IM CALIF/UTAH
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NEWS MORE RECENT THAN JUNE 8, '01

BELOW

• A message from USAT concerning Lake Placid
• Zeiger, Umphenour, top yanks at Shreveport
• It's now a "shower-run-bike-run"
• Swim Eliminated from AG Worlds Qualifier
• U.S. women continue to shine overseas
• Ryan Bolton does play-by-play of his St. Croix race
• McCormack sprints to long course win at Wildflower
• Lindquist takes Wildflower in an almost wire-to-wire performance
• Four hours under siege at Wildflower
• The early speed at Wildflower
• Cycling patriarch tries his hand at the half
• Montgomery blisters run to overtake rivals at St. Anthony's
• Roving world cup party shifts to U.S.
• Chuck Anderson returns to Gulf Waters
• Lees gets the money, not the title, in Florida
• Owners of Pacific Grove and Wildflower announce Treasure Island
• Jack Caress' great white whale
• It'll be a wild time in Wildflower
• Zack is back in the groove
• Van Dyken hot on Taormina's heels... not
• Top field, tough schedules, for Wildflower's men
• Bolton is moving up
• Glah keeps on truckin'
• Molina makes it into the Hall
• XTERRA taking it up a notch for 2001
• Clermont lands '01 Pan Amerian Tri Champs
• USAT announces top U.S. pros, races
• Texas bicyclists hope their senator is all hat and no cattle
• Finding the talent - part 1
• Tinley tackles Supercross
• Wildflower, Alcatraz, fill before Christmas
• Austin triathletes will work toward one race
• NATS still owes prize money to athletes
• Could Austin be next, with Ironman Texas?
• USA Triathlon's directors gather for meeting
• Molina next for Triathlete Hall of Fame
• Olympic triathletes go to Washington
• Tough first day for Ultraman competitors
• 35 athletes converge on Kona for Ultraman
• Five Colorado triathlons form the NYPPE.com series
• Triathletes of the Year: Zeiger and Kemper
• Triathlon ties that bond: Erika Musser writes
• Revealed: The Internet's longest-running triathlon website
• Kidder: Here are North America's oldest triathlons
• USA Triathlon elections yield same board
• $550,000 raised in a single day
• Matt Haugen out as USAT National Teams coach
• Siri Lindley ends season on a hot streak

NEWS PRIOR TO NOVEMBER 1, '00


NEWS ON U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM / OLYMPIC TRIALS

A MESSAGE FROM USA TRIATHLON

USA Triathlon would like to thank all those who competed at the Mrs. T's Pierogies USA Triathlon World Championship Qualifier on Sunday (June 3) in Lake Placid, N.Y. We have heard from many of you that the race was a good experience.

We would also like to apologize for the inconveniences that were caused by our changing the race format mid-week before the race. While we always had the best interests of the athletes at heart, and wanted to put on the best and safest race possible, we realize that our decision to turn the race into a duathlon inconvenienced and upset some of our members.

The Lake Placid race was used in association with last year's USA Triathlon National Age Group Championship to qualify our age group athletes for the world championships in Edmonton, Canada. The Lake Placid race was scheduled in early June because we only have a short window to process applications and uniform fulfillment for those representing the United States at worlds.

Weather presented a challenge. As our crew arrived in Lake Placid last Wednesday, it was snowing, and the ambient air temp was 29 degrees F. The next morning we measured the water temp at race start time at 57 degrees F. Our medical team director cautioned us that swimming in that temperature would be extremely hazardous. All weather agencies were predicting a Saturday race start air temperature of 46 degrees F and heavy rain.

The race organizers and USA Triathlon staff gathered Thursday morning and determined that a triathlon was out of the question. An e-mail was sent to all participants advising them of the situation, and news releases were posted to the USAT web site and the race web site. That evening, we experienced heavy frost and a low air temp of 29 degrees F. The next morning (Friday) the water temperature was 56 degrees F.

On Friday morning, at race start time, we experimented with two athletes (a 25-year-old female and a 60-year-old male) to measure the effects of hypothermia. The woman was in the water 22 minutes and the man 28 minutes. Both experienced evident hypothermic symptoms. The swim was a concern. However, the bigger concern was athletes getting out of the 56-degree water and getting on their bikes for a downhill ride for the first 20K of the bike leg, especially if there was going to be heavy rain and 46-degree air temperature at the start on Saturday. However, throughout the day on Friday, the air temperature warmed and the weather folks were predicting higher temperatures for Saturday's race start time (50-55 degrees).

Later Friday morning, a committee consisting of USA Triathlon President Mike Highfield, Deputy Director Tim Yount, Executive Director Steve Locke, USAT certified coach Hank Lange and the local race organizers gathered and decided upon an abbreviated swim (500 M), instead of the duathlon previously announced. The committee felt strongly that since the event was a qualifier for the world championships, a swim leg was essential. We did realize that there could be a problem with wetsuits, as the announcement had gone out announcing the duathlon format.  Thanks to USA Triathlon President Mike Highfield, a system was organized for wetsuit sharing. We also used a number of Ironman wetsuits through our sponsorship with Ironman Wetsuits, Inc. In the end, everyone needing a wetsuit was provided one.

In retrospect, USA Triathlon made an error in announcing the duathlon mid-week, and we take full responsibility for that. It was meant to give athletes a heads-up coming into Lake Placid, but it ended up causing confusion, inconvenience and some bad feelings. For that, we apologize.

