ST.
PETERSBURG, Fla. (April 28, 2001) - Carol Montgomery
and Simon Whitfield did their country proud as the
Canadians swept the International Triathlon Union
(ITU) World Cup races at the St. Anthony's Triathlon
on Saturday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Whitfield,
the gold-medal winner at the 2000 Olympic Games in
Sydney, held off Hunter Kemper of the United States
and Stephane Poulat of France on the final lap of
the run to win the men's race in 1 hour, 48 minutes,
52 seconds.
"Hunter
and I had a good battle," Whitfield said. "It
was the same feeling as the Olympics - I had to regroup.
Smart racing was keeping us going."
Montgomery
ran past the United States' Joanna Zeiger on the last
lap to win the women's race in 2:01:57.
Strong
winds made for choppy conditions at the start of the
women's swim. After two laps, Florida resident Laura
Reback came out of the water first to loud cheers
from the crowd, which included several members of
her family. She was followed by a large pack including
Zeiger, Laurie Hug and Becky Gibbs of the United States
and Donna Phelan and Sharon Donnelly of Canada.
Gibbs,
Reback, Donnelly and Zeiger formed the lead pack on
the bike. The small group had an easier time negotiating
the tight turns on the eight-lap bike course and built
a lead of almost two minutes on a chase pack of seven
that included Jones and Montgomery.
The
sun came out from behind the clouds as the race heated
up on the four-lap run. Showing the effects of her
time abroad, Reback slowed and then lost her lead.
Zeiger took over and led for three laps before Montgomery
passed her on the final lap. Jones also moved up on
the run and finished third.
Montgomery
said she was surprised to win.
"I
struggled with the swim and bike ride, but started
to come out during the last lap. Then I got into a
rhythm when I was running," she said.
In
the men's race, French teammates Franck Bignet, Poulat
and Frederic Belaubre led a large pack out of the
water. A group of 12 that included Whitfield and Kemper
took the lead on the bike and got approximately a
minute ahead of the chase pack.
Kemper
and Whitfield traded the lead throughout the run as
Poulat worked to catch up. Whitfield out-kicked Kemper
in the final 50 yards for the victory.
The
men and women's winner will each take home $7,500.
"The
race was decided in the last three or four laps of
the bike," Kemper said. "I felt good on
the bike and I felt good on the run."
A
crowd of approximately 10,000 enthusiastic fans lined
the course and the pier where the race finished.
"Both
Simon and I had really good support," said Kemper,
who also grew up in Florida. "I think mine was
a little more vocal."
Complete
Results
