Triathlon: Jones, Chabaud win 2004 Ralphs California Half Ironman

OCEANSIDE, Calif.-Michellie Jones (Australia) and Francois Chabaud (France) won the men’s and women’s titles respectively at the 2004 Ralphs California Half Ironman held on Saturday in Oceanside and on nearby Camp Pendleton.

Jones, the 2000 Olympic silver medallist for triathlon, rarely competes at the longer triathlon distances, but bested a stellar women’s field to take the 2004 title with an overall time of four hours and 34 minutes.

Jones held off a late rally by defending champion Heather Fuhr (Canada), who posted an overall time of 4:37:40. Fuhr is a four-time Ironman USA Lake Placid champion and posted the fastest run time (1:22:29) among women competing on Saturday.

Monica Caplan (Boulder, Colo.) was third in 4:39:46, with 2002 Ralphs California Half Ironman champion Katja Schumacher (Germany) fourth in 4:39:55 and Nicole DeBoom (Lyons, Colo.) fifth in 4:40:54.

Chabaud, the 2002 Ironman France champion, battled with Australian standout Luke Bell throughout the day before pulling away on the run to win the event with an overall time of 4:01:04.

Bell, who placed fifth at the Ironman World Championship last October, finished second with a strong time of 4:02:19 and Rutger Beke of Belgium was third in 4:07:22. Beke was second at the Ironman World Championship in 2003 and was also second at the Ralphs California Half Ironman in 2003.

Craig Alexander (Australia) was fourth in 4:10:18 and 2003 Ironman USA Coeur d’Alene champion Michael Lovato (Boulder, Colo.) was fifth in 4:11:10.

More than 2,000 athletes competed in the 2004 event, which was the third time that the event took place in Oceanside. Camp Pendleton played host to a full Ironman-distanced event in 2000 and 2001. A half-Ironman consists of a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike and a 13.1-mile marathon.

Athletes were 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.

Results from the Ralphs California Half Ironman - April 3, 2004 - Oceanside, Calif.

Men

Results from the Ralphs California Half Ironman, April 3, 2004 - Oceanside, Calif. 

Overall

Men
1.	Francois Chabaud, France, 4:01:04
2.	Luke Bell, Australia, 4:02:19
3.	Rutger Beke, Belgium, 4:07:22
4.	Craig Alexander, Australia, 4:10:18
5.	Michael Lovato, Boulder, Colo., 4:11:10
6.	Jasper Blake, Canada, 4:12:51
7.	Matt Seeley, Polson, Mont., 4:13:23
8.	C.J. Castle, Santa Barbara, Calif., 4:13:53
9.	Gerrit DePauw, Belgium, 4:16:30
10.	Paul Fritzsche, Danbury, Conn., 4:18:17

Women
1.	Michellie Jones, Australia, 4:34:00
2.	Heather Fuhr, Canada, 4:37:40
3.	Monica Caplan, Boulder, Colo., 4:39:46
4.	Katja Schumacher, Germany, 4:39:55
5.	Nicole DeBoom, Lyons, Colo., 4:40:54
6.	Amanda Gillam, Boulder, Colo., 4:43:05
7.	Lisabeth Kristensen, Switzerland, 4:46:07
8.	Heather Gollnick, Hartford, Wisc., 4:46:31
9.	Katja Meyers, San Diego, Calif., 4:51:17
10.	Liz Vitai, La Mesa, Calif., 4:51:47

Age Group

Men 18-24
1.	Gerrit DePauw, Belgium, 4:16:30
2.	Nick Thompson, Fair Oaks, Calif., 4:29:21
3.	Warren Sutton, La Canada, Calif., 4:31:30

Men 25-29
1.	Tim Hola, Highlands Ranch, Colo., 4:33:15
2.	AJ Johnson, Highlands Ranch, Colo., 4:36:39
3.	PJ Deschenes, Somerville, Mass., 4:37:31

