Naperville resident Jennifer Garrison became the National Women's Amateur Triathlon Champion on July 8 after placing first place overall women at the 2006 USA Triathlon (USAT) Age Group National Championship held at Smithville Lake, outside of Kansas City, Mo.

Along with some 800 male and female athletes from across the country, Garrison completed the Olympic distance race, which began with a 1.5K swim, followed by a 40K bike ride and ended with a 10K run, in just over 2 hours and 13 minutes. She now qualifies to race the International Triathlon Union (ITU) Short Course Triathlon in Lausanne, Switzerland in September.

Garrison (formerly Arbetman) is no stranger to sports competition. She competed as a member of Naperville North High School's swim team all four years, and then discovered a love of running while training for Purdue University's crew team. She says the move to triathlons was a natural progression.

Garrison began her triathlon career with Naperville's Danskin- sponsored triathlon, now known as the Rivers Edge Triathlon, and was bitten by the bug. She recently finished first in Naperville's 2006 Subaru U.S. Women's Triathlon and has participated in numerous other races including two Ironman Hawaii and one Ironman Florida competitions.

Garrison works as a fitness coach and trainer and lives in Naperville with her husband, Bill, and their one-year-old son.