Posted: October 19, 2004

Triathlon: Former Ironman World Champion Fuhr to compete at the Soma Triathlon

TEMPE, Ariz.-1997 Ironman World Champion Heather Fuhr (Canada) will compete in the 2004 Soma Triathlon set to take place on Sunday, October 31 in Tempe.

Fuhr is currently second all-time on the Ironman victory list, having claimed 13 Ironman victories in her career, behind only Ironman legend Paula Newby-Fraser, who has posted an amazing 24 Ironman wins. Fuhr is also fresh off a third-place finish at the 2004 Ironman World Championship held in mid-October in Hawaii.

“Having an Ironman legend like Heather compete at the Soma Triathlon is huge for us,” said Soma Triathlon Race Director Jeff Suffolk. “Having an athlete of her caliber race will provide a great thrill to all of our age-group competitors at the event.”

The Canadian standout, still one of the top female competitors in Ironman triathlon, earned her only Ironman World Championship title back in 1997 in Kona, Hawaii. Among her other wins are four victories at Ironman USA Lake Placid (1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003) and an Ironman California title (2000).

The 36-year-old Fuhr stands as one of the top runners in the history of Ironman, often overcoming large deficits on the run to win events.

Fuhr has competed as a pro triathlete since 1991, and is one of a number of top triathletes who hail from Canada.

The Soma triathlon is expected to feature more than 1,000 athletes from around the world competing, more than three times the amount of athletes who competed in the inaugural event in 2003.

The event will feature a half-Ironman distance (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and a 13.1-mile run) and a ¼ Ironman distance event (1000-meter swim, 28-mile bike and a 6.5-mile run).

The Soma triathlon is the premier Half-Ironman distance triathlon in Arizona and will take place on much of the course to be featured at the inaugural Ironman Arizona triathlon set to take place in Tempe on Saturday, April 9, 2005.

Limited entry is still available for the Soma Triathlon, but is expected to close shortly. Athletes who are interested can enter by logging onto www.redrocktriathlon.com.

For more information on the Soma Triathlon, log onto www.redrocktriathlon.com.