Posted: May 21, 2007

Triathlon: Elite Triathletes to Compete for National Titles in Honolulu

Pair Also Earn Spots on Pan Am Games and Worlds Teams HONOLULU, Hawaii (May 20, 2007) -- Two Americans have added their names to a prestigious list of triathletes to have won the USA Triathlon Elite National Championship. Andy Potts (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Princeton, N.J.) and Julie Swail (Irvine, Calif.) claimed the honors by winning the overall titles at the Honolulu Triathlon on Sunday. It marked the first triathlon national titles for both athletes. The wins also earned the pair the first slots at this summer's Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro and the ITU World Championships in Hamburg, Germany. Second place Americans Sarah Haskins (Colorado Springs, Colo. / St. Louis, Mo.) and Brian Fleischmann (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Jacksonville, Fla.) also qualified for Worlds. Potts, one of the top triathlon swimmers in the world, used his specialty to gain an early lead, but had Fleischmann hot on his heels. That worked to the advantage of both athletes, who worked together on the bike to put distance between themselves and the chase group. Fleischmann left T2 with a slight advantage, but Potts' 32:22 final 10k gave him the win in 1:42:27. Australian Gareth Halverson had the fastest run of the day (31:42) to push him past Fleischmann late in the race and give him a second place finish in 1:43:23. Fleischmann grabbed third overall in 1:43:37. Jarrod Shoemaker (Sudbury, Mass.) was fourth overall and the third American in 1:44:03, while Matt Reed (Colorado Springs, Colo.) finished fifth. For Potts, it was a satisfying win after finishing as runner-up the last two years. "I always like to race from the front, take advantage of my strengths," said Potts. "I had a great winter and improved my whole skill-set. I was glad I was able to put it all together today and take it from the front. I had some nice help from Brian Fleischmann out there on the bike. Brian worked really hard and I was glad to see he got on the podium and his efforts were rewarded as well." For Fleischmann, it was his third national championship runner-up finish in his career. On the women's side, 21 athletes started, but it didn't take long for the race to narrow to five competitors. Swail, Haskins, Laura Bennett (N. Palm Beach, Fla. / Boulder, Colo.), Sara McLarty (Colorado Springs, Colo. / DeLand, Fla.), and Sarah Groff (Boulder, Colo.) exited the water as a group, worked together on the bike and entered T2 within seconds of one another. But it was the run where Swail, Haskins, and Bennett began to take control. The three raced together throughout the majority of the 10k course, before Bennett fell off the pace and Swail and Haskins approached the final mile neck and neck. It was Swail, however, who was able to use a surge to separate herself from the defending champion Haskins and eased into the win in a time of 1:52:33. Haskins finished in 1:52:54, with Bennett finishing third in 1:53:12. McLarty and Groff grabbed fourth and fifth, respectively. "It hasn't really sunk in. I'm just blown away," said Swail, when asked what it means to be a national champion. "I always expect to do well, but to me this is a very important race because I qualified for the Pan Am Games and World Championships. That was what my focus was today." "I was very pleased with my race strategy today. I had great partners in Sarah Haskins and Laura Bennett. We worked hard on the run and ran together, side by side. It was just a matter of who could kick it in at the end. I have been working on my speed work and it paid off today. I ran very steady, very comfortable the entire run. With 900 meters to go, I decided to pick it up for about 100, going all out, and steadily took a steady pace for the next 800." The elites shared a $30,000 prize purse in this international points race that served as an ITU Continental Cup and first event of the five-race USAT Haul to the Great Wall series. Three Under 23 athletes also secured their spots at this fall's ITU U23 World Championships. Ethan Brown and John Dahlz will be traveling to Hamburg for the men, with Jennifer Spieldenner earning a spot for the women. Visit the race website for complete results: . USA Triathlon Elite National Champions Year-by- Year Year Men Women 2007 Andy Potts Julie Swail 2006 Hunter Kemper Sarah Haskins 2005 Hunter Kemper Becky Lavelle 2004 Matt Reed Barb Lindquist 2003 Hunter Kemper Laura Reback 2002 Seth Wealing Barb Lindquist 2001 Hunter Kemper Karen Smyers 2000 Marcel Vifian Joanna Zeiger 1999 Hunter Kemper Barb Lindquist 1998 Hunter Kemper Siri Lindley 1997 Cameron Widoff Sian Welch 1996 Jeff Devlin Susan Latshaw 1995 Jeff Devlin Karen Smyers 1994 Scott Molina Karen Smyers 1993 Bill Braun Karen Smyers 1992 Mike Pigg Karen Smyers 1991 Mike Pigg Karen Smyers 1990 Scott Molina Karen Smyers 1989 Ken Glah Jan Ripple 1988 Mike Pigg Colleen Cannon Kaushansky 1987 Mike Pigg Kirsten Hanssen 1986 Scott Molina Kirsten Hanssen 1985 Scott Molina Linda Buchanan 1984 Scott Molina Beth Mitchell 1983 Scott Molina Sylviane Puntous About USA Triathlon USA Triathlon is the national governing body for triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United States. USAT sanctions 2,000 races and connects with more than 90,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. Website: Triathlon.org.