In the end, the race itself turned out to be superb. Terry Smallin, the race director, and his committee and volunteers did a great job. USAT Marketing Director Tom Ziebart should be thanked for all his efforts in the months leading up to the race.

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Zeiger, Umphenour, top yanks at Shreveport

June 3, 2001, Shreveport, Louisiana (www.slowtwitch.com):

Elite triathletes Joanna Zeiger and Joe Umphenour can start packing for the World Triathlon Championships after finishing as the top Americans on Sunday at the TinMan Triathlon.

Zeiger (Baltimore, Md.) won the women's race in 1 hour, 59 minutes, 45 seconds, using a hilly run course to pull away from the pack in the final miles. Laura Reback (North Palm Beach, Fla.) was second (2:00:24) and Barb Lindquist (Wilson, Wyo.) was third (2:00:35).

Umphenour (Seattle) was the first American male finisher, but was third overall behind Eligio Cervantes of Mexico (1:50:08) and Marc Lees of Australia (1:50:19).

Both Zeiger and Umphenour secured spots in the International Triathlon Union World Championship field, July 21-22 in Edmonton, Canada. The next five U.S. finishers of each gender will receive top consideration when the team is picked in July. However, athletes must also be ranked in the top 50 in the world at that time.

The top six U.S. finishers in each gender will also get berths in the ITU World Cup on July 7 in Toronto.

Although the men's race began and 7:30 a.m. and the women's at 7:45, it was still warm and humid by the time the athletes had made their way out of the shallow, boggy waters of Cross Lake and out into somewhat hilly roads of Shreveport.

Umphenour led a large pack of men out of the water. He joined a group of nine on the bike, but Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla.) and Lees broke away, taking about a minute lead and leaving the other seven to fend for themselves. The seven were swallowed by a much larger third pack. Umphenour stayed up front and made sure he got out of the transition ahead of the masses.

"I just bolted out of the transition," Umphenour said. "Eligio and I ran together for about the first 3 miles, then he dropped me. I caught Hunter at mile 4."

In the women's race, Reback, Jennifer Gutierrez (Greenwood Village, Colo. ), Lindquist, Sheila Taormina (Livonia, Mich.), Zeiger and Becky Gibbs (San Jose, Calif.) left the water together and worked together on the bike.

"We had a great pack on the bike," Zeiger said. "We set ourselves up nicely for the run."

Siri Lindley (Boulder, Colo.), ranked No. 2 in the world, put in a valiant effort through the swim and the bike, but had to pull out early in the run due to a foot injury.

(Note: Thanks to USAT's BJ Evans for this story)

(RESULTS)

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It's now a "shower-run-bike-run"

June 1, 2001, Colorado Springs, Colorado (www.slowtwitch.com):

USA Triathlon and race organizers semi-relented, it was announced this morning in the first of several pre-race meetings.

The Age-Group World Championship qualification race to be held in Lake Placid tomorrow now has a 500-meter swim as its first leg. Only yesterday USA Triathlon announced the 1500-meter swim would be replaced by a 3km run, followed the a 40km bike leg and a 7km run. Now, though, the order of the events stand at 500-meter swim, 800-meter run to transition, 40km bike, and 10km run.

According to USA Triathlon the problem, say competitors who were at the first of several pre-race meetings to be held througout the day, is not specifically the swim, but the bike leg. The first part of the bike leg is downhill, and temperatures on the course are expected to be chilly for tomorrow's race. Organizers and triathlon's governing body are reportedly worried about athletes getting hypothermic during the ride.

Elite age-groupers Mark Montgomery and Emilio de Soto were reached this morning by telephone.

"They've changed it now to a shower-run-bike-run," said Montgomery. "It's unbelievable. It's a beautiful day out today. I've raced in much worse conditions than this. If the problem is the bike leg, why don't they modify it so that the descent comes later? Or just remind all the athletes to wear clothes? It's just bad. We all came here to race a triathlon, and that's what we ought to be racing."

"The mistake these organizers made," said de Soto, "is making that announcement yesterday. It's a nice day out today. But I don't see them changing their minds now. I think they've made their decision."

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Swim Eliminated from Age Group Worlds Qualifier

May 31, 2001, Colorado Springs, Colorado (www.slowtwitch.com):

USA Triathlon has made the call, and it will be exceedingly unpopular among many competitors now en route to Lake Placid.

Athletes traveling from the furthest reachest of the U.S. to compete in the Worlds qualifier will have to compete in a duathlon, due to the cold water temperatures. The press release, sent out mid-day Friday, Eastern time, reads as follows:

Due to exceedingly cold water temperatures and poor weather conditions, the swim portion of the 2001 Mrs. T's Pierogies USA Triathlon World Championship Qualifier on Saturday (June 2) in Lake Placid, N.Y., has been cancelled.

The race, which will qualify age group athletes for the International Triathlon Union World Championships on July 21-22 in Edmonton, Canada, has been shortened to a duathlon with a 3K (1.86-mile) run, 40K (24.8-mile) bike and 7K (4.3-mile) run. It was originally scheduled to be an Olympic-distance race (1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run).

The water temperature on Mirror Lake was 57 degrees on Friday and dropping. Moreover, the high temperature in Lake Placid on Saturday was expected to be 55 degrees with heavy rains.

