Posted: July 19, 2004

Triathlon: Kotland, Martin, Buenahora to compete at 2004 Ironman USA Lake Placid triathlon

LAKE PLACID, N.Y.-The pro field at the 2004 Ironman USA Lake Placid triathlon continues to get stronger as Peter Kotland (Spartanburg, S.C.), Andy Martin (Bend, Ore.) and Barbara Buenahora (Argentina) have announced that they will compete in the event to be held on Sunday, July 25 in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Kotland has been a staple at Ironman North America events, posting six top-ten finishes over the past five years.

The 30-year-old finished a career-best third at the Ironman California triathlon held back in 2000 at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base. Kotland’s time of 9:14:27 put him a little more than a minute out of second place at Ironman California.

A strong runner, Kotland’s marathon time of 2:49:31 was the fastest at the Camp Pendleton event.

Kotland also posted a fourth place overall finish at the 2000 Ironman Florida triathlon and was fifth at the inaugural Ironman USA Coeur d’Alene triathlon in 2003.

Martin is fresh off a strong fourth-place finish at the 2004 Ironman USA Coeur d’Alene triathlon and could surprise at the Lake Placid event.

Buenahora joins a women’s field that already features four-time Ironman USA Lake Placid champion Heather Fuhr (Canada), 2000 Ironman USA Lake Placid champion Melissa Spooner (Canada) and two-time Ironman New Zealand champion Joanna Lawn (New Zealand).

Buenahora won the first Ironman event of her career in May of 2003 winning Ironman Brazil with an overall time of nine hours, 33 minutes and 21 seconds. Buenahora has also excelled in a number of Ironman North America events as well finishing third at Ironman Florida (2002) and at Ironman USA Lake Placid (2000) among the nine top-five Ironman finishes of her career.

More than 1,800 athletes are scheduled to compete in the sixth annual Ironman USA Lake Placid, one of the most popular triathlons in the world.

Athletes will be vying for 100 qualifying spots for the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, as well as a $100,000 pro prize purse.

For more information on Ironman USA Lake Placid, log onto www.ironmanusa.com.