Posted: May 20, 2004

Triathlon: US Olympic Hopefuls Take on Tempe

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 19, 2004) - Potential U.S. Olympic triathletes Doug Friman, Victor Plata and Julie Swail will bring their talents to Arizona on Sunday where they will compete in the Race to Athens - Tempe as part of the ITU Rio Salado International Triathlon.

The Race to Athens - Tempe is part of USA Triathlon's Race to Athens series that allows U.S. and international athletes to earn valuable International Triathlon Union (ITU) ranking points.

USA Triathlon will send three men and three women to the Olympic Games. Four of the slots have already been filled at two previous qualifying races: the Race to Athens - Honolulu (April 18) and the ITU Triathlon World Championships in Madeira, Portugal (May 9). The final two slots - one man and one woman - will be filled on June 13 at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Triathlon in Bellingham, Wash.

Friman, who grew up in Tucson, Ariz., and Plata, of San Luis Obispo, Calif., are the two favorites for the final men's spot. Both compete for the same racing team - sponsored by KINeSYS.

The final Olympic slot will be determined based on the athletes' finishes among Americans in all three qualifying races. Friman finished as the fifth American in Hawaii and the third American in Portugal. Plata finished as the third American in Hawaii and the fifth American in Portugal.

Swail (Irvine, Calif.) is a dark horse for the women's Olympic slot. She finished as the fourth American in Hawaii and the fourth American in Portugal. But if she can have a great race in Bellingham, anything could still happen.

Even if Swail doesn't qualify for the U.S. Olympic triathlon team this year, she will still be going to Athens as the NBC commentator for women's water polo. Swail earned an Olympic silver medal in water polo at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

Other athletes expected to compete in Tempe include 2002 U.S. national champion Seth Wealing (Fowler, Ind.), 2003 ITU World Cup bronze medalist Mark Fretta (Portland, Ore.) and Australian Chris McCormack.

The women's race will start at 10 a.m. Sunday, followed by the men's race at 11:15 a.m. The course will consist of a 1,500-meter (two-lap) swim, a 40K (six-lap) bike and a 10K (four-lap) run. The race will take place in and around Tempe Town Lake. There will be a $20,000 prize purse. Before the elite race there will be an age group race at Tempe Town Lake starting at 6 a.m. For more information on either race, go to www.riosaladotri.com.

There will be a press conference at noon on Friday, May 21 at Athletes' Performance at 650 South Athletes' Place in Tempe. Julie Swail will be available for photos and interviews. Other elite athletes will be available after Sunday's race.