Posted: July 9, 2005

Triathlon: Plata, Swail Highlight New York Field

New York City, N.Y. (July 8, 2005) - New York may not have won the 2012 Olympic Games, but U.S. elite triathletes Victor Plata and Julie Swail will look to bring a little of the Games to the city on Sunday at the Ford New York City Triathlon presented by Accenture.

Approximately 30 women and 40 men are slated to start the race, which consists of a 1.5k swim in the Hudson River, a 40k bike on the Henry Hudson Parkway and a 10k run through Central Park.

The race is part of the International Triathlon Union's Continental Cup series and part of USA Triathlon's 2005 Elite Cup Challenge Series - The Haul to the Great Wall. Finally, the race is part of the USA Triathlon Athlete Development Series for under-23 athletes.

There are many new names on the start list as young and hungry athletes work to improve their standings in the International Triathlon Union's points system, which will eventually determine who can try to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Plata (San Luis Obispo, Calif.), a 2004 Olympian in triathlon, finished second at New York in 2004. Swail (Irvine, Calif.), a 2000 Olympic silver medalist in water polo who became an elite triathlete in 2003, has not competed in New York before.

Plata is ranked ninth in the world and third in the United States. Swail is ranked 31st in the world and fifth in the United States.

Also on the start list is Australian Olympian Simon Thompson, who is ranked fifth in the world.

U.S. elite Brian Fleischmann (Jacksonville, Fla.), ranked eighth in the United States, is scheduled to compete along with current U.S. military national champion Tim O'Donnell (Berkeley, Calif.) and U.S. collegiate national champions Amanda Felder (La Jolla, Calif.) and Brendan O'Brien (Escondido, Calif.).

The age group race should also be exciting as the age group field is filled to capacity with more than 2,012 athletes.

For more information, go to www.nyctri.com..

Check out the New York City elite start list at: USATriathlon.org.