negotiate patient safety.” That was the response of Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr Debra Bogen to State Senator Michele Brooks’s suggestion of more flexibility when it comes to allowing Sharon Regional Hospital to reopen Bogen during Wednesday’s Senate Appropriations Committee budget hearing for the Department of Health who chairs the Senate Health and Human Services Committee Bogen why it seems that hospitals that are already open are permitted to remain operating while they correct issues while closed hospitals must make the corrections before the health department allows them to open Brooks was referencing Sharon Regional Hospital which was taken over by the Tenor Health Foundation after former owner Steward Health closed it in January as part of a bankruptcy proceeding Tenor Health has been waiting for the state health department’s permission to resume operations we actually categorized the issues into two separate categories One that would impact the reopening and ones that would be delayed and addressed afterward,” Dr “It's not that they have to fix every issue at this moment They have to fix the ones related to safety Bogen told Senator Brooks that her department has allowed as much flexibility as it can to ensure that when Sharon Regional reopens Senator Brooks commented that people are crossing the state line referencing one report that someone with a ruptured appendix waited for ten hours in an emergency room before being treated Bogen was also questioned about the time her staff is putting in to hasten Sharon Regional’s reopening "Our staff has worked every single day to be responsive and available including weekends and evenings,” Dr “Over 100 emails and many phone calls; we remain available via phone or email very closely with them to expedite [the process] as quickly as we can But we are not in a position to negotiate patient safety." "I don't think anyone is asking to negotiate patient safety I think perhaps there are things that could be more flexible I think it's a shame that people are having to go to Ohio for health care,” Brooks replied More than 11% of Pennsylvania adults have been diagnosed with diabetes Many more have diabetes or prediabetes but aren't aware they have it During Diabetes Awareness Month and as we approach this holiday season — give yourself the gift of health by making sure you know your diabetes status Diabetes affects people of all ages and can lead to serious health consequences the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that one in three American adults have prediabetes a condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes Among the millions of Americans with prediabetes more than 80% of them don't know they have it many people with prediabetes will go on to develop diabetes within five years I know that being diagnosed with a new health condition can feel overwhelming But the first step to better health is knowing where you stand — that is if you have diabetes or are at risk of developing it Start by asking your health care provider to test your blood sugar (glucose) the good news is that you can take action to prevent prediabetes from progressing to diabetes and reduce complications from diabetes and proper sleep habits are key components of managing your blood sugar and overall health and private insurers; participation reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes for people ages 18 to 59 by 58% There are also other ways to learn how to self-manage diabetes. Talk with your health care provider, visit the American Diabetes Association or search online for diabetes prevention programs in your area November is Diabetes Awareness Month and a great time to get screened to take control of your health Diabetes is manageable with the right support FAAP is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Health The Pennsylvania State Senate recently confirmed Dr Bogen as Secretary of the Department of Health following her appointment by Governor Josh Shapiro a veteran pediatrician with over thirty years of experience previously served as the Director of the Allegheny County Health Department Bogen for her leadership and dedication to public health highlighting her efforts to ensure accessible healthcare for all Pennsylvanians and her role in managing health emergencies Bogen’s academic background includes positions at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh particularly on the effects of mental health and substance use on families She earned her medical degree from the University of Colorado School of Medicine and completed her pediatric residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital For more details on the Department of Health’s initiatives and services Family was the most important thing in his life and he watched college and professional sports of all kinds spending his free time hunting and fishing He loved animals and spending time with his grandchildren Dan was a lover of all things PSU and a staunch supporter of the legendary Joe Paterno Following a stint as a cryptanalyst with the NSA Olson took a job with IBM where he worked as a financial analyst for 26 years in a crash involving a lawn mower in Greene Township the public is invited to another ‘Paint Night With Patty’ in our downstairs area at Zion Reformed