It was a miserable day for spectators, but the constant rain didn’t stop about 200 athletes from competing in the Big Lake Triathlon Saturday at Lakeside Park.

In a steady, sometimes downpouring rain, the competitors gathered on the beach at Lakeside Park just before 8 a.m. to start the triathlon. The first leg was the swim, to be followed by a bike ride and then the run.

There were two different categories: the Sprint Division was a 0.33-mile swim, 14.45-mile bike ride and a 3.1-mile run.

The Olympic Division was a 0.9-mile swim, 24.83-mile bike ride and a 6.2-mile run.

But less than three minutes before the official start, with thunder rumbling in the distance, an announcement came over the loudspeaker, delaying the start for another 30 minutes due to possible lightning in the area.

Everyone left the beach and headed back to their preferred spots to wait for the start.

About 15 minutes later, a second announcement sent the athletes back to the beach to get ready for the start.

This time it was for real, and all the competitors in the first wave scrambled through the sand and dove in to the lake for the start.

That scenario was repeated in four-minute time intervals until all the athletes were in the water, swimming a wide semi-circle around buoys towards a point further north on the beach where their bikes were located.

Josh Mork of Lino Lakes was the first competitor out of the water in the Olympic Division in 22:38. Preston Youngdahl of Plymouth, who was two minutes behind Mork after the swim, overtook him during the bike race and went into first place with a time of 1:05:11. Youngdahl then completed the 6.2-mile run in 39:50, taking the overall championship by just under three minutes over Mork in 2:11.27. It was a repeat for Youngdahl, who won last year in 2:08.35.

Whitney Moore of Chanhassen was the top female finisher in the Olympic Division in 2:41.55. She completed the swim in 32:06, which put her in eighth place at the time. She biked to a time of 1:22.33, second fastest for the women. Then she ran 6.2 miles in 43:54, almost 3:30 faster than her nearest competitor. Her combined time was more than five minutes faster than second place winner Elizabeth Warren of Minneapolis.

John Kallemeyn was the top hometown finisher in the Olympic Division. The Big Laker took 10th overall in 2:38.49.

There were 67 total finishers in the division, 50 men and 17 women.

In the Sprint Division, Big Lake Hornet distance runner Owen Layton took the title. The 16-year old finished in 1:09.12, beating second-place Sean Pickle, 17, of St. Cloud by almost three minutes.

Layton had to make up a big time deficit after the swim, where he finished 25th in 12:21. He did well in the bike ride with the second-fastest time of 39 minutes. Then he smashed the competition in the 3.1-mile run, finishing in 16:30, passing Pickle along the way.

Bette Rowley of Burnsville was the top female finisher in the Sprint Division in a time of 1:14.47. That was sixth overall among all the 134 athletes in the division. Rowley was eighth after the swim (10:44). She had the best time for the women in the bike ride at 39:15, then went 22:46 in the run to hold off Tate Diehl of Apple Valley by almost four minutes.

Prizes were awarded to the top finishers in each of 12 different age groups.

The Big Lake Triathlon is the final segment of a three-part competition. Triathlons at Sturgis Lake in Buffalo and Warner Lake in Clearwater were held in June.

Complete results for all three triathlons can be found at mtecresults.com.