"We felt that with the cold air temperature and rain, there was too great a risk of hypothermia to have the swim," said USA Triathlon Executive Director Steve Locke from Lake Placid. "We are not going to put on an unsafe race."

More than 500 athletes have signed up for the race. The top six in each division will qualify for the world championships. There will be divisions for age groups from 16 to 80-plus along with physically challenged and Clydesdale and Athena divisions.

For more information on the race and a complete list of participants, go [here].

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U.S. women continue to shine overseas

May 13, 2001, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (www.slowtwitch.com):

U.S. women continue to shine on the world scene. Almost-Olympian Siri Lindley beat a very good field in Rennes, France, including Belgian Kathleen Smet, Michelle Disson (GBR), and Joelle Franzmann (GER). Lindley (Boulder, Colo.) took the third ITU World Cup victory of her career in Rennes, France. Lindley used the fastest run of the day (35 minutes, 16 seconds) for her win in 1:59:32. Michelle Dillon of Great Britain was second (2:00:21) and Joelle Franzmann of Germany took third (2:00:56).

Lindley, ranked sixth in the world and third in the United States (Profile Design Multisport Rankings), won World Cups in Lausanne, Switzerland and Cancun, Mexico last season. Her victory in France gave her a share of the $60,000 in prize money.

Craig Watson of New Zealand won the men's race in 1:45:45. Andrew Johns of Great Britain was second (1:46:00) and Reto Hug of Switzerland was third (1:46:03). Doug Friman (Tucson, Ariz.) of the United States placed 26th in 1:50:01.

While Lindley flew east to race, Olympian Jennifer Gutierrez flew south, to somewhat easier competition in Mexico. Gutierrez (Greenwood Village, Colo.) took her first victory of the season at the Puerta Vallarta International Triathlon, finishing in 2:20:06. Gillian Moody of Canada was second (2:20:21) and Lisset Olivera of Mexico was third (2:24:38). Alison Hayden of Florida placed seventh in 2:29:40.

Gutierrez is ranked 9th in the world and fourth in the United States.

In the men's race, America’s Victor Plata finished third in 2:02:43 behind Mexico's' Uzziel Valderrabano (2:02:11) and Eligio Cervantes (2:02:26).

Not part of the USA Triathlon scene, but a woman and an American nonetheless, nuovo pro Jesse Stensland of San Diego bested a classy field at St. Kitts triathlon, making it three wins in three international races for American women. In so doing she beat Canadian Sharon Donnelly and top U.S. woman Susan Bartholomew.

Czech pro Martin Krnavek, fresh off his first Ironman at South Africa six weeks ago, won the men's race over what was probably the best men's field of all three races. Kiwi Matt Reed was second, Yank short-courser Abe Rogers third, and Venezuelan star––and probably the favorite going in––Gilberto Gonzalez fourth. Aussie Greg Bennett came next, with some very good names in the second half of the top ten.

(Thanks to USAT's BJ Evans for portions of this report).

(RESULTS -- ST. KITTS)
(RESULTS -- RENNES)
(RESULTS -- PUERTO VALLARTA)

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Ryan Bolton does play-by-play of his St. Croix race

May 9, 2001, Boulder, Colorado (www.slowtwitch.com):

Ryan Bolton was one of four winners––male and female––this past weekend at the half-Ironman distance in the U.S. Short-course athletes making the jump to long course won every title, beating long-course specialists like Peter Sandvang, Cameron Brown, Heather Fuhr, Cameron Widoff, Peter Reid, Chris Legh, and others in the process.

Bolton describes his race at St. Croix, in which he bested Peter Sandvang––currently the third ranked long-course athlete in the world––and Cameron Brown, ranked number six:

"I had a decent swim. I took off conservatively; I was behind Brown and Sandvang out of the water. I felt good on the road, but Jimmy came blazing by me at mile six.

"My game plan was to conserve energy during the first half of the race. I was about 2:30 behind the leaders halfway through the bike, and that was fine. I asked Jimmy [Riccitello] what to ride up The Beast, and he said a 39X23 ought to do it. So that’s what I chose, and it was really not a bad hill. Sort of easy in a way, because of the respect I gave the hill.

"The race added an extra loop [over years past] to make it a half-Ironman, and that was a pretty tough loop. Hilly. Some of the lead guys took a wrong turn in town and an entire group of five that was in front of me suddenly was behind me. At that point I’d moved up from twelfth to seventh without doing anything.

"But then I started to get a little nervous during the last 10 miles. I didn’t want Mark Lees and Peter Sandvang to have that much of a gap on me going into the run, so I started hammering.

"Peter Clode was one of the guys who took the wrong turn. I was riding hard, but he caught back up to me and rode right through me. That dude can ride. Of the guys that took the wrong turn, I think he lost the most. He’d have probably been in the top three.

"After the bike I just started running. I felt really good. I caught Lees at a mile and a half, and Clode at 3 miles. I caught Jimmy at five and a half, and after that he had a very hard time. I didn’t know how I was doing against Sandvang.

"But then I heard the camera guys talking. They were with me, and then one said to the other something like, ‘I’ll go up ahead to catch Bolton going past Sandvang.’ I caught him at nine and a half. Then I just put it into finish mode."

