Posted: November 4, 2004

Triathlon: Leder, Bernhard lead men’s field at 2004 Ironman Florida triathlon

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla.-1999 Ironman Florida champion Lothar Leder (Germany) and five-time Ironman Switzerland champion Olivier Bernhard (Switzerland) lead a strong men’s field scheduled to compete in the 2004 Ironman Florida triathlon set to take place on Saturday, November 6 in Panama City Beach and surrounding Bay County.

The 33-year-old Leder is one of the most decorated Ironman athletes in the history of the sport, having claimed eight Ironman titles in his career. Leder is one of only five Ironman athletes to break the eight-hour mark at an Ironman event, posting sub-eight hour times in 1996 and 1997 at Ironman Germany.

Among Leder’s titles are wins at Ironman Germany (1996, 2000, 2001, 2002), Ironman Japan (2003), Ironman South Africa (2001), Ironman Florida (1999) and Ironman New Zealand (1997).

Bernhard has been a dominant force at Ironman Switzerland throughout his career winning the event five of the last seven years, including the last three consecutively. Bernhard has also had top three finishes at Ironman Australia (2002), Ironman Florida (2001), Ironman Canada (2000) and Ironman New Zealand (1998 and 2000 and 2003).

Three other Canadians who have won Ironman titles in their careers (Jamie Cleveland, Tom Evans and Dave Harju) will also compete in the Panama City Beach event.

Cleveland has won the lone Ironman title of his career in Panama City Beach, claiming the Ironman Florida title in 2000 with an overall time of eight hours, 37 minutes and 58 seconds. Cleveland also finished fourth overall at the 2002 Ironman Wisconsin Triathlon.

Evans posted the first Ironman victory of his career in August of 2004 by winning Subaru Ironman Canada, held annually in Penticton, B.C., with a time of eight hours, 28 minutes and six seconds.

From nearby Naramata, B.C., Evans was also second overall at Subaru Ironman Canada in 2003.

Harju has claimed titles at the Ironman Wisconsin triathlon each of the past two seasons. The Canadian standout posted times of eight hours, 52 minutes and 33 seconds in 2004 and 8:55:26 in 2003 to earn victories at the Madison event.

The 36-year-old has also been in the top ten at Ironman USA Lake Placid (eighth in 2004, sixth in 2002 and 10th in 2000) as well as Ironman Florida (2001 and 2003).

Two international athletes who have won Ironman events in their career are also scheduled to compete in the 2004 Ironman Florida event.

Eduardo Sturla of Argentina will also compete in the event, bringing the number of men in the field to have won Ironman titles up to six

An experienced triathlete, Sturla has one Ironman title to his credit, winning Ironman Brazil (2001) with a time of eight hours, 11 minutes and 10 seconds, nearly 10 minutes ahead of second-place finisher Faris Al-Sultan.

The 30-year-old Sturla has posted three other top five-finishes in his Ironman career, including a fourth-place finish at Ironman Switzerland in 2004.

Other athletes to watch include Bjorn Andersson (Sweden), Jamey Yon (Charlotte, N.C.) and Mario Vanhoenacker (Belgium).

Andersson was third at Ironman New Zealand in 2004 and is considered one of the strongest cyclists in the sport. Yon has finished as high as second at an Ironman (in 2000 at Ironman USA Lake Placid), while Vanhoenacker was fifth in Panama City Beach in 2001.

More than 2,000 athletes from around the U.S. and the world are expected to compete in Ironman Florida, which enters its sixth year in Panama City Beach.

Athletes will be competing for 100 qualifying spots to the 2005 Ironman World Championship held in October in Kona, Hawaii, as well as a $50,000 pro prize purse.

For more information on the Ironman Florida triathlon, log onto www.ironmanflorida.com. \