Posted: October 15, 2004

Triathlon: USA Triathlon News and Notes

Ironman Hawaii

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 15, 2004) – Triathletes from all 50 U.S. states and 48 countries are in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, this weekend for the 26th annual Ironman World Championship, which will be held Saturday.

According to the IronmanLive.com web site, 1,797 athletes are on the start list, 452 (or 25 percent) of which are women.

The race consists of a 2.4-mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile run. Athletes must complete the swim within 2 hours and 20 minutes. The bike cutoff is 10 hours and 30 minutes from the beginning of the race. The run (or total) cutoff time is 17 hours from the beginning of the race.

Race day weather is predicted to be in the mid-80s with high humidity.

The defending pro champions, Lori Bowden and Peter Reid, both of Canada, are both back in 2004. Great Britain's Simon Lessing is also a favorite, even though he is racing for the first time in Hawaii.

Among the U.S. pros to watch are two-time Ironman winner Tim DeBoom (Lyons, Colo.) and Cameron Widoff (Boulder, Colo.) in the men's race and Monica Caplan (Boulder, Colo.), Amanda Gillam (Boulder, Colo.) and Heather Gollnick (Harford, Wis.) on the women's side. Karen Smyers (Lincoln, Mass.) will also be returning to the women's race after taking time off to have a baby.

There will be live race updates at www.ironmanlive.com. The race will be shown on Nov. 20 from 4-6 p.m. on NBC. Be sure to check your local listings.

For more information about the Ironman World Championship, check out IronManLive.comDuathlon World Cup Final

Several U.S. duathletes will compete Sunday at the ITU Duathlon World Cup Finals in Varallo Sesia, Italy.

Greg Watson (Chads Ford, Pa.), Tom Jeffrey (Richmond, Va.), Jay Cech (Chapel Hill, N.C.), Matt Cooke (Washington, D.C.), Amory Rowe (Middletown, R.I.), Cecily Tynan (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Desiree Ficker (Potomac, Md.) will be competing in Italy.

The race will consist of a 10k run, 40k bike and 5k run.

Triathlon on TV

The 2004 International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Triathlon Championships, which were held May 9 in Madeira, Portugal, will be shown Sunday at 3 p.m. EDT on Outdoor Life Network. It will be repeated on Tuesday at noon EDT.

White House Visit

Several members of the U.S. Olympic triathlon team will visit the White House on Monday along with the rest of the 2004 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams. Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla.), Victor Plata (San Luis Obispo, Calif.), Andy Potts (Princeton, N.J.), Sheila Taormina (Clermont, Fla.) and Susan Williams (Littleton, Colo.) are all scheduled to make the whirlwind two-day trip to Washington D.C.

Olympian Barb Lindquist (Alta, Wyo.) will be in New York for the Women's Sports Foundation's Annual Salute to Women in Sports.

Lindquist recently finished second to Olympic gold medal-winning beach volleyball players Misty May and Kerri Walsh in voting for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Spirit Award.

Wildflower and Escape from Alcatraz

Registration for the 2005 Jamba Juice Wildflower Triathlon Festival, to be held April 30-May 1 in Lake San Antonio, Calif., will open on Dec. 1, 2004 at www.tricalifornia.com. Early registration will be available to those who have previously participated at the Jamba Juice Wildflower Triathlons starting Nov. 15.

Triathletes interested in competing in the 2005 Escape from Alcatraz (June 12 in San Francisco, Calif.), one of the most popular triathlons in the country, must either qualify at one of several events around the country, or win a spot through a lottery. Applications for the lottery will be available on Nov. 15, 2004 at www.tricalifornia.com.

USA Triathlon is the national governing body for triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United States. For more information on this and other stories related to USA Triathlon, please contact communications and media relations manager B.J. Evans at 719-597-9090, ext. 105 or at BJ@USATriathlon.org. USA Triathlon’s web site is USATriathlon.org.

From: USATriathlon.org.