Church Penn State Extension Spring has sprung and while the change is welcome it is often when horticulturists see problems emerge that got The Franklin County Free Press is your local news website We provide you with the latest breaking news and videos straight from Franklin County PA The Franklin County Free Press is a Neil Publishing, LLC Any views or opinions expressed in this publication are of the individual or entity who submitted it and not the publication Our publication is open to the public to weigh in on matters of public interest AI technology assists in content creation on this site; verify independently for accuracy Call or Text: (717) 862-5656   Email: info@fcfreepress.com — A pedestrian has died after being struck by a truck early Thursday morning in Sturgis Township Joseph County Sheriff's Office responded to M-66 and Bogen Road in Sturgis Township for a crash involving a pedestrian Deputies learned that a man was riding a skateboard on M-66 when a Ford F-150 traveling southbound struck the pedestrian The pedestrian was severely injured upon arrival of deputies The names of the driver and pedestrian are not being released at this time Miranda Bogen is the founding Director of CDT’s AI Governance Lab where she works to develop and promote adoption of robust technically-informed solutions for the effective regulation and governance of AI systems An AI policy expert and responsible AI practitioner Miranda has led advocacy and applied work around AI accountability across both industry and civil society She most recently guided strategy and implementation of responsible AI practices at Meta including driving large-scale efforts to measure and mitigate bias in AI-powered products and building out company-wide governance practices Miranda previously worked as senior policy analyst at Upturn where she conducted foundational research at the intersection of machine learning and civil rights and Accountability Working Group at the Partnership on AI Miranda has co-authored widely cited research, including empirically demonstrating the potential for discrimination in personalized advertising systems and illuminating the role artificial intelligence plays in the hiring process and has helped to develop technical contributions including AI benchmarks to measure bias and robustness privacy-preserving methods to measure racial disparities in AI systems and reinforcement-learning driven interventions to advance equitable outcomes in products that mediate access to economic opportunity and work has been featured in media including the Harvard Business Review Miranda holds a master’s degree from The Fletcher School at Tufts University with a focus on international technology policy and graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from UCLA with degrees in Political Science and Middle Eastern & North African Studies You can find her on LinkedIn See all from Miranda the star reveals new details about how she became addicted to prescription painkillers following the 2008 birth of her twins An 18-year-old Sturgis man was killed in a Saturday morning crash according to a Sunday social media post from the Sturgis Department of Public Safety Rescue crews were dispatched to the crash at about 9:40 a.m at the intersection of South Nottawa Street and Bogen Road Responders found a passenger car had been eastbound on Bogen Road when it pulled into the path of a southbound pickup The driver of the passenger car was killed in the crash All four occupants were transported to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries Tri-Township Fire Department and Life Care Ambulance also responded Alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the crash according to the Sturgis Department of Public Safety TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need Megan Swift is a TribLive reporter covering trending news in Western Pennsylvania she joined the Trib full time in 2023 after serving as editor-in-chief of The Daily Collegian at Penn State She previously worked as a Jim Borden Scholarship intern at the Trib for three summers Stay up-to-date on important news from TribLIVE 1-800-909-8742 © 2025 Trib Total Media | All Rights Reserved About Us Advertise Career Opportunities Contact Advertising Contact Circulation Contact Newsroom Contact Us Feedback Request Correction Resource Center Scholarship Opportunities Send Letter to the Editor Send News Tip Subscribe Subscriber Services Blog eFeatures Email Newsletters eTrib Facebook Home Delivery Instagram LinkedIn Marketing Minute Store Locations TribLIVE App - App Store TribLIVE App - Google Play X (formerly Twitter) Arts & Entertainment Best of the Best Business Directory Circulars Contests Coronavirus Lifestyles Local News YaJagOff Obituaries Opinion Our Publications Photos Real Estate Sports Video Weather Cookie Settings Privacy Policy Terms of Service — An 18-year-old man is dead after a crash in Sturgis Saturday morning Officers arrived at Nottawa Street and Bogen Road before 9:45 a.m. according to the Sturgis Department of Public Safety (SDPS) We’re told a passenger vehicle pulled into the path of a pickup while traveling east on Bogen The 18-year-old driver in the former vehicle died of his injuries Four people from Indiana were inside the pickup truck during the crash They