Triathlon: Defending champion Fuhr leads women’s field at the 2004 Ralphs California Half Ironman

OCEANSIDE, Calif.-Defending champion Heather Fuhr will lead a strong women’s field scheduled to compete in the 2004 Ralphs California Half Ironman set to take place on Saturday, April 3 in Oceanside and on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

Fuhr claimed the women’s title a year ago in Oceanside by posting an overall time of 4:39:29, two and a half minutes better than runner-up Andrea Fisher (Austin, Texas.)

Fuhr has claimed 13 Ironman wins in her career, second all-time behind only Ironman legend Paula Newby-Fraser who has posted an amazing 23 Ironman victories.

The Canadian standout, still one of the top female competitors in Ironman triathlon, earned her only Ironman World Championship title back in 1997 in Kona, Hawaii. Among her other wins are four victories at HSBC Ironman USA Lake Placid (1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003) and an Ironman California title (2000).

Four athletes who have claimed Ironman wins of their own are among the top competitors expected to challenge Fuhr at the 2004 event. Heather Gollnick (Hartford, Wisc.), Ute Mueckel (Germany), Melissa Spooner (Canada) and Katja Schumacher (Germany) have won a total of 11 Ironman events in their career and are all a threat to take home the 2004 Ralphs title.

Gollnick has burst onto the professional triathlon scene in very impressive fashion, winning the first three Ironman events that she competed in as a professional.

Gollnick posted the first Ironman win of her career at the inaugural Ironman Wisconsin triathlon held on September of 2002. Gollnick’s overall time of nine hours, 54 minutes and 54 seconds was more than 18 minutes faster than second-place finisher Yoko Okuda of Japan.

The 33-year-old overcame brutal weather conditions to claim her second Ironman Wisconsin women’s title in September of 2003. Gollnick also won the inaugural Ironman USA Coeur d’Alene title back in June of 2003.

Mueckel has claimed a pair of Ironman titles in her career, winning Ironman Germany (1996) and Ironman Switzerland (1997). Mueckel posted times of nine hours, 21 minutes and 30 seconds and 9:32:48 in winning the Germany and Switzerland titles respectively.

The 35-year-old German finished fifth at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii in 1995 and has also posted six other top-five finishes including Subaru Ironman Canada (fifth in 2000), Ironman Germany (fourth in 1998, fifth in 1995) and Ironman New Zealand (1998) and Ironman Florida (2002 and 2003).

Spooner is part of the outstanding contingent of female triathletes who call Canada home. Spooner has claimed three Ironman titles in her career, including the 2000 Ironman USA Lake Placid triathlon.

Spooner has also posted victories at Ironman New Zealand in 1999, and Ironman Lanzarote in 1998. Her 1999 Ironman New Zealand title saw her set the course record for the event, with a time of nine hours, 20 minutes and 41 seconds.

The 1998 season also saw Spooner’s top finish at the Ironman World Championship, as the Canadian finished fourth at the event.

Schumacher topped a star-studded field to win the Oceanside event in 2002, posting an overall time of four hours, 18 minutes and 44 seconds).

The German standout has posted three Ironman wins in her career, including two victories at Ironman Germany (1998 and 2002).

Four top U.S. triathletes are also expected to challenge for the 2004 Ralphs California Half Ironman title.

Andrea Fisher (Austin, Texas), Amanda Gillam (Boulder, Colo.), Nicole DeBoom (Lyons, Colo.), and Monica Caplan (Boulder, Colo.) have all registered success at Ironman events around the world in their careers.

Fisher finished second in the event one year, finishing less than three minutes behind Fuhr 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 raced in her first Ironman one year ago, placing fourth at the Ironman Wisconsin triathlon held in September in Madison, Wisc.

DeBoom was third at the Ralphs California Half Ironman event in 2003, finishing behind only Fuhr and Fisher.

The 32-year-old has posted a pair of top-five finishes in her Ironman career, and has three top-15 finishes at the Ironman World Championship held annually in Kona, Hawaii.

Competing in the first Ironman distance event of her career in 2000, DeBoom took third place at Ironman California. The 32-year-old returned to finish fifth in 2001 at the same event.

Nicole is also the wife of two-time Ironman World Champion Tim DeBoom.

Caplan is one of a number of up-and-coming women from the United States competing at the Ironman-distance.

2003 was a breakout year for the 27-year-old, as she placed second at the Utah Half-Ironman (behind veteran Ironman standout Lisa Bentley) and was third at Ironman USA Coeur d’Alene in June of 2003, the first Ironman of her career. Caplan is one of the strongest swimmers in the sport of triathlon and should be one of the pacesetters at the Ralphs event.

One late big name addition to the field is 2000 Olympic silver medallist Michellie Jones (Australia). While Jones is a short-course standout and will be doing the race more for fun and experience at the longer distance, look for her to shake things up with the top contenders in the field.

Others who could challenge for the 2004 Ralphs title include Lisabeth Kristensen (Switzerland) and Dolly Ginter (Huntington Beach, Calif.).

The Ralphs California Half Ironman triathlon takes place for the third time in Oceanside and on neighboring Camp Pendleton. 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.