Posted: May 22, 2005

Triathlon: Lessing, Badmann win second annual Ford Florida Half Ironman at WALT DISNEY WORLD^R Resort

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA—Simon Lessing (Great Britain) and Natascha Badmann (Switzerland) claimed the men and women’s titles respectively at the second annual Ford Florida Half-Ironman at WALT DISNEY WORLD^R Resort held on Sunday.

Lessing repeated his championship feat from a year ago by recording an overall time of three hours, 52 minutes and six seconds, beating runner-up Victor Zyemtsev (3:57:41) by more than five minutes. Lessing was the first athlete out of the swim and second off the bike behind Sweden’s Bjorn Andersson. Lessing overtook Andersson early in the run and rolled to his second Ford Florida Half title.

Ukrainian Zyemtsev posted an impressive run time of 1:16:17 to earn second place overall. Zyemtsev is a three-time Ironman Austria champion.

Australian Luke Bell rounded out the men’s top three with a time of 3:58:25. Bell finished second at Ironman Australia this past April.

Michael Lovato (Boulder, Colo.) finished fourth overall in 4:00:54, and Levi Maxwell (Australia) finished fifth overall in 4:01:28.

Badmann, a five-time Ironman World Champion, completed the course in 4:23:17. It was the second win of the race season for the Swiss standout, who also won Ironman South Africa in March.

Australians Mirinda Carfrae (4:30:20) and Kate Major (4:30:43) rounded out the top three in the women’s field. Major won the inaugural Ford Ironman Arizona this past April.

Two Americans completed the top five in the women’s field at the Ford Florida Half-Ironman. Heather Gollnick (Hartford, Wisc.) finished fourth overall in 4:34:17, and DeDe Griesbauer (Boston, Mass.) finished fifth overall in 4:34:54.

The Florida Half-Ironman at WALT DISNEY WORLDÒ Resort featured a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike and a 13.1-mile run and serves as a qualifier for the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

More than 1,800 athletes from around the world competed in the event, which featured 30 qualifying spots to the 2005 Ironman World Championship being held in October, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

Florida Half Ironman at WALT DISNEY WORLD^R Resort Race Results

May 22, 2005

Men
1.      Simon Lessing, Great Britain, 3:52:06
2.      Victor Zyemtsev, Ukraine, 3:57:41
3.      Luke Bell, Australia, 3:58:25
4.      Michael Lovato, Boulder, Colo., 4:00:54
5.      Levi Maxwell, Carlsbad, Calif., 4:01:28
6.      Virgilio De Castilho, Brazil, 4:02:45
7.      Luke McKenzie, Australia, 4:03:36
8.      Darin Shearer, Gainsville, Fla., 4:04:45
9.      Ronnie Schildknecht, Switzerland, 4:05:12
10.  Curt Chesney, Boulder, Colo., 4:09:24

Women
1.      Natascha Badmann, Switzerland, 4:23:17
2.      Mirinfa Carfrae, Australia, 4:30:20
3.      Kate Major, Australia, 4:30:43
4.      Heather Gollnick, Hartford, Wisc., 4:34:17
5.      DeDe Griesbauer, Boston, Mass., 4:34:54
6.      Andrea Fisher, Austin, Texas, 4:38:12
7.      Christine Fletcher, Canada, 4:38:39
8.      Karen Smyers, Lincoln, Mass., 4:42:48
9.      Gabriela Loskotova, Czech Republic, 4:45:13
10.  Nicole Van Beurden, Canada, 4:50:16