Posted: July 27, 2004

Triathlon: 2004 CEO Ironman Challenge At Ironman USA Lake Placid

LAKE PLACID, NY - John Potter, CEO of a Periodontics company in Pennsylvania as well as serving as head of Periodontics at Sacred Heart Hospital, won the 2004 CEO Ironman Challenge in Lake Placid on July 25. Potter took almost 40 minutes off his time from last year, finishing the 2.4-mile swim, 112- mile bike, and 26.2-mile marathon run in 10 hours, 30 minutes.

Mike Dannelley, President of American Interbanc Mortgage, finished second overall, and was the fastest in the 40 – 49 division, finishing in 10:39. John Macfarlane, COO of Tudor Investment Corporation, narrowly beat Chuck Chokel of White Mountains Insurance to claim the over 50 category in 11:58. Carri Bennet, CEO of Bennet & Bennet Law Firm, won the female category in 16:03.

All four qualified for the Hawaii Ironman World Championship in October, and will be joined by Michael Fisch, President of American Securities, who earned the fifth and final CEO Challenge Hawaii slot.

Conditions were ideal for the race, with almost no wind, cloud cover and comfortable 70 degree temperatures, leading to many personal bests and great Ironman debuts.

Doug Lebda, Founder and CEO of LendingTree, was overcome with emotion as he crossed the finish line in his first ever Ironman in 11:51. He said, “the experience far exceeded my expectations, and the attention to detail and organization of the event blew me away. I can’t get over how great the day was, I found myself overjoyed as I realized I was finally going to make it – I was finally going to become an Ironman!”

Ted Kennedy, President of Ironman Motivations stated to the CEO Challenge finishers, “You are now a member of an incredibly exclusive club. This is a club that no amount of money, influence, or power can buy its way into. Donald Trump or George Bush cannot get into this club – the only way is to be a CEO and finish an Ironman. Once you are a CEO Ironman Challenge finisher you enter into a very exclusive fraternity and you will find you have made friends that can relate to what you are going through, and will always be there for you.”

Details on the 2005 CEO Ironman Challenge events will be released shortly. More information can be found at www.ceochallenges.com, or by contacting Ted Kennedy at Ted@ironmanusa.com