were all hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries Alcohol is not a suspected factor in the crash SDPS credits the Tri-Township Fire Department Joseph County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance Follow FOX 17: Facebook - X (formerly Twitter) - Instagram - YouTube We speak to the youngest-ever Ironman 70.3 world champion about his underdog win how German group dynamics helped him on the course A 6-foot-plus German standing atop an Ironman World Championship podium is not an unfamiliar sight. But while Rico Bogen might have a long way to go to match Jan Frodeno’s achievements in triathlon he’s made a good start of following in his hero’s wake “From an Olympic winner to being 70.3 and long-distance world champion and that he’s shown that it’s possible to be good as a tall man!” Bogen’s name had hardly been uttered in the build-up to the 2023 Ironman 70.3 World Championship race pre-race chatter centered on whether notorious Norwegian Kristian Blummenfelt could retain his title after one of the most ambitious racing schedules ever undertaken or if American Jason West could run through the field to top the podium also got his share of buzz as he set out to claim his first 70.3 world title to complement his 25 other 70.3 wins In the final reckoning, however, West fell ill before the race and did not start and Blummenfelt slogged home in 35th place the fatigue of his August racing schedule evident we witnessed an all-German podium – another first in 70.3 World Championship history – topped by a young gun that left many wondering: Who the hell is Rico Bogen How much of a surprise the result was is up for debate, of course. His coach, Joseph Spindler, posted on social media after the race: “It’s a pleasure to work with this young The world championship title was on our list of goals we just thought it might take one or two years longer.” But what can’t be disputed is that Bogen’s day in Finland was the very definition of a breakthrough performance Bogen says he knew it was going well at the start of the run: “I felt the legs weren’t so tired after the bike and after 3K I was in front and could push But the whole day went perfectly to plan.” was emerging in the front pack out of the water and staying with the leaders on the bike Looking at Bogen’s short non-drafting career to date (Lanzarote in March was his first Ironman race) and past performances in long-course racing it’s a plan he knows well: He was in the top three out of the swim in all three of his previous 70.3s and laid down the fastest bike split over 120km at the World Triathlon long-distance championship in Ibiza in May was envisaged as a 3-minute 20-second per kilometer pace (5 minutes 22 seconds per mile) for the half-marathon But the undulations on the Lahti route meant an in-race switch to focusing on effort and one downhill kilometer I ran in 3 minutes,” he says and I had to go a little bit more on feeling The aim is always to run the second half faster than the first half floating on the feeling of being out front: “At first it felt crazy that I was leading the world champs,” he says “Then I had a one minute lead after the first loop [of two] and thought: I could win this race and I enjoyed the last two kilometers where I could celebrate a little bit with the spectators Despite a bike and run course that were far from flat Bogen’s finishing time of 3:32:21 made the race the fastest 70.3 World Championship time dating back to the event’s inception in 2006 and lowering the 3:34:02 mark of fellow German Michael Raelert set in 2009 on a course that has been likened to a drag racing strip in Clearwater Yet Bogen sees the potential to go even faster because it was also raining,” Bogen explains “But we had a good group and we pushed through the whole bike course Now the goal for next year is to go under 3 hours 30 minutes including four Germans (there were originally five Bogen felt the group instinctively worked well to take turns pushing the pace while respecting the 12-meter draft zone “We didn’t talk together before the race,” he says “It was more that we had Freddie [Funk] and Mathis [Magririer] and myself as strong bikers and we could change a bit It was really fast as everybody who went to the front made an attack Freddie had a big attack around 30 kilometers and it was hard to stay behind him Bogen credits his Kú bike for some of the additional speed that led him to a 1:56:16 split over the 56 miles in Finland – an average of almost 29 miles per hour The bike certainly seemed to fly as Bogen set the fastest bike split in the World Triathlon long distance championship in Ibiza in May and the fifth-fastest in Finland It’s a different way of thinking about a bike frame I believed in this bike and it was built by Richard McAinsh who was for many years in Formula 1 so knows how to design.” While other triathletes had been taking part in PTO Open events in Europe Qualification was achieved with a win on home soil at Ironman 70.3 Kraichgau in May where he gained confidence by passing the likes of two-time Ironman world champion Patrick Lange The victory meant that following a sixth-place finish in 70.3 Luxembourg in June Bogen could dedicate two months to training for the past weekend a perennially popular location for many European elites Bogen also