Posted: September 7, 2005

Triathlon: Two-time defending champion Harju leads men's field at 2005 Ford Ironman Wisconsin

MADISON, Wisc.—Two-time defending Ford Ironman Wisconsin Champion Dave Harju (Canada) will lead a talented men’s field at the 2005 Ford Ironman Wisconsin being held on Sept. 11 in Madison, Wisc. Harju claimed the first Ironman title of his career at the 2003 Ford Ironman Wisconsin with an overall time of eight hours, 55 minutes and 26 seconds. The Canadian standout successfully repeated the feat a year later at the 2004 Ford Ironman Wisconsin with a time of 8:52:33.

Harju has also posted top-ten finishes in nine Ironman events, including Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid (2000, 2002 and 2004) and Ford Ironman Florida (2001, 2003 and 2004). Two-time Ironman champion Petr Vabrousek (Czech Republic), 2003 Ironman Korea Champion Jan Strangmuller (Czech Republic) and Ironman standout Andriy Yastrebov (Ukraine) are expected to vie for the men’s title.

Vabrousek has posted 16 top-five Ironman finishes in his triathlon career, claiming Ironman titles in 2000 at Ironman South Africa (8:54:35) and Ironman Asia (8:49:31). Vabrousek has already recorded top-ten finishes at four Ironman events in 2005, including a second-place finish at Ironman Malaysia in February and a fourth-place finish at the inaugural Ford Ironman Arizona in April.

Strangmuller posted the first Ironman win of his career at Ironman Korea in 2003 with an overall time of 9:09:42. Strangmuller also placed third at Ironman Malaysia in February of this year. Yastrebov has made his mark at Ironman North America events over the past two seasons, posting top-three finishes at Ford Ironman Florida (2nd in 2003) and Ford Ironman USA Coeur d’Alene (3rd in 2004).

Ironman standouts Peter Kotland (Spartanburg, S.C.), Bjorn Andersson (Sweden) and Matt Lieto (Danville, Calif.) will also look to claim the men’s title at the 2005 Ford Ironman Wisconsin.

Kotland finished a career-best third at the Ford Ironman California triathlon in 2000 with an overall time of 9:14:27. Kotland also posted a fourth place finish at the 2000 Ford Ironman Florida and was fifth at the inaugural Ford Ironman USA Coeur d’Alene in 2003.

Andersson, a superb swimmer and cyclist, had an impressive showing in 2004. The Swedish native placed third at the 2004 Ironman New Zealand and followed up with a fourth-place finish at the 2004 Ford Florida Half Ironman.

Lieto has recorded top-ten finishes twice in his professional career at Ironman events. Lieto finished eighth at the 2004 Ford Ironman USA Coeur d’ Alene with an overall time of 9:21:58 and added another eighth-place finish at the 2005 Ford California Half Ironman.

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.