Comedian Jerry Seinfeld once mused that it was curious how folks reveled in large bodies of water like oceans and swimming pools, while little drops of water falling from the sky scared the daylights out of us, chasing us off our deck chairs and beach towels in terror.

Nearly 450 youngsters braved the churning waters at Chapel Hill Country Club Sunday morning at the third annual Swim for Smiles Youth Triathlon, and it took more than little drops of rain to slow their progress. But one clap of thunder was enough to chase competitors from the pool and bring everything to a screaming halt.

After the obligatory 20 minutes' hiatus, with no sign of lightning, hundreds of eager athletes continued in their quest, paddling, pedaling, and running their way to the finish line under clear, blue skies.

"It rained just enough to cool it off for us," said Gary Kayye, the event's co-founder with Laura Gondek.

The event was the first of three planned this summer for the Swim for Smiles Foundation, a Chapel Hill-based charity. The group holds fun, youth-oriented, swimming-related events to raise money for the North Carolina Children's Hospital.

Sunday's event billed itself as North Carolina's first and only family triathlon, open to all kids ages 6-18.

Participants were unfazed by the weather.

"I thought rain actually felt pretty nice," Jeremy Werden, 13, said. "There wasn't enough to actually hurt."

Humidity was more of a problem, competitor Catherine Linsley said. "It was hard to breathe. It was really humid out."

Jennifer Lyu, who finished seventh in the girl's long course competition, liked the damp. "It was a little slippery, but the rain actually felt good."

Alex Werden, 15, the boy's overall long course winner, said a pair of sunglasses ironically came in handy.

"It got a little slippery at the end when we had to brake suddenly, but that was it," he said. "I'm just glad I had my sunglasses with me, because that kept the rain out of my eyes."

Long and short of it

Competitors chose from two courses Sunday. A short course triathlon comprised a 100-meter swim, 2.5-mile bike and a 1K (0.6-mile) run. The long course consisted of a 300-meter swim, a five-mile bike and a 3K (1.8-mile) run.

Among the girls, Lexi Mendes, 15, (35:55.8) earned gold, while Alison Smith (38:22.8) got silver and Annabelle Kayye (39:26.1) the bronze.

Mendes said she was not bothered by rain on the bicycle leg of the triathlon.

"The rain on the bike leg was a little tough, but I got over it," she said. "Swimming's my strongest leg, but I finished a 3K open-water swim (Saturday) in Pinehurst, and I placed fifth."

Chapel Hill's Werden (28:26.2) was first overall across the long course finish line, well ahead of Koya Osada (32:31.1) and Raleigh's Jacob Zawada (33:36.8).

"I felt pretty good," Werden said. "Like everyone, I try to catch people on the bike, because running's no fun when you have to catch people."

Next up, Werden will take his talents to a national stage at the Youth Elite Nationals in Colorado Springs, Colo., for 13-15-year olds.

In the short course, Julianne Strickland of Raleigh finished first (18:06.7), just head of Chapel Hill's Sierra Houck (18:14.3) and Rachel Shinnick (18:44.3).

Jacob Werden's 17:51.1 was good enough for first place in the boy's short course competition, with Joshua Zawada (17:56.5) finishing second, and Connor Sept, 10, (18:03.7) rounding out the top three places.

All Smiles

The true winner on the day, however, was the North Carolina Children's Hospital. Swim for Smiles has raised almost $58,000 for local children's hospitals and had a goal of raising another $30,000 this year.

"The North Carolina Children's Hospital is just a great cause," Kayye said. "They helped to promote the event because they want the event to be successful. Plus there are so many people around here that are connected to the Hospital in some way. There are a lot of great charities here, but no one can deny that the North Carolina Children's Hospital is one of the best in the area."

Kayye was pleased with the event's growing numbers.

"We've got 435 participants, and that's about 80 more than last year," he said. "This is the biggest we've gotten. It's about three-to-one short course to long course, but that doesn't surprise me because there are so many beginners. If you talk to me five years from now, though, it'll probably switch."

For 9-year-old Mireille Leone, experience gained at previous triathlons was already paying off.

"I'm going to try not to panic this year," Leone said. "Well, I didn't really panic last year, but I was pretty worried. Plus, this year, I'll pedal down the hills, because last year I was coasting."

Everyone wins

Age group winners in the long course triathlon included 9-10 girls medalist Grace Morris (43:39.6), Rebekah Greengrass of Cary (40:35.7) in the 11-12 bracket, Annabelle Kayye (39:26.1) in 13-14s and overall winner Lexi Mendes, 15.

Male long course age group winners included the 9-10's Klaas Van Kempen, (45:18.6), Aidan Pounder of Cary (34:02.6) in the 11-12 bracket, Koya Osada (32:31.1) inn the 13-14 and Werden in the 15-18s.

For the first time, the competition was open to teams. "Triple Threat Tri Force" of Durham (39:13.5) finished ahead of Chapel Hill's "Three Musketeers" squad (47:17.4).

In the short course competition, the girls' 6-and-under winner was Zoe Brader-Araje (28:39), while Cary's Emily Haynes (22:20.1) took the girls 7-8 title. Julia Sisk (20:45.5) was first in the 9-10 bracket, Hillsborough's Rachel Shinnick (18:44.3) the 11-12 division, and Julianne Strickland of Raleigh (18:06.7) claimed the girl's 13-14 crown.

In the short course boy's triathlon, Oscar Williams (26:54.1) topped the 6-and-under old bracket, while Alastair Pounder of Cary (18:25.6) took the 7-8 title. Joshua Zawada of Raleigh (17:56.5) won the boy's 9-10 division, and Jacob Werden (17:51.1) took the 11-12 crown. Among 13-14-year olds, Nick Morketter of Fayetteville(18:31.4) claimed top honors.

Along with overall long course winner Alex Werden, an OPAC (middle school) track-and-field standout, many local middle school girl's track-and-field talents found success on the multisport circuit as well on Sunday.

"I tried to go out strong, but I was dead by the end of it," said OPAC 800-meter champion Alexa Phillips, who finished 10th overall in the girl's long course triathlon. "Swimming's just not my strongest event at all. I do swim team during the summers, but I've only been to three practices so far, so I can't really say it's paid off yet."

"On the bike leg I was kind of dying, but on the running I came back some," said Lyu, who's a standout in the 1,600 meters for Smith Middle School. "I think running track really helped."

Next up for the Swim for Smiles Foundation will be July 12's Fourth Annual Chapel Hill Wacky Relay Day (known over the past 26 years as the Swim for Life). This event is a season-ending opportunity for Chapel Hill Summer Swim League participants to come together and raise money. Events include noodle races, pyramid relays and parent-child relays -- all held at UNC's Koury Natatorium.

Finally, on July 26, the last event of the Swim for Smiles season will be the new Family Triathlon, which will be open to all ages. This event at Southern Village will offer a 250-meter swim, an 11-mile bike and a 5K (3.1-mile) run.

Back for more

In the meantime, Kayye was basking in the glow of a successful event on Sunday.

"I couldn't be more pleased," Kayye added of Sunday's event. "We've got 75 of the best volunteers you could ever ask for, and 50 of the 75 are already triathletes who understand the inner-workings of a multisport event like this. If you've got a famous multisport competitor who's in Chapel Hill, they're working for us today. And having a professional triathlete like Chris Tommerdahl in charge is great."

Kayye said the event has not reached its limits to growth.

"I think we can still grow here-I think we can get to 500 next year," he said. Chapel Hill Country Club wants us to stay here ... and we're perfectly happy with the site."

So look for the Swim for Smiles next year in the same place, rain or shine, or perhaps a bit of both.

- chn -