Posted: May 19, 2004

Triathlon: Brown, Bell lead strong men’s field at inaugural Florida Half Ironman at WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.-Four-time Ironman New Zealand champion Cameron Brown (New Zealand) and Australian standout Luke Bell (Australia) lead a strong men’s field scheduled to compete in the inaugural Florida Half Ironman at WALT DISNEY WORLDÒ Resort being held on Sunday, May 23.

Brown has developed into one of the top Ironman triathletes in the world, having won Ironman New Zealand the past four consecutive years over strong fields.

Brown posted an overall time of eight hours, 30 minutes and thirty seconds in winning the 2004 Ironman New Zealand event, topping Sweden’s Clas Bjorling by just over six minutes.

The 31-year-old posted his best finish at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii in 2001, placing second to two-time champion Tim DeBoom (Lyons, Colo.) Brown was third at the World Championship in 2002 and 2003.

Brown has also finished third at the Ironman USA Lake Placid triathlon twice.

Bell burst onto the Ironman scene in impressive fashion in 2003, placing third at Ironman Australia and then ending his year in fine fashion with a fifth-place overall finish at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii in October. He started this season right with an impressive second place finish at California Half Ironman in April. The 24-year-old Bell also finished sixth at Ironman Australia in 2002.

Two long-time short course standouts from Great Britain, Spencer Smith and Simon Lessing, should also challenge for the title at the inaugural event.

Smith has seen major success at both long and short course triathlons in his career. The 29-year-old has posted a pair of top ten finishes at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, including a fifth-place finish in 1998 and has posted a pair of Ironman wins in his career (Ironman Florida in 2001 and Ironman Brazil in 2002).

Smith is a two-time ITU Olympic Distance World Champion (1993 and 1994) and has recorded victories in a number of short course races (St. Croix International Triathlon, St. Anthony’s and the Carlsbad Triathlon to name a few).

Lessing is a four-time ITU World Champion and is a long-time standout at the short-course distance.

Having exhausted almost all the possibilities and challenges short distance triathlon could pose for him, Lessing has decided to make the move to longer distance events in 2004.

Events in 2004 that Lessing is scheduled to compete in include the Florida Half Ironman at WALT DISNEY WORLDÒ Resort, as well as Ironman USA Lake Placid in July.

Three other athletes who have won Ironman titles; Chris Lieto (Danville, Calif.), Michael Lovato (Boulder, Colo.) and Viktor Zymestev (Ukraine) could also challenge at the Florida event. L

Lieto posted the first Ironman win of his career at the inaugural Ironman Wisconsin triathlon held in Madison, Wisc. in September of 2002.

Lieto held off a late charge by Australia’s Chris Legh to take the title with an overall time of eight hours, 46 minutes and 30 seconds.

The 32-year-old Lieto finished second at fifth annual Ironman USA Lake Placid triathlon in July of 2003 and was 13th overall at the Ironman World Championship in October.

Lovato posted the first Ironman win of his career by claiming the men’s title at the inaugural Ironman USA Coeur d’Alene triathlon in June of 2003. Lovato overcame brutal conditions to post an overall time of eight hours, 40 minutes and 59 seconds to claim the title.

2003 also saw the 30-year-old place 9th overall at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii with an overall time of 8:36:56.

Zymestev is a two-time Ironman Austria champion posting impressive times in winning the event in 2002 and 2003.

Other athletes who could challenge for the inaugural men’s title include Bjorn Andersson (Sweden), Andriy Yasterbov (Ukraine) and James Bonney (Austin, Texas).

Andersson was third at Ironman New Zealand in March, while Yasterbov was second at Ironman Florida last November. Bonney was fifth at Ironman New Zealand in 2002.

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.