Asked if Bolton has made the entire transition––mentally, and career-wise––to long course racer, he said "absolutely." There’s no going back to being a sprinter for him, although he wouldn’t rule out another run at the Olympics in four years. But that would be a blip, he made it clear, in a career that is now long-course oriented.

He intends to race IM Lake Placid, where he hopes to qualify for, and compete in, the Hawaiian Ironman. He’ll also do some high-profile short races like Alcatraz and Mrs. T’s. He’ll be spending most of his time away from his Boulder training base this summer, and back in his college town of Laramie, Wyoming, where he’s also finishing up his graduate degree in nutrition.

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McCormack sprints to long course win at Wildflower

May 6, 2001, Lake San Antonio, California (www.slowtwitch.com):

Racking up wins and frequent flyer miles both, Australia's Chris McCormack has made it three wins in the last four weeks on three different continents. Following wins at Gamagori, Japan, and Mooloolaba––where he became the Australian national champion last week––McCormack won Wildflower in his first ever half-Ironman.

Australia made it a trifecta as another sprinter-turned-distance man––at least for a day––Craig Walton got second, and last year's winner Chris Legh came across in third.

Walton led everyone out of the water with an overpowering swim, breaking James Bonney's course record with a 21:49 split over 1.2 miles. Nobody was even close. The rest of the legitimate challengers––including McCormack, Kerry Classen, and Wes Hobson––came out in a pack ninety seconds down.

Peter Reid came out of the water further back than would've been expected, and was obviously laboring. He'd been suffering from a stomach ailment and had not eaten for two days prior to the start. He would retire before the end of the race after a game try.

Walton, meanwhile, was blistering the bike course. He clearly wanted to get free of McCormack and all challengers before the run, and his bike split of 2:18 was only a minute off of Zack's record set last year.

But his ride was only third best of the day. The top split belonged to Steve Larsen––he of the Mongoose Bicycles commercial. Larsen, reigning Norba Mountain Bike Champion and former Motorola pro road rider, was competing in his first-ever road triathlon (he dabbled in XTerra racing last year). He tore through the bike course, and in a rare occurance actually rode through Jurgen Zack. "He looked like a roadie," said Zack, "and I thought that's what he was, out on a ride, trying to challenge the triathletes for a few miles. I couldn't believe anybody riding like that could actually be in the race."

Larsen eventually would ride a 2:14:06 and smash the 2:17 record that Zack acquired only last year when he finally wrested it from Andrew MacNaughton, who'd held it since '91.

As for McCormack, anybody who thought he'd play his first half conservatively was mistaken. If it wasn't for Larsen's ride, McCormack would hold the bike course record today with his split of 2:17:00.

The two short-course Aussies were well-clear of the field on their arrival back at T2. None of the long-course experience in the field––Cam Widoff, Zack, Reid, Legh––seemed to phase this pair who, prior to this day, had done a grand total of a single half-Ironman between them.

Third into transition was Steve Larsen, followed closely by Legh, Mike Pigg, Wes Hobson, Chuckie V, and Kerry Classen. Aquitting themselves well were first-year pros Lance Muzslay and Brian Lavelle, who were just behind.

Legh outran all the chasers, running a fine 1:17:51, but McCormack––or Macca as he is called back home––ran in without much struggle for the win. His time of 4:00:12 was a new course record, but the elusive 4-hour barrier at Wildflower stands for another year. Walton finished second in 4:02:13, and Legh came home in 4:07:14.

Certainly the surprise of the day was Steve Larsen. He ran a surprisingly strong 1:25 on a very hilly, hot course to hold on for fourth place ahead of hard-charging Chuckie V. Hobson, Pigg, and Classen were next across, with fine rookie performances by Muzslay and Lavelle rounding out the top ten.

Asked about how he kept himself going strong over this distance, McCormack said, "I've been working over the past several weeks with the G-Push folks (fluid replacement providers for the race) and my plan worked fabulous for me. I did the race on three bottles of super-concentrated G-Push on the bike––200 calories a bottle––along with three Clif Shots. Other than that, it was just clear water at the bike aid stations to lean out the mix, and then just regular-strength G-Push on the run. I felt fantastic the whole way.

"I want to do the Ironman," McCormack continued, "but not for a year or two. I can't imagine doing this course twice through. But I've stopped listening to those who're telling me not to do any of the long stuff. The Ironman, and races like this, that's where it's at. I love the sprints, but I don't want to stick only to those my whole career."

Americans will be seeing plenty of McCormack this year, as he'll be staying in San Diego with Slowtwitch journalist Kelly Rees over the summer.

(RESULTS)

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Lindquist takes Wildflower in an almost wire-to-wire performance

May 6, 2001, Lake San Antonio, California (www.slowtwitch.com):

American Barb Lindquist and the rest of the women salvaged American dignity at Wildflower, as Yanks took the podium spots in the women's race.

As dominating as Craig Walton's swim was in the men's race, Lindquist positively obliterated the women's swim record and all her competitors while in the water. Her 22:55 would've put her ahead of swim experts McCormack and Kerry Classen in the men's race, and of course she accomplished that while breaking her own water.

As an indicator of Lindquist's domination of the swim, only two women––Becky Gibbs and Gina Kehr––had a swim split under 26-minutes.

