Kelowna woman inducted into World Triathlon Hall of Fame

If you've ever been out for a run and had a woman run up beside you, greet you kindly and suddenly take off, it might have been Jo-Anne Ritchie. 

"Sometimes it's a little bit of an awkward moment — because you feel you have to, you know, they're people, and you feel you have to greet them," she told CBC's Daybreak South. 

But don't feel too bad if Ritchie left you in her dust; she was just inducted into the World Triathlon Hall of Fame, at a ceremony in Pontevedra, Spain. 

Ritchie's racing career began in the mid-'80s, when she entered a race in Kelowna and learned she loved to compete. 

A strong swimmer, that part of triathlon came naturally to her. But she was keen to work on her biking and running. 

"[Kelowna] was a beautiful place to train," she said.

"The cycling was fabulous here. I had tremendous support from the community, the triathlon community and then the broader community. People went out of their ways to help me."

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In 1991, she won her first triathlon world championship in Australia. The following year, she placed second in Muskoka, Ont., and placed third in Manchester in 1993.

According to World Triathlon, she also won the overall 1993 World Cup title and two Canadian championships. 

"It was a lot of fun," Ritchie said. "It seemed like a very innocent age looking at it now, very optimistic period … we were so lucky to be doing what we were doing."

Jo-Anne Ritchie, pictured during her racing days, was a 'pioneer' in women's triathlon, according to World Triathlon. (World Triathlon)

World Triathlon considers Ritchie a pioneer of women's triathlon, and "one of Canada's greatest early international triathletes."

"A world champion. A pioneer. A Canadian sporting icon. And