Fortaleza, Brazil: For immediate release: The International Triathlon of Fortaleza will be held on the beautiful beaches of Fortaleza, Brazil, next Saturday 22 of March. It will be an event of the American Cup, with ITU points for the world ranking that qualify athletes for the Olympic Games of Athens 2004, and for the qualification for Santo Domingo's 2003 Pan-American Games.

Sun, beach and tropical climate and this paradisiac city of the north of Brazil is the ideal place for a touching event.

The competition:
The competition begins at 02:30 pm, on the beach, where the athletes will make 2 laps of a buoyed circuit to complete the 1500m of swimming. The swim is followed by an eight lap, 40km bicycle section, where the wind is often the biggest competitor. The competitors will arrive at the finish line after the 10km run section.

Prizes and fees: A prize purse of usd$ 5000 will be distributed to the first five athletes, with equality in depth and amount to men and women. The entry fee is usd$ 50, which will be increased to usd$60 on March 15.

Events schedule: During the week leading up to the event, a series of activities related to the sport will take place. The pasta party and the awards celebration will take place in the Hotel Marina Park of Fortaleza.
On 20 and 21 of March a Level 1 Officials Course will be held; On Friday a meeting about Doping, conducted by Dr.Luciano Resende will take place

Contacts: contacts should be carried out to the Brazilian Confederation of Triathlon (CBTri), to the email betomenescal@cbtri.org.br. Tel 55 61 9986-0147