Gibbs was not about to hand the race to Lindquist, however. She actually managed to catch Lindquist during the bike leg, and came into T2 first. The fastest ride of the day, however, belonged to Erin McCarty, whose 2:38:22 was over a minute faster than Gibbs' ride.

On a day in which the temperatures reached into the 90s, one might suspect that Lindquist could succumb to one of the late-race meltdowns that've plagued her in short-course races held in similar heat. But not on this day. Gibbs visit to the front was not to last. Lindquist ran a very fine 1:30:07––overhauling Gibbs somewhere in the middle of the winding, offroad course––to take the race in 4:37:42, while Gibbs held on for second in 4:40:37.

Gina Kehr had one of the best races of her career to finish third in 4:43:54, with Heather Fuhr––the run course record holder (1:22)––having, as usual, the fastest run of the day, in 1:26:27––to take fourth. McCarty was fifth, and neo-pro Joanna Lawn from Australia was sixth.

Previous winners of this race had a tough day. Last year's champ, Jeanne-Anne Krizman, retired early in the run, and the winner two years ago––Melissa Spooner––had a tough day and finished in the eleventh spot.

(RESULTS)

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Four hours under siege at Wildflower

May 4, 2001, Lake San Antonio, California (www.slowtwitch.com):

The most competitive field in years—injected with the blistering footspeed of several Olympic-distance aces moving up to long-distance racing—may finally break the four-hour barrier at one of America's toughest half-Ironman races.

Although Wildflower is in its 19th year, the four-hour mark has yet to be crossed here, a measure of the course's difficulty. But the field assembled for Saturday's race is the toughest in recent memory and includes—in addition to long-distance veterans and past champions Cameron Widoff, Chris Legh and Jurgen Zack—several Olympic-distance aces who are making their first foray into long-distance racing. They'll be vying for $37,000 in prize money.

"It's the toughest half-Ironman in the galaxy," said Competitor magazine's Bob Babbitt, here to challenge the course himself again.

The women's field includes American Olympic-distance queen Barb Lindquist, fresh from a season of F1 racing in Australia; Aussie and long-course specialist Louise Davoren; defending champ Jeanne Anne Krizman; two-time champ Heather Fuhr; new pros Joanna Lawn of New Zealand and Alexis Waddel of California; and multi-distance phenom Joanne King, also of Australia.

In the men's race, defending champion Chris Legh is back, along with the man he defeated by less than a minute, Jurgen Zack. Ironman World Champion Peter Reid is here, testing his winter's training for a season that will also include a visit to Ironman Germany. They're joined by a gaggle of top Australian athletes, including Olympian Craig Walton and former World Champion Chris McCormack. It will be McCormack's first try at long-course racing. And multiple Wildflower champ Cameron Widoff will be back, looking for another win after a slow puncture on the bike took the wind out of his sails. If that weren't enough to ensure a torrid pace, bike terror Mike Pigg is here.


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The early speed at Wildflower

May 4, 2001, Lake San Antonio, California (www.slowtwitch.com):

The swim has historically been a relatively unimportant prelude in the Wildflower half-Ironman. No matter who wins in the water, it is only a matter of minutes before the superior bike skills of athletes like Chris Legh, Jurgen Zack, and Cam Widoff put them within striking distance of the men'a lead.

This year, though, it could be different. The "X-factor" in tomorrow's race is a pair of Aussies with uncommon swim speed: Chris McCormack––who's positively had his hair on fire over the past several weeks, winning at Gamagori and Mooloolaba––and Craig Walton. McCormack has never done a half. Walton was overpowering in his first try at the distance last December in Australia. They'll certainly be in the lead after the swim, perhaps by a good distance. How fast will they ride?

A third Australian, Mark Lees, may also be able to follow the feet of his countrymen. He may not have the credentials of Walton and McCormack, but he's already win a big race this year––the Pan American championships in Clermont––so he is fit.

One American––known more for his XTerra prowess than his long-course talent––will challenge early. Kerry Classen has an overpowering swim, and he's certainly be with the Aussies. He brings a powerful bike split with him as well, if and when he's fit and ready––which is not always. But his coach, Scott Molina, had him very fit very early in the season last year, and Classen's already win this year. He easily breezed home with a win in the Bakersfield Triathlon two weeks ago.

"I'm climbing well on the bike right now,"said Classen. "But if Walton really wants to ride hard, I'm not going to follow. I'll only ride with Walton and McCormack if the pace is comfortable. Otherwise, I'll hang around for Reid, Zack and the others."

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Cycling patriarch tries his hand at the half

May 4, 2001, Lake San Antonio, California (www.slowtwitch.com):

Who is the first family of triathlon? Mark Allen and Julie Moss? Greg and Sian Welch? Powerful pedigrees, yes, but no name in triathlon carries a tradtion equal to that of the Young family in cycling. Roger––the "first" Young––is now a triathlete.

Roger Young was a 1972 & 1976 Olympian in cycling, a 5-time national track champion, and served on ten national teams. His wife, Connie Paraskevin Young, was on––count them––5 Olympic teams. She was a 4-time world champion in cycling, and served on both summer and winter Olympic teams (track cycling and speed skating).

Roger Young's sister, Sheila Young, was an Olympic gold medalist in speed skating, and was also on both summer and winter teams. She was also a 3-time cycling world champion.

Sheila Young is married to Jim Ochowitz, head of the U.S. Postal Service pro cycling team.

