Only 158 days to go...
Acapulco,
Mexico: 20 March 2004: For immediate release: Tourism Acapulco organised
a picture-perfect day for triathlon as a good field of the best athletes
from the Americas dove into the picturesque venue at Hornos Beach, Acapulco.
The event in Acapulco was the 2004 ITU Pan American Championships with
qualification points for the Athens Olympic Games and places 1 to 3 qualifying
for the 2004 World Championships in Madeira.
In the women's event, Sheila Taormina of the USA, one of the best swimmers
in the sport took an early lead from the start. Joanna Zieger, also from
the USA and the 4th finisher in the Sydney 2004 Olympic Games managed
to stay with Taormina throughout the swim. Suzanne Weckend from Canada
surprised everyone by staying with the leaders through the swim and onto
the bike course, then grabbing one of Canada's 6 spots in the 2004 Madeira
World Championships.
The chase pack out of the water was led by Kelly Handel of the USA, followed
by her American Team-mates Julie Swail and Amanda Stevens, followed by
Brazilian teammates Sandra Soldan and Carla Morena.
The trio at the front, Taormina, Zieger and Weckend worked well on the
bike, increasing their lead to over 2 minutes as they started the 10km
run.
With air temperature in the upper twenties, Taormina romped home with
the fastest run split of the day to finish 30 seconds ahead of Zeiger.
Weckend held on to finish comfortably in 3rd place, well ahead of Julie
Swail in 4th and Dr. Sandra Soldan in 5th.
The top 10 results are:
1, TAORMINA, Sheila, USA, 01:57:51
2, ZEIGER, Joanna, USA, 01:58:23
3, WECKEND, Suzanne, CAN, 01:59:32
4, SWAIL, Julie, USA, 02:01:02
5, SOLDAN, Sandra, BRA, 02:01:15
6, MORENO, Carla, BRA, 02:02:17
7, COOK, Kelly, USA, 02:03:13
8, GEIJO, Pamela, ARG, 02:03:22
9, HARRISON, Jessica, GBR, 02:03:44
10, BENNIGSON, Courtney, USA, 02:03:56
In
the men's event, the current Pan American Champion, Hunter Kemper of the
USA swam with teammate Andy Potts who posted the fastest swim split of
the day at 18:10.
Kemper and Potts' effort produced the fastest bike split at 57:24, which enabled Kemper, the best runner in the field, to cruise home with a 10km time of 29:15.
Andy Potts was second with a run time over a minute slower than Kemper.
Javier Rosas of Mexico was 3rd, much to the delight of the huge Mexican crowd that had gathered on Hornos Beach for the event.Top 10 results are:
1, KEMPER, Hunter, USA, 01:45:58
2, POTTS, Andy, USA, 01:47:31
3, ROSAS, Javier, MEX, 01:47:40
4, PLATA, Victor, USA, 01:48:19
5, FONTANA, Daniel, ARG, 01:48:22
6, MOREIRA, Juraci, BRA, 01:48:33
7, FLEISCHMANN, Brian, USA, 01:48:54
8, FRIMAN, Doug, USA, 01:48:59
9, VIFIAN, Marcel, USA, 01:49:10
10, SMEDLEY, Michael, USA, 01:49:13
ITU action now moves to Africa for next weekend's African ITU Regional Championships, a major Olympic Qualifying event for the African athletes. Stay tuned to www.triathlon.org for all the latest news on multi sport action. For high resolution photos of today's event, contact ITU Media at: ituhdq@triathlon.org
Mazatlan
Pacifico Triatlon World Cup Constructs Spectator- Friendly Stadium:
Lucia Mijares, Event Organiser of the 2004 Mazatlan Pacifico Triatlon
World Cup advises us that the construction of the "stadium"
for the upcoming World Cup event is on schedule. The construction includes
paving the stadium area for the transition area and bike and run laps
in front of a grandstand for spectators.
The latest plans promises to make Mazatlan one of the most media-friendly stops on the ITU Calendar, not to mention the last opportunity for athletes to qualify for the Madeira World Championships and the Athens Olympic Games. Click here for complete event details of the Mazatlan event
The IOC Tripartite Commission has named the following athletes as recipients of the "Invitation" to compete in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games Triathlon. They are: Elizabeth May (Luxembourg), Fiorella D'Cruz (Colombia), Tyler Butterfield (Bermuda) and Rory Mackie (Zimbabwe). The National Olympic Committees made application to the IOC Tripartite Commission for the athletes. There were a record number of applicants for these games, which is a good omen for the development of the sport in countries where the sport is not well developed or funded.
The Lough Neagh event has been added to the ITU 2004 Schedule. This Irish event has a long tradition of excellence and promises to be one of the best in 2004. Click here for all the details.
© www.triathlon.org 2004