Posted: May 6, 2004

Triathlon: Gillam, Fisher To race at Florida Half Ironman at WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort

CLERMONT, Fla.-A pair of top U.S. triathletes will join an already impressive women’s field scheduled to compete at the inaugural Florida Half Ironman at WALT DISNEY WORLDâ Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Sunday, May 23.

Amanda Gillam (Boulder, Colo.) and Andrea Fisher (Austin, Texas) join a women’s field that features three athletes (Lisa Bentley and Heather Fuhr of Canada and Heather Gollnick of Hartford, Wisc.) who have won Ironman events in their career.

Gillam is among the top up-and-coming female Ironman performers in the U.S. and is a member of Team Ironman.

The 30-year-old posted her best performance at an Ironman one year ago by placing fourth at the 2003 Ironman Wisconsin triathlon, and most recently finished sixth at the Ralphs California Half Ironman held in Oceanside, Calif., back in April.

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.

An All-American swimmer at the University of Texas, Fisher also registered a top-five finish at the inaugural Ironman USA Lake Placid triathlon in 1999. Most recently, Fisher finished fourth overall at Ironman New Zealand in March.

More than 2,000 triathletes from around the world are expected to compete in the inaugural Florida Half Ironman at WALT DISNEY WORLDâ Resort. Athletes will be competing for 30 qualifying spots to the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, as well as a $25,000 pro prize purse.

For more information on the event, log onto www.floridahalfironman.com.