Roger is a popular coach for both cyclists and triathletes in South Orange County, his business economically termed Young's Training Center. Roger is competing in the half-Ironman race at Wildflower.

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Montgomery uses blistering footspeed to overtake rivals at St. Anthony's

April 30, 2001, St. Petersburg, Florida (www.slowtwitch.com):

The week before St. Anthony's triathlon Canada's Carol Montgomery raced to a 32:19 performance on the track for 10,000 meters at California's Mt. Sac Relays. That ought to have been enough to ensure that she wouldn't be challenged on the run. The only question was, if she's running this fast, can she have been swimming and cycling an adequate amount?

Just barely.

Montgomery hung around on the first two legs, and had just enough to overtake America's Joanna Zeiger on the final lap of the run to take the women's race in 2:01:57. Zeiger was second in 2:02:17 and Australia's Michellie Jones took third in 2:02:59.

The women's race looked like it might bring another World Cup victory for North Palm Beach, Fla., resident Laura Reback, who won her first World Cup race on April 15 in Gamagori, Japan.

Reback led out of the swim and onto the bike. She formed a pack with Zeiger, Sharon Donnelly of Canada and Becky Gibbs (Minnetonka, Minn.). The group of four had an easier time negotiating the course's narrow turns than the chase group of seven - which included Jones and Montgomery - and took a lead of almost 2 minutes.

Reback took the lead leaving the transition, but jet lag caught up with her and she fell back. Zeiger took the lead, but she could hear Montgomery's footsteps behind her.

"We had a good group of four on the bikes. Maybe we pushed it too hard," Zeiger said. "Carol was running like a demon with flames and the crowds were calling (to me) 'You can catch her!' and I was like 'No, I can't.' "

Montgomery passed Zeiger on the last lap, while Jones caught and passed both Gibbs and Reback. Gibbs went on the finish fourth and Reback in sixth. Montgomery's run time of 34:02, combined with heat in the low 80s and 51 percent humidity, had her in the medical tent with an IV after the race.

"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," Montgomery said.

Calmer waters greeted the men for their swim and a large pack, led by Frenchmen Franck Bignet, Frederic Belaubre and Poulat entered the transition together. A lead bike group of 12 formed and worked together until the transition. Whitfield and Kemper emerged during the run and ran together in the lead for most of the race, with Poulat making his move as they neared the finish line on The Pier in St. Petersburg. Whitfield and Kemper passed him again, but Kemper couldn't get past Whitfield.

Whitfield, the triathlon gold medallist at the Sydney Olympics, used a tremendous kick to defeat Kemper, a Longwood, Fla. resident, on the final straightaway, finishing with a time of 1 hour, 48 minutes, 52 seconds. Kemper finished 3 seconds behind while France's Stephane Poulat was third. Kemper became the first U.S. man to reach the podium at an ITU World Cup race since 1997. (Thanks to USAT's B.J. Evans for contributions to this report).

(RESULTS)

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Roving world cup party shifts to U.S.

April 26, 2001, St. Petersburg, Florida (www.slowtwitch.com):

After spending two weeks in Japan, those athletes specializing in Olympic-style racing have spent a groggy week adjusting to an eleven-hour time zone shift. Tampa, Florida's venerable St. Anthony's triathlon––the scene of a 1600-person age-group event––will host world cup racers this Sunday.

During the first two world up weekends in Gamagori, then Ishigaki, Japan, it was the U.S. versus Australia. In the first event, yank Laura Reback won; a week later it was Aussie Loretta Harrop, with the U.S. taking the next three spots. But Australia's best, Michellie Jones, wasn't in Japan for either event. She will be at St. Pete.

Jones may not, however, be the favorite. Recent Pan American victor Carol Montgomery will also be in the race. The Canadian does not have the early swim speed of Barb Lindquist, Nicole Hackett, and Loretta Harrop, and that first pack has had a recent habit of riding away from the second pack. But if Montgomery's arms aren't quite up to snuff, her legs are more than adequate. She just ran 32:19 on the track for 10km at the Mt. Sac Invitational. That means she can get off the bike three minutes down on any of the aforementioned leaders and still have a chance at the win. Should Jones, or yanks Siri Lindley or Joanna Zeiger make it up to that front pack, though, Montgomery will have a harder time making up ground. Lindley in particular has been overwhelming on the run leg.

The men's event will also pick up some additional faces at the start line. Olympic gold medalist Simon Whitfield from Canada will compete, and also entered is an infrequent visitor to U.S. races, the other Simon: Lessing. The Brit has dominated on the world stage for years, and is always a threat to win.

Also entered is one of the best all-around triathletes in the world, Ironman winner Luc Van Lierde from Belgium. He's been silent after his mysterious last-minute withdrawal from last-year's Kona race only two-days before its start.

The U.S. men's contingent will also get a boost from Olympian Hunter Kemper, who always races well in Florida, and U.S Olympic alternate Victor Plata. They'll join, among other Americans, neo-pro Brian Fleischmann, who was the overall age-group champion at St. Anthony's last year.

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Chuck Anderson returns to Gulf Waters

April 26, 2001, Pensacola, Florida (www.slowtwitch.com):

Chuck Anderson competed in the Flora-Bama Mullet Man Triathlon last Sunday, and he bettered last year's time by four minutes. Not so amazing, you might say. People set PRs all the time.