threw in some draft-legal racing (and podium-taking) at the German Bundesliga with Team Berlin and in the sprint national championships where he placed 13th (a harsh reminder of the sub-15-minute 5km pace needed to be competitive in short-course racing) as retaining speed translates well to middle-distance racing As a strong swim-biker without the “high end” running speed required to compete at the Olympic level Bogen appears ideally suited to non-draft racing with its array of racing opportunities next year for the world’s best triathletes but could yet improve that position by the end of the year (he is eyeing the speedway venue of Clash Daytona in December as a possible next race) While the PTO is limiting its field sizes for its events to 20 Carrying the cache of being Ironman 70.3 world champion would also hold much weight for one of four wildcards per race His professional future looks promisingly assured “Next year all the focus will be on the PTO races and hope to perform well and the 70.3 Worlds in New Zealand is also a target But in three or four years I’ll hopefully go there to perform.” Bogen’s win at 70.3 Worlds may have seemed to be an overnight sensation but – as with all overnight sensations – the victory was a result of hard work and hard workouts Bogen shares two of the sessions crucial to his success “I look to hold the aero position throughout this set,” Bogen says “It’s challenging because my threshold is normally over my race pace but because I did this one at altitude it was a bit closer to race pace.” Bogen found confidence from this session up the Albula Pass in the Swiss Alps “I was thinking I was slow at the start at 5 minutes per kilometer (8 minutes per mile) pace,” he says “but when it flattened out at the end and I was running 3:45 per kilometer – but the effort was the same It helped for the up and down running in Lahti!” A 9-kilometer confidence-boosting hill effort (focus less on pace and more on feel) Commonwealth Media ServicesSpotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds the powerful to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters HARRISBURG — Seven months into his first term as Pennsylvania’s governor two of Democrat Josh Shapiro’s picks for top cabinet posts haven’t been confirmed by the state Senate the distinction between an acting and confirmed secretary is minimal Debra Bogen of the Department of Health and Wendy Spicher of the Department of Banking and Securities have essentially the same powers as cabinet officials approved by state senators But Bogen’s continued service in that role has roiled at least two Republican lawmakers who now want to curtail the powers of acting secretaries Shapiro recalled Bogen’s nomination in late June after it became clear she did not have the votes to be confirmed by the GOP-controlled state Senate had served as the head of the Allegheny County Health Department during the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic and Republican leadership attributed the lack of support to Bogen’s “past management work.” The governor has yet to announce publicly whether he will once again put Bogen before the state Senate for consideration or will nominate someone else to fill the role on a permanent basis “We’re supposed to be three co-equal branches of government and over the last three years we’ve seen the executive branch gain power,” Phillips-Hill told Spotlight PA “The advice and consent of the Senate in a governor’s cabinet official is something that is articulated in our constitution.” Shapiro isn’t the only governor who has made use of acting secretaries. At the end of former Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration, over one-third of the state’s agencies were led by officials who never received state Senate approval said the governor wasn’t trying to circumvent the state Senate He told Spotlight PA it was always a challenge to recruit officials for short cabinet stints late in an administration he blames the state Senate for injecting politics into the process He noted that leaders at one point tried to block appointments to the state utility regulator over a legislative conflict — something Abbott called “the straw that broke the camel’s back” in terms of getting nominees confirmed “They screwed up things with Wolf by turning things from [the state Senate’s constitutional duty of] ‘advise and consent’ to a ransom-taking,” he said The 21 cabinet secretaries who require state Senate approval lead state agencies Their responsibilities are wide-ranging and include administering the state’s elections directing billions of dollars in education funds and deploying state and federal dollars for a slew of human services programs The state’s constitution directs the governor to nominate a secretary to fill a position within 90 days of its vacancy the state Senate has 25 legislative days to vote on the nominee who needs approval from two-thirds of the body in order to be confirmed the clock starts after the chamber reconvenes If the state Senate fails to vote on a nomination within those 25 legislative days the nominee can assume the role as if the body had voted in their favor This happened for three of the secretaries in Shapiro’s administration — those in charge of the Departments of Human Services The administration’s