Posted: March 5, 2005

Triathlon: Sindballe, Bracht, Lieto to compete at the 2005 Ralphs California Half Ironman Triathlon

OCEANSIDE, Calif.-A trio of Ironman standouts have announced that they will compete in the 2005 Ralphs California Half Ironman Triathlon set to take place on Saturday, March 19 in Oceanside.

Torbjorn Sindballe (Denmark), Timo Bracht (Germany) and Chris Lieto (Danville, Calif.) have all won Ironman North America events in the past three seasons and are among the early male favorites at the Oceanside event.

Sindballe claimed the first major title of his career in the spring of 2002 by claiming the Ralphs California Half Ironman title in Oceanside, Calif.

Sindballe posted an overall time of three hours, 47 minutes and eight seconds to take the men’s title over a star-studded field that included two-time Ironman World Champion Tim DeBoom.

Sindballe finished third at the Ralphs California Half Ironman event in 2003 and posted the highest Ironman finish of his career that same year by finishing second at Ironman Wisconsin.

The Danish standout was sixth at the 2004 Ironman World Championship as well.

Bracht has won a pair of Ironman titles in his career, winning both Ironman Florida and Ironman France in 2003. The German standout was eighth at the 2004 Ironman World Championship as well.

Lieto posted the first Ironman win of his career at the inaugural Ironman Wisconsin triathlon held in Madison, Wisconsin in September of 2002.

Lieto held off a late charge by Legh to take the title with an overall time of eight hours, 46 minutes and 30 seconds.

The 31-year-old Lieto finished second at the fifth annual Ironman USA Lake Placid triathlon in July of 2003 and was 13th overall at the Ironman World Championship in October of that same year.

Most recently, Lieto placed second at the Florida Half Ironman in May of 2004.

The Ralphs California Half Ironman will take place for the fourth time in 2005 in Oceanside and on neighboring Camp Pendleton. More than 2,000 athletes are expected to take part in the event.

For more information on the Ralphs California Half Ironman log onto www.ironmancalifornia.com.