A 75-year-old woman got a standing ovation Saturday when she finished the High Rock Lake Triathlon ahead of six much younger contestants.

Miriam Tuovila, from Yorktown, Va., and the other triathletes swam about a half mile, biked about 12 miles and ran 3.2 miles to the finish. This is known as a “sprint triathlon,” half of an olympic triathlon.

Tuovila finished in 1 hour, 50 minutes and 5 seconds. Race Director and YMCA President Wade Rouzer said Tuovila couldn’t weigh more than about 95 pounds.

“And she is so sweet. She just loves to compete,” he said, “loves the exercise and fellowship with all the other athletes.”

This is the second year the Charles Johnson Y-Service Club has sponsored the triathlon to raise scholarship money for young people who can’t afford Y memberships. The first contest the club sponsored was a bike-run biathlon five years ago that raised about $3,000. The event this year raised more than $12,000, $4,000 more than last year’s triathlon.

This year’s triathlon attracted 450 participants from ages 13 to 75, up from 281 participants last year, along with about a thousand spectators.

Rouzer said it takes six months to put it all together.

“The hardest part is finding volunteers to handle such a large crowd,”he said.

The crew of about 50 volunteers included people from the Rowan County Sheriff’s Department, the Miller Ferry and Union fire departments, the local Kiwanis Camp and the Industrial Management Counsel.

Becoming part of the N.C. Triathlon series is one reason participation has increased so significantly, Rouzer said. The series comprises 16 races. Each entrant must participate in six. Participants accumulate points and get trophies for winning.

Rouzer said High Rock Lake’s central location, about equidistant from Raleigh, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Charlotte, also contributes to the growing popularity of the event here.

“These people pay $40 to get out there and sweat and get sore,”Rouzer said.

Actually the sweating wasn’t all that bad. Last year the thermometer registered 104 degrees. This year at starting time, 78 degrees seemed cool.

Several local competitors won Saturday. Dr. Robert Bertram and his two daughters, Mary and Sarah, of Salisbury, won the mixed (male-female) relay.

The top triathlon time for females was Kelly Rea of Marietta, Ga., 1:03:35. Tim Starets of Winston-Salem was the top male, 59:48.

After the race, participants got T-shirts, Cheerwines, hot dogs and beans and rice, Rouzer said. Although that’s part of the day, it’s not the reason for it.

“They are just people who really love to compete,”Rouzer said.