two remaining unconfirmed secretaries in the Departments of Banking and Securities and Health followed different paths to their current acting statuses Shapiro initially nominated Sarah Hammer, executive director at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, as banking secretary in January. However, Hammer announced in early May that she would be “returning to serve the [University of Pennsylvania] community.” Following Hammer’s withdrawal, Shapiro nominated Spicher in early July. Prior to her nomination Spicher had served as the deputy secretary for depository institutions in the Department of Banking and Securities since 2008 the state Senate had 24 legislative days to vote on Spicher’s nomination Bogen, meanwhile, is Shapiro’s original nominee to lead the Department of Health. In late June, Shapiro recalled Bogen’s nomination because there were not enough votes to confirm her State Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R. Indiana) said in a statement that “given concerns with Dr we felt she was not well suited” to the role He added the chamber is ready to review a new nominee once Shapiro submits a name for the position state Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D. Allegheny) said he hopes Bogen can resolve some of the differences within the Republican caucus and “get to a place where she will get renominated.” Costa previously told the Philadelphia Inquirer that some Republican members had issues with Bogen’s time at Allegheny County’s health department “but was not sure of the details.” “Had her nomination been given the opportunity to get to the floor to the vote I believe she would have been confirmed,” Costa told Spotlight PA Shapiro has kept Bogen in her role in an acting capacity A spokesperson from Shapiro’s office declined to comment on any future plans regarding Bogen’s nomination Phillips-Hill and Ward said that their constitutional amendment will explicitly spell out what unconfirmed secretaries can’t do such as issuing executive orders and promulgating regulations on behalf of the governor Phillips-Hill said she saw the need to distinguish the powers of acting secretaries during the pandemic when the Department of Health mandated mask-wearing in public schools and social distancing procedures through executive orders Three secretaries who served during the pandemic — Alison Beam and Denise Johnson — were never confirmed by the state Senate “Whether it was masking children in child care facilities and in schools there were a ton of things that were on a daily basis coming out of the Department of Health and this is a person who's not been confirmed by the Senate,” Phillips-Hill said A proposed constitutional amendment needs to pass both the state House and state Senate in two consecutive sessions before going to voters to be voted up or down in a statewide referendum the policy director of the good-government group the Committee of 70 said he is unsure that the constitutional amendment will solve any problems Christmas said he has yet to see any bill language but he believes that the lack of confirmations under Wolf’s administration was primarily caused by increased partisanship and a polarized political environment rather than a flaw in the state constitution’s confirmation process if the constitution needs to be amended to solve such an issue “Every change we make to the structure of government — and in this case how the legislature has some oversight authority over the executive — we need to weigh it very carefully,” Christmas said Spotlight PA’s Katie Meyer contributed reporting WHILE YOU’RE HERE… If you learned something from this story, pay it forward and become a member of Spotlight PA so someone else can in the future at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results We grant elected officials extraordinary power when we give them our vote which means we must demand extraordinary accountability once they are in office That’s why Spotlight PA’s reporting is more important than ever with no political agenda or opinion pieces allowing us to prioritize investigative and public-service journalism that gets results If you’re looking for a meaningful way to make a difference in these uncertain times I can’t think of a better investment than Spotlight PA’s truthful trusted reporting for Pennsylvania — journalism that gets real results Your tax-deductible support of any amount will ensure our vital work can continue Sign up for PA Post to understand what's happening across PA - in less than five minutes a day © 2025 Spotlight PA. This site is powered by Netlify The 22-year-old German burst onto the world stage taking the 2023 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Lahti Germany’s Rico Bogen stunned the triathlon world today by winning the 2023 Ironman 70.3 World Championships with a time of 3:32:22 Though relatively unknown on the world stage the German cut his teeth in draft-legal racing as a junior with top-15 results at sprint and Olympic distances include a third-place at European Middle Distance Championships in 2022 Missed the action in Finland? Replays of the men’s Ironman 70.3 World Championships are available on demand via Outside Watch. Unlike the foggy women’s morning on the previous day, the conditions for the men were clear and cool out on Lake