Posted: May 18, 2004

Triathlon: Ironman World Champion Bowden among women’s favorites at the Florida Half Ironman at WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.-Defending Ironman World Champion Lori Bowden (Canada) leads an all-star women’s field scheduled to compete at the inaugural Florida Half Ironman at WALT DISNEY WORLDÒ Resort on Sunday, May 23.

One of the most prolific Ironman athletes in history, Bowden has won 12 Ironman titles in her career, third most all-time, including a pair of Ironman World Championship titles (1999 and 2003).

Besides her two Ironman World titles, the Canadian standout has also finished second at the World Championship in both 2000 and 2001 and is one of only four women ever to break the nine-hour mark in an Ironman event.

Bowden registered the second-fastest women’s Ironman finish time in history at Ironman Austria in July of 2002, finishing the event in 8:51:22.

Bowden has also broke the nine-hour mark at Ironman Austria in 2001 (8:59:49) and Ironman Australia in 2000 (8:55:08). Bowden also has claimed five Subaru Ironman Canada titles (1997-2000 and 2002) and remains a fan favorite at the Penticton event.

Among the top challengers to Bowden at the Florida Half Ironman are expected to fellow Canadians Heather Fuhr and Lisa Bentley.

Fuhr is currently second all-time on the Ironman victory list, having claimed 13 Ironman events in her career, 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 Ironman USA Lake Placid (1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003) and an Ironman California title (2000).

The 36-year-old Fuhr stands as one of the top runners in the history of Ironman, often overcoming large deficits on the run to win events.

Bentley is one of a plethora of Canadian women who rank among the elite in the sport of triathlon.

The 34-year-old has won six Ironman titles in here career, including Ironman Australia the past three seasons (2002, 2003 and 2004) and Ironman New Zealand twice (2000 and 2001) and posted a career-best 5th place finish at the Ironman World Championship in 2003.

Bentley also posted a dominant performance in winning the 2003 Subaru Ironman Canada title with an impressive time of 9:21:18.

Well-known for her running ability, Bentley has also represented Canada at the Pan American Games (1995) in Olympic Distance Triathlon and has posted top five finishes at Ironman Germany (2000 and 2001) and Subaru Ironman Canada (1997 and 2002).

Germany’s Katja Schumacher and Ute Meuckel, both of whom have won Ironman events in their careers, should battle the Canadian trio for the women’s title.

Schumacher has posted three Ironman wins in her career, including two victories at Ironman Germany (1998 and 2002). The 35-year-old Schumacher also won Ironman Florida (2001) and topped an all-star field to win the 2002 Ralphs California Half Ironman held annually in Oceanside, Calif.

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).

Four U.S. athletes should also be in the hunt against the stellar international field.

Heather Gollnick (Hartford, Wisc.), Andrea Fisher (Austin, Texas), Amanda Gillam (Boulder, Colo.) and Monica Caplan (Boulder, Colo.) have all had success at the half-Ironman and Ironman distance.

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.

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 has been improving steadily, breaking the 10 hour-mark for the first time in earning a fourth-place finish at Subaru Ironman Canada back in August of 2000. The 31-year-old also registered a top-five finish at the inaugural Ironman USA Lake Placid triathlon back in 1999.

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. and is a member of ‘Team Ironman’. Gillam posted her best performance at an Ironman one year ago by placing fourth at the Ironman Wisconsin triathlon held in September in Madison, Wisc.

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 third-place finish was the highest at an Ironman in Caplan’s short professional career.

New Zealand’s Lynley Allison will also be in the mix on May 23.

Allison has posted four top-five finishes in her Ironman career, including runner-up finishes at Ironman New Zealand in 2004 and at the inaugural Ironman USA Coeur d’Alene triathlon held in June of 2003.

The 31-year-old New Zealander also finished fourth at Ironman New Zealand in 2003 (9:41:09), 3rd at Ironman New Zealand in 2002 (9:34:46), fifth at Ironman Korea in 2002 (10:05:42) and sixth at Ironman New Zealand in 2001 (10:05:37).

One final darkhorse in the field is Canada’s Melissa Spooner. Spooner has struggled with injuries over the past three seasons, but has won three Ironman titles in her career including the 2000 Ironman USA Lake Placid title.

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.