Posted: November 5, 2004

Triathlon: Two-time defending champion Comerford leads strong women’s field at 2004 Ironman Florida Triathlon

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla.-Two-time defending women’s champion Bella Comerford (Scotland) leads a strong women’s field scheduled to compete at the 2004 Ironman Florida triathlon set to take place on Saturday, November 6 in Panama City Beach and surrounding Bay County.

Comerford has won Ironman Florida twice in her career, posting a career-best Ironman time of nine hours, 26 minutes and 17 seconds in winning the Panama City Beach event in 2003.

A brilliant runner, Comerford has overcome large deficits both years in winning Ironman Florida. The 26-year-old also logged a third-place finish at Ironman Lanzarote in 2003.

Two top triathletes are expected to be among the major challengers to Comerford in her quest to win three straight Ironman Florida titles.

2004 California Half-Ironman champion Michellie Jones (Australia), 2004 and Ironman USA Coeur d’Alene champion Lynley Allison (New Zealand) should be in the thick of things at the Panama City Beach event.

Jones is making the transition to long-distance triathlon, and Ironman Florida will be the first Ironman event of her career.

The 2000 Olympic silver medallist in triathlon, Jones bested an all-star field to win the 2004 California Half Ironman, posting an overall time of four hours and 34 minutes.

Allison earned the first Ironman victory of her career in June of 2004 by winning Ironman USA Coeur d’Alene. Allison posted a time of nine hours, 31 minutes and 56 seconds to win the event.

The 32-year-old New Zealander has also posted a pair of second-place Ironman finishes in her career, having finished second at Ironman New Zealand in 2004 and at the inaugural Ironman USA Coeur d’Alene triathlon in 2003.

Andrea Fisher (Austin, Texas) and Barbara Buenahora (Argentina) will also compete in the 2004 Ironman Florida Triathlon and should challenge for the title.

Fisher has been a staple at Ironman North America events over the past four seasons, posting six top-five finishes, including a career best second-place finish at Ironman Florida back in 2000. Her overall time of 9:38:24 at the Panama City Beach event was also the fastest Ironman in her career.

An All-American swimmer at the University of Texas, Fisher has been improving steadily, breaking the 10-hour mark for the first time in earning a fourth-place finish at Subaru Ironman Canada back in August of 2000. The 31-year-old also registered a top-five finish at the inaugural Ironman USA Lake Placid triathlon back in 1999. This year has seen Fisher finish fourth at Ironman New Zealand and third at Ironman Wisconsin.

Buenahora won the first Ironman event of her career in May of 2003 winning Ironman Brazil with an overall time of nine hours, 33 minutes and 21 seconds. Buenahora has also excelled in a number of Ironman North America events as well finishing third at Ironman Florida (2002) and at Ironman USA Lake Placid (2000) among the nine top-five Ironman finishes of her career.

Three other U.S. athletes who have registered top five Ironman finishes in their career; Deanna Frank (Birmingham, Ala.), Lara Shaw (Tampa, Fla.) and Alison Hayden (Dade City, Fla.), will also compete in the 2004 event.

Frank was third at Ironman Florida in 2001 and finished fourth at Subaru Ironman Canada in 2001. Shaw was fifth at Ironman Florida in 2002 while Hayden was fifth at Ironman Wisconsin in 2004 and second at Ironman Brazil in 2000.

Three other international athletes should also be in the mix at Ironman Florida in 2004. Katia Farisa Ruschel (Brazil), Tamara Kazulina (Ukraine) and Maria Danais (Canada) all have registered success at Ironman events.

Ruschel was fifth at Ironman Brazil in 2004, while Kazulina was third at Ironman New Zealand in March and also second at Ironman Austria in 2000. Danais was fifth overall at the Panama City Beach event in 2003.

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