Posted: September 2, 2005

Triathlon: Boston Triathlon Brings Women's Showdown

BOSTON, Mass. (Sept. 2, 2005) - Elite triathletes and Olympians Barb Lindquist and Julie Swail will be battling for more than just a race victory on Sunday at the Boston Triathlon.

The Boston Triathlon is one of four International Triathlon Union (ITU) Continental Cup races being held in the United States in 2005. Many athletes use these races to earn ITU points that will allow them to compete in ITU World Cup races and, eventually, try to qualify for the Olympic Games.

The intermediate distance race is also the final event in USA Triathlon's 2005 Elite Cup Challenge - The Haul to the Great Wall. Lindquist (Alta, Wyo.) is just 10 points ahead of Swail (Irvine, Calif.) for the series victory, which will bring a $5,000 prize.

World No. 1 ranked Hunter Kemper, who is not scheduled to race in Boston, has already wrapped up the men's series title with his finishes at the JAL Honolulu Triathlon (second), the Tempe International Triathlon (first) and the Baker's Breakfast Cookies Healthy Start Foundation Triathlon (first) in Bellingham, Wash. The Ford New York City Triathlon was the fourth race in the series.

Lindquist, who competed at the Athens triathlon, and Swail, who won a silver medal in water polo in 2000 in Sydney, are not the only Olympians who will compete on Sunday. Victor Plata (San Luis Obispo, Calif.), who finished third in Boston last year after competing in Athens, is also on the start list.

The 2004 Boston men's champion, Craig Alexander of Australia, has also registered for the race. Earlier this summer, Alexander won $160,000 at the Life Time Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis, Minn.

The Boston Triathlon is known for its unique transition inside the city's World Trade Center. Elite athletes swim two laps in Boston Harbor and run through the Trade Center in between. They ride through the city and they run on the streets around the Boston Harbor.

The Boston Triathlon age group sprint race has the largest field ever with more than 1,000 people registered. That race will start at 7 a.m. on Sunday. The elite men's race will start at 8:10 a.m., followed by the elite women at 8:20.

The race website is at: www.bostontriathlon.org.