Men 30-34
1.	Arthur Mathisen, Fort Irwin, Calif., 4:26:26
2.	Marc Bamert, Switzerland, 4:29:00
3.	William Poteet, Goodyear, Ariz., 4:33:49

Men 35-39
1.	Albert Boyce, Stockton, Calif., 4:29:42
2.	Eduard Korat, Campbell, Calif., 4:31:50
3.	Holger Beckmann, Redondo Beach, Calif., 4:32:20

Men 40-44
1.	Kevin Herbert, Newport Beach, Calif., 4:33:13
2.	James Allen, Davis, Calif., 4:33:35
3.	Geoff Cleveland, Phoenix, Ariz., 4:34:11

Men 45-49
1.	Mark Lesinski, Evergreen, Colo., 4:50:08
2.	Doug Marshall, San Ramon, Calif., 4:52:59
3.	David Mcatee, Oceanside, Calif., 4:55:52

Men 50-54
1.	Rick Trachok, Reno, Nev., 4:41:29
2.	Dean Harper, Walnut Creek, Calif., 4:41:29
3.	Randy Carter, Redding, Calif., 4:52:15

Men 55-59
1.	Duncan Thomas, Santa Barbara, Calif., 4:54:55
2.	John Murphy, Oceanside, Calif., 5:11:46
3.	Roger Freeman, La Jolla, Calif., 5:18:47

Men 60-64
1.	Peter Wood, New Zealand, 5:07:03
2.	Patrick Wickens, Redondo Beach, Calif., 5:15:59
3.	Eduoard Rodriguez, San Diego, Calif., 5:29:48

Men 65-69
1.	Ron Ottaway, Springfield, Ill., 5:38:41
2.	Duane Reed, Clyde Hill, Wash., 5:51:14
3.	Hans Dieben, Chula Vista, Calif., 6:04:24

Men 70-74
1.	Lew Hollander, Bend, Ore., 6:22:58
2.	Raymond Colliver, Canada, 6:54:49
3.	Bill Harter, Garden Grove, Calif., 7:22:51

Men 75-79
1.	Loren Leonard, Hawthorne, Calif., 7:13:25
2.	Ken Nash, San Jose, Calif., 7:30:18

Women 18-24

1.	Katja Meyers, San Diego, Calif., 4:51:17
2.	Sarah Shulman, Atherton, Calif., 5:03:00
3.	Colleen Cassidy, Truckee, Calif., 5:16:29

Women 25-29
1.	Ginger Ellsworth, San Francisco, Calif., 4:54:56
2.	Kathleen Calkins, Sacramento, Calif., 5:00:16
3.	Amy Kerfoot, Santa Barbara, Calif., 5:10:40

Women 30-34
1.	Shawn Chapler, Alameda, Calif., 4:54:51
2.	Jean Harvey, Danville, Calif., 4:58:20
3.	Kiki Rutowski, San Francisco, Calif., 5:01:09

Women 35-39
1.	Kathryn Shobe, Irvine, Calif., 5:01:15 Tru
2.	Susan Rains, San Diego, Calif., 5:01:24
3.	Julie Wilson, Sammamish, Wash., 5:07:10

Women 40-44
1.	Elizabeth Bulman, San Diego, Calif., 5:01:02
2.	Shannon Cutting, San Antonio, Texas, 5:06:45
3.	Terry Martin-Duvel, Encinitas, Calif., 5:09:07

Women 45-49
1.	Gail Leveque, White Mountain Lake, Ariz., 5:16:30
2.	Vickie Alexander, San Diego, Calif., 5:17:06
3.	Deborah Taylor, Bellevue, Wash., 5:17:16

Women 50-54
1.	Nancy Call, El Paso, Texas, 5:41:11
2.	Becky Ballantyne, Turlock, Calif., 5:43:50
3.	Susan Shafer, Phoenix, Ariz., 5:44:01

Women 55-59
1.	Diane Ridgeway, Arvada, Colo., 5:38:50
2.	Karen Aydelott, Pasadena, Calif., 5:54:21