But do you remember who Chuck Anderson is? He––along with friend Richard Watley––survived a shark attack in the Gulf of Mexico while open-water swimming just off the Alabama coast. Anderson lost his arm adjacent to the elbow and almost perished in the attack, which occured only last summer.

The full account is featured on ABCNews.com. You can see Chuck Anderson's "lucky" 13th place finish on the Flora-Bama results page.

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Lees gets the money, not the title, in Florida

April 9, 2001, Clermont, Florida (www.slowtwitch.com):

On Sunday in warm and sunny Clermont, Fla., two Floridians withstood the heat to place second and third in the Pan American Championship pro men’s race. Alec Rukosuev (Apoka, Fla.) and Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla.) placed second and third respectively in the Pan Am race, which was won by Argentina’s Daniel Fontana. However, all three men finished behind Australia’s Marc Lees, who was not eligible for the title, but did earn a portion of the $25,000 prize money.

Lees led the Olympic-distance, draft-legal race out of the swim and then formed a strong cycling pack with Kemper, Fontana and Rukosuev. The group pulled out to a 20-second lead, then Lees increased his lead on the run.

In the women’s race, Australia’s Michellie Jones led the race out of the swim and was part of a lead pack of nine, which included Jennifer Gutierrez (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and Joanna Zeiger (Baltimore, Md.) of the U.S. and Carol Montgomery and Sharon Donnelly of Canada. Jones maintained her lead through the second transition, but Montgomery made her move around the halfway point and took the lead. She went on to win the overall race and the Pan Am title. Jones was second overall, but not eligible for ITU points. Zeiger placed third overall and second in the Pan Am chase.

(RESULTS)

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Owners of Pacific Grove and Wildflower announce Treasure Island

April 2, 2001, Pacific Grove, California (www.slowtwitch.com):

Terry Davis, whose Tri-California race organization produces the popular Wildflower, Escape from Alcatraz and Pacific Grove triathlons as well as Tinley’s Dirty Adventures, is adding another race to the mix.

The Treasure Island Triathlon will be November 3, with Olympic and sprint-distance races on offer. Professionals will be vying for a $10,000 prize purse.

The swim will take place in the San Francisco Bay at Treasure Island, with the bike and run covering Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island. The bike will be a four-loop affair for Olympic-distance competitors, Davis said, starting on the flat Treasure Island side and climbing up into the hillier Yerba Buena area before looping back around on closed roads. The run will be fairly flat on Treasure Island only.

The islands are actually one piece of land that was formerly a U.S. naval station. The City of San Francisco now owns the property. Most travelers know the islands as the hilly, green islands they pass over as they drive on the Bay Bridge from San Francisco to Oakland.

"The views from Treasure Island are spectacular," Davis said. "It’ll be unique because we’ll have to take everybody out to the island out on a boat." Athletes will depart from San Francisco on a ferry for their trip to Treasure Island.

The field will be limited to 1,500 for the Olympic-distance race, and Davis expects to have applications up on the Tri-California website (http://www.tricalifornia.com) by next week.
Davis also reported that the Olympic-distance race for the Seagate Triathlon at Pacific Grove, to be held this year on September 15, has sold out for individual entries. Sprint and relay entries are still available.

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Jack Caress' great white whale

March 21, 2001, Los Angeles, California (www.slowtwitch.com):

Jack Caress has things going his way. He's got a bevy of successful races on his calendar, including the just-finished Catalina Marathon. "As far as race production goes, this race is on automatic," Caress said last Saturday, sitting atop a mountain overlooking both windward and leeward coasts of Santa Catalina Island. This scenic spot marks the 22-mile mark of the marathon, and from an event producer's perspective nothing in particular goes on here. It is a testament to the ease with which this race can be produced that its director chose this spot to view his event.

"We've got 750 people doing this marathon today, and tomorrow 500 of them would sign up to do it next year," he said. "This is the definition of a cult race. We are just the stewards here––we just need to make sure we don't screw it up."

Caress also has another 700 people in the 5K and 10K races. There are very few roads to close. The marathon takes place on dirt roads already closed to traffic.

Caress has the Catalina Triathlon as well, with 700 entrants last year, and, again, moderate costs compared to mainland events. He's got The Human Race in Newport Beach, one of triathlon's longest running triathlons, continuously going since 1978. He's got the Rock & Roll Triathlon in Cleveland.

All these races--as well as other elements of his business--turn a profit for his company, Pacific Sports. He and partner Mike Bone do just fine, thank you very much. But to Jack Caress' great credit--and in a more quantifiable way to his great debit--Caress was and is thinking much bigger.

"Los Angeles needed a triathlon," he said. "There is no way Chicago should have a triathlon like Mrs. T's and L.A. have nothing comparable."

Perhaps so. But then L.A. has no pro football team either. Some things just don't pencil in L.A., all rational thinking to the contrary. But Caress has doggedly pursued an event in this town for years, and last year finally got his wish.

"It wasn't cheap," Caress admits. "Right away, you pay over $50,000 for the right to use the city seal." That's a big license fee. But once you do--and the L.A. Marathon is an example--the ability to put on a race with the support of the city is much smoother. "Frankly, in Los Angeles, it could work no other way and be successful."

