Posted: September 6, 2005

Triathlon: Mueckel , Hori, Jensen lead talented women’s field at 2005 Ford Ironman Wisconsin

MADISON, Wisconsin—Two-time Ironman Champion Ute Mueckel (Germany), 2004 Ironman Japan Champion Yoko Hori (Japan) and 2004 Ford Ironman Wisconsin runner up Lauren Jensen (New Berlin, Wisc.) will lead a talented women’s field at the 2005 Ford Ironman Wisconsin being held on Sept. 11 in Madison, Wisc.

Mueckel won Ironman Germany in 1996 with an overall time of nine hours, 21 minutes and 30 seconds and added another first-place finish at the 1997 Ironman Switzerland with a time of 9:32:48. Mueckel also finished third at the inaugural 2005 Ford Ironman Arizona in April.

Hori won the first Ironman event of her career at Ironman Japan in 2004 with an overall time of 10:29:04. Hori followed up the win with a third place finish at the 2005 Ironman Japan (10:13:25).

Jensen has recorded top-ten finishes at five Ironman events in her career. Jensen finished second at the 2004 Ford Ironman Wisconsin with an overall time of 10:13:28 and followed up with a third-place finish at Ironman Brazil.

Ironman standouts Amanda Lovato (Boulder, Colo.), Gabriela Loskotova (Czech Republic) and Mary Uhl (Santa Fe, N.M) are also expected to compete for the 2005 Ford Ironman Wisconsin title.

Lovato finished a career-best fourth at the 2003 Ford Ironman Wisconsin and posted her best time ever at an Ironman event (10:01:49) in finishing fifth at Ford Ironman USA Coeur d’Alene in 2004.

Loskotova has recorded top-ten finishes in four Ironman events, including a seventh-place finish at the 2004 Ford Ironman Wisconsin (10:48:28) and a sixth-place finish at Ford Ironman Florida in 2003 (9:51:47).

Uhl has been a runner-up at a pair of Ironman events, posting second-place finishes at Ford Ironman Wisconsin (2003) and Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid (1999).

More than 2,000 triathletes from around the world are expected to compete in the 2005 Ford Ironman Wisconsin. Athletes will be competing for 80 qualifying spots to the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, as well as a $30,000 pro- prize purse.