Vesijärvi with water temperatures hovering in the mid-to-high 60s and the air right around 55 degrees F. Sadly, one of the pre-race favorites, American Jason West, did not start the morning, as he withdrew with a stomach bug. As they entered the harbor, the big, physical group meant for a busy first transition behind swim leader Justus Nieschlag (GER). Nineteen athletes were a part of the lead group around 22:43-23:10—including contenders like Ben Kanute (USA), Mathis Margirier (FRA), Miki Taagholt (NOR), and Frederic Funk (GER). A post shared by IRONMAN Triathlon (@ironmantri) Not much farther back, a group of 16 men—including notable racers like Matt Hanson (USA) and Jackson Laundry (CAN)—as well as Blummenfelt who struggled in the swim and exited the water 1:16 down from the leader. Not far behind were Lionel Sanders (CAN) and Sam Long (USA) who hit T1 together with relatively strong swims, just over two minutes down from the front. The huge bike pack (almost the entire competitive field of 42 men exited the water within two minutes) meant that drafting, passing, and pack dynamics immediately came into play on the rainy roads surrounding Lahti. Through the first dozen miles of the bike, a group of seven had taken shape, including Margirier and Kanute, but they had only put about 20 seconds on a larger group of 16, all riding tightly within a minute of each other. The big first chase pack initially contained Funk and Blummenfelt, among others, while Sanders and Long continued to ride together still roughly two minutes down from the front, but close to the chase pack. A post shared by IRONMAN Triathlon (@ironmantri) Midway through the bike, the big mover was Funk, who had ridden his way into the lead group that had dropped Kanute. The front pack of seven men interestingly included a group of five Germans (Speri, Funk, Bogen, Stratmann, and Nieschlag) along with Margirier and Lewis (GBR) who were putting time into the large main pack with contenders like Blummenfelt, Long, Sanders, and more. At the 25-mile mark, the mostly German lead group had an over two-minute gap to the humungous 26-person main group, who was in a tight bunch—likely due to the moderately rolling course, draft regulations, and rainy conditions. The only missing names from the big group included Hanson and Taagholt—who had unfortunately dropped early in the bike due to a small crash and resulting mechanical issue. The front group’s lead gelled and extended further through mile 30 on the bike to 2:30, while a large pack of 24 remained less than a minute apart from each other but continued to bleed time with each check. At mile 37, strong cyclists Long and Sanders were driving the main group, however Blummenfelt hung on at the back of that same pack, stuck simply responding to the large group dynamics ahead and eventually fell far off the pace. Near the final dozen miles of the bike leg, Sanders dropped back substantially, and would eventually be disqualified due to a centerline infraction. At mile 50, deep into the most difficult section of the bike course, the lead group had dwindled to six, losing one of the Germans, Sperl. The hot pace was still holding and extending the lead on a chase group that still included fast runners like Laundry and Long but had shrunk to only 10 men about three minutes down. A post shared by IRONMAN Triathlon (@ironmantri) Unsurprisingly, the fastest bike split of the day was Germany’s Funk with a time of 1:55:14, and the final, hilly miles had broken apart any large groups before heading into T2. Out onto the run, the group of six took off out of T2 together, but it wasn’t long before the more complete triathletes—Bogen, Funk, and Margirier—separated from those in the pack who were likely bikers-only. Over three minutes later, Long led the next group out of T2, though he had 30 seconds on the next person, thanks to a big surge late in the bike. In the early miles of the run, big movers behind the lead three included James Teagle (GBR) and Long in the top 10, while much of the rest of the field held steady. Further back, Kanute, Sanders and Blummenfelt had fallen almost completely out of contention. A post shared by IRONMAN Triathlon (@ironmantri) At around four miles into the rainy run, the young German, Bogen, continued to pull away from not only his bike-leg compatriots, but also the rest of the field with a stride that looked long and fluid compared to those behind him. A post shared by IRONMAN Triathlon (@ironmantri) there was not much movement through the top four halfway into the run: Bogen had put a minute into Margirier and Funk in second and third Funk regained contact with Margirier and the two ran together momentarily battling for second place before Funk pulled away Stratmann moved up and overtook Margirier for third Germany’s Rico Bogen had the race of his life and finally broke the tape with a time of 3:32:22 and running 1:11:02 for the fastest overall time of the day Funk finished in second place with a time of 3:33:26 improving on his fifth-place finish from 2022 Bogen claimed $50,000 in prize money for his efforts and is the newest Ironman 70.3 World Champion notable finishers included top American of the day For full results, visit ironman.com We take a quick flyby video tour of the 2024 Ironman World Championship Kona course.