Triathlon: Fisher, Gillam to compete in the 2004 Ralphs California Half Ironman

OCEANSIDE, Calif.-U.S. triathlon standouts Andrea Fisher (Austin, Texas) and Amanda Gillam (Boulder, Colo.) will compete in the 2004 Ralphs California Half Ironman scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 3 in Oceanside and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

Fisher finished second in the event one year, finishing less than three minutes behind champion Heather Fuhr (Canada) who will also compete in the 2004 event.

The 31-year-old Fisher has been a staple at Ironman North America events over the past four seasons, posting five top-five finishes, including a career best second-place finish at Ironman Florida back in 2000. Her overall time of 9:38:24 at the Panama City Beach event was also the fastest Ironman in her career.

Most recently, Fisher finished fourth overall at Ironman New Zealand in March.

Gillam is one of a number of up and coming female Ironman performers from the U.S.

The 31-year-old Gillam compete in her first Ironman one year ago, placing fourth at the Ironman Wisconsin triathlon held in September in Madison, Wisc.

The Ralphs California Half Ironman triathlon takes place for the third time in Oceanside and on neighboring Camp Pendleton in 2004. More than 2,000 athletes from around the world are expected to compete. Athletes will be competing for 20 qualifying spots to the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, as well as a $25,000 pro prize purse.

For more information on the Ralphs California Half Ironman, log onto www.ironmancalifornia.com