Nice job, Sarah Haskins, on the silver medal at the ITU World Championships in Vancouver. She’s picked a good time to put her best foot forward on the international scene.

A graduate of Parkway South, Haskins crossed the line in 2 hours, 1 minute, 41 seconds, just four seconds behind Helen Tucker of Great Britain. The pair broke away in the bike race and stayed neck and neck until the final straightaway, when Tucker outkicked Haskins.

Vancouver seems to suit Haskins, who announced her presence on the international scene last year by finishing third.

A former state swimming and cross country champion, Haskins is the favorite to earn the final spot on the U.S. Olympic team when she competes at the Hy-Vee Triathlon Championships on June 22 in Des Moines.

We’re surprised that so many of the big names in the sport _ five of the top ten in the International Triathlon Union rankings _ entered the race. Like Haskins, they had a goal of testing their fitness two weeks ahead of the Hy-Vee, which has the biggest payout of the pro ranks, and to conserve energy for the Olympics in two months. The difference is that Haskins went for the win when she found herself in a two-person breakaway. She collapsed from exhaustion at the finish line.

“Getting on the podium was definitely a goal. I couldn’t ask for more,” Haskins told reporters in Vancouver. You can read the full story, with pictures, here.

To qualify for the Olympics, Sarah has to … Well it’s easier to explain how she’ll miss the Olympics. Sarah Groff has to finish first in Des Moines. The final spot is based on a point system using the best placement of the athletes in two of three qualifying races. Haskins finished second in the first two qualifiers, meaning she has four points. Groff finished third at the most recent qualifier in Tuscaloosa. If Groff wins June 22, she also will have four points but would win the tie-breaker since she won a race. That scenario is the only one in which Haskins would not qualify.

The field will be more competitive in Des Moines because the jumbo payout has attracted most of the top 20 in the world and should overcome any weather adversity. The temperature in Vancouver was in the 50s when the athletes hit the water, extremely cold for a triathlon. No such problem in Des Moines.

Groff is ranked 18th in the world. Haskins, after one race, is 11th. And there’s a whole lot of good triathletes before and between them.