Posted: September 3, 2004

Triathlon: LA Field Tops 1,850

As of Wednesday, September 1, more than 1,850 competitors officially have registered for the September 12 event. Twenty-seven (27) states and seven countries are represented among the competitors.

The Pro Field …

Billed as the “Battle of the Champions,” Australians Craig Walton (2002 and 2003 LA Triathlon champion) and Chris McCormack (2000 and 2001 champion) will meet head-to-head on September 12. This will be their first head-to-head matchup ever in an Olympic distance, non-drafting race. Walton is a six-time ITU World Cup Champion and three-time Australian National Champion. McCormack is an ITU World Champion, ITU World Cup Champion and four-time Ironman Champion. Walton and McCormack’s training focus is on the Hawaiian Ironman World Championship.

Walton and McCormack will be challenged by Craig Alexander (AUS), Matt Reed (NZL) and Greg Remaly (USA). Alexander and Reed finished one and two respectively in the August 29 Accenture Chicago Triathlon. Alexander finished third in the 2003 City of LA Triathlon and was second in 2002. Up-and-comer Remaly won his first ITU World Cup event on June 27th in New York City, and finished 4th in Chicago behind Alexander, Reed and Walton.

Identical twins Ran and Dan Alterman (ISR) will be challenging to tell apart if their bib numbers are lost. The Alterman twins have been the reigning champions in the Israeli Triathlon scene since 2002 and were part of their country’s reserve squad for the 2004 Athens Games.

Australian Emma Snowsill, 2003 ITU World Champion, currently is the favorite among the professional women. She easily won the Accenture Chicago Triathlon on August 29th by more than four minutes over her closest competitor. Her training focus, like her boyfriend Craig Walton, is on winning the Hawaiian Ironman World Championship. Other international elite competitors include Samantha McGlone (CAN), a 2004 Olympian; Evelyn Williamson (NZL); Selene Perez (MEX); and Kelly Reed (NZL).

In addition to Remaly, the United States currently is represented by Derek Kite (Malibu, CA), an LA County Ocean Lifeguard; Haven Barnes (Clermont, FL) and Lewis Elliott (Scottsdale, AZ) on the men’s side; and Beth Carlson (Seal Beach, CA), Julie Swail (Irvine, CA) and Ruth Vesler (Beverly Hills, CA) on the women’s side. Swail was a 2000 Olympic silver medalist for the U.S. water polo team and served as the water polo commentator in Athens.