Still, the bill for all those police and traffic personnel, and so on, rose deep into the six figures. And that was just the city's bill. That doesn't include the marketing, the T-shirts, the porta-potties, and the pro prize purse. But Caress is no novice, and knew what he faced. "Daunting as they were, we were prepared to accept the costs," he said.

No doubt, you can't put on this race unless you go all the way. Just the thought of hosting a swim in the ocean and a bike ride that somehow ends up in downtown L.A. is enough to give your garden-variety race director a seizure. Both the logistics and the cost are astronomical. And, if that wasn't enough, the City of Los Angeles mandated that Caress have one of the largest prize purses in the sport. Last year the L.A. Triathlon paid out $100,000 to the pro participants, and it'll be the same this year. (And this race did pay the prize money--Triathlonlive checked).

"Let us say that we made an investment in this race last year, and there aren't too many years we can afford to do so," said Caress. "But we're confident our investment will turn into a viable property. We've got a multi-year deal both with the city and with our title sponsor, and we'll turn the corner. We did OK in entries in year one. About 1,800 signed up."

That is astoundingly good for a first-year race.

"We can make this race pencil at 3,000 entries," he said. "But we're thinking bigger. We can be the world's biggest race." That means beating Jan Caille's Mrs. T's Pierogies Triathlon in Chicago, with its 5,000-plus annual racers.

Caress has harpooned his great white whale, which will resurface this September 9th. It's big enough to take an entire ship down. But what a trophy it would make.

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It'll be a wild time at Wildflower

March 20, 2001, Pacific Grove, California (www.slowtwitch.com):

The elite race for the 2001 Wildflower long course is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in recent memory, thanks in part to an influx of athletes from Down Under who will join the battle for a share of $37,000 in prize money. In all, 61 pros are now scheduled to toe the line.

The women's field includes American Olympic-distance ace Barb Lindquist, currently tearing things up in Australia but showing again her interest in stepping up to longer-distance racing after tackling Ironman Hawaii last October; Aussie and long-course specialist Louise Davoren; defending champ Jeanne Anne Krizman; two-time champ Heather Fuhr; new pros Joanna Lawn of New Zealand and Alexis Waddel of California (both of whom just raced in Ironman New Zealand); and multi-distance phenom Joanne King, also of Australia.

In the men's race, defending champion Chris Legh will be back, along with the man he defeated by less than a minute, Jurgen Zack, and a gaggle of top Australian athletes, including Olympian Craig Walton, former World Champion Chris McCormack, and Mark Lees. Multiple Wildflower champ Cameron Widoff will be back, looking for another win after last year's slow puncture on the bike took the wind out of his sails. Then there's two-time Ironman Hawaii champ Peter Reid, who has also won at Wildflower, in the mix, too, along with bike terror Mike Pigg and Wes Hobson, always a threat.

The Tobin family will be racing as well. XTerra World Champion Mike Tobin is slated to appear along with wife Jenny, a fellow XTerra athlete with some long-distance racing to her name, too: She raced at the Long Distance World Championships in Sater, Sweden in 1999.

Race director Terry Davis said Wildflower continues to attract top athletes and maintain its wild popularity among age-groupers despite the loss of qualifying slots for Ironman Hawaii because the course is so challenging and the event is such a triathlon happening. Truly a festival of triathlon, it begins Thursday or Friday before the racing starts on Saturday, and continues on through Sunday. In all, three races take place over the long weekend: Saturday's long course and mountain bike races and an Olympic distance race on Sunday.

"Most people who race it, it becomes their favorite race of the year," Davis said. "I think it's because it's what triathlon is all about. It's the type of course that people got into this sport for to begin with—it's out in the country, the bike course is a tough one that has rolling hills, and steep hills, and steep declines. When you've completed the 56-mile bike course, you know you've accomplished something." Then the trail run wraps things up.

"God made the course, I didn’t make the course," he said. "It's just a great course. The credit that we have is just diligently working at it year after year to make sure it stays a racer's race."

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Zack is back in the groove

February 27, 2001, Leucadia, California (www.slowtwitch.com):

Jurgen Zack will be back at Wildflower after all. He's just landed in Leucadia for his annual North San Diego County Winter/Spring training stint, and he confirms that his collarbone––broken just a few weeks prior to last year's IM Hawaii and knocking him out of the race––is healed (though it has left a nice-sized knot).

Zack is only a few weeks into his training, but he's already into the groove. Ex-pro, and now entering the 45+ age-group––Mark Montgomery trained with Zack last week. "He's already hammering the (hilly 120-mile) Henshaw loop. And he's swimming fine. And he's running well. He's amazingly strong considering he's only started training a couple of weeks ago."

Zack, however, downplays this. "I've only been in the pool 11 or 12 times since the accident. And I'm really not going very fast."

Zack's training partner of yesterday, Wolfgang Dittrich, said it best, in what's become a legendary refrain among pro triathlete's of that generation: "We shall see."

Zack joins Peter Reid, Chris Legh, Chris McCormack, Craig Walton, and the odds-on favorite, Peter Reid in Wildflower's tough field. Also joining in is a renewed and hungry Mike Pigg, and longtime short-course U.S. pro Wes Hobson.

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Van Dyken hot on Taormina's heels... not

February 25, 2001, Colorado Springs, Colorado (www.slowtwitch.com):

Albeit a baby step, swim star Amy Van Dyken did actually stick her toe in the waters of triathlