| USAT Media Release |
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Many
Rewards Available at Treasure Island COLORADO
SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 29, 2003) -- U.S. elite triathletes will be searching
for national titles, world championship slots and Olympic qualifying
points on Saturday at the Treasure Island ITU International Triathlon
in San Francisco, Calif. Treasure
Island is the last stop in USA Triathlon's Race to Athens series. Race
to Athens events allow elite triathletes to earn International Triathlon
Union (ITU) world-ranking points. Athletes must be ranked among the
top 125 in the world to try to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games in
Athens, Greece. Treasure
Island will also be the USA Triathlon Elite Triathlon National Championships
and will qualify athletes for the 2003 ITU Triathlon World Championships,
which will be Dec. 7 in Queensland, New Zealand. Among
the top U.S. athletes scheduled to compete at Treasure Island are Laura
Reback (North Palm Beach, Fla.), the No. 3-ranked woman in the world,
and Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla.), the No. 9-ranked man in the world. Kemper
will be trying to regain the national championship title he won in 2001
and lost last year. Kemper, who trains at the U.S. Olympic Training
Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., has had a stellar season in 2003,
including winning gold medal at the Pan American Games and winning the
ITU World Cup in Madrid, Spain. Those
who will be gunning for Kemper include 2002 U.S. national champion Seth
Wealing (Fowler, Ind.), U.S. No. 3 Doug Friman (Tucson, Ariz.), U.S.
No. 4 Mark Fretta (Portland, Ore.) and 2000 Olympic team alternate Victor
Plata (San Luis Obispo, Calif.). On
the women's side, 2002 U.S. national champion Barb Lindquist has already
qualified for the world championships and will not be racing. However
2000 elite national champion Joanna Zeiger (Boulder, Colo.), a member
of the 2000 Olympic team, will be looking to return to the podium. Other
top U.S. women scheduled to compete are Susan Williams (Denver, Colo.),
ranked fourth in the U.S.; Becky Gibbs Lavelle (Cupertino, Calif.),
ranked fifth in the U.S. and winner of the 2002 Treasure Island race;
and Julie Swail (Irvine, Calif.), a silver medalist in women's water
polo at the 2000 Olympic Games. International
competitors, including 2002 Treasure Island champion Simon Lessing of
Great Britain, Australian Greg Bennett, ranked No. 1 in the world, and
Australian Chris McCormack will also be racing for ITU ranking points
and prize money. The elite prize purse will be $25,000, with the men
and women's winners taking home $3,125 each. The
Treasure Island Triathlon will take place on both Treasure Island and
Yerba Buena Island off the Bay Bridge on Interstate 80 between Oakland
and San Francisco. The course will consist of a 1.5k, two-lap ocean
swim, 40k, four-lap bike and a 10k, two-lap run. The
elite race will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Preceding that will be
the Treasure Island Olympic distance age group race, starting at 7:15
a.m. Among those participating in the age group relay division are actor
Paul Walker from 2 Fast 2 Furious. The
Treasure Island sprint distance age group race will take place Sunday
morning at 7:15 a.m. Media
are invited to interview elite triathletes at an informal press conference
at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 31 at the exposition area at the California
Street Parking Lot on Treasure Island. In case of rain, the conference
will move inside one of the nearby hangers. Directions
and more information are posted to the race web site at www.tricalifornia.com/treasureisland/2003. A
complete start list is available at www.usatriathlon.org. USA
Triathlon is the national governing body for the multi-sport disciplines
of triathlon and duathlon in the United States. For more information
on this and other stories related to USA Triathlon, please contact communications
and media relations director B.J. Hoeptner Evans at 719-597-9090, ext.
105 or at BJ@USATriathlon.org. USA Triathlon's web site is www.usatriathlon.org. B.J.
Hoeptner Evans USA
Triathlon Communications and Media Relations Manager (719)
597-9090, ext. 105 fax:
(719) 597-2121 BJ@USATriathlon.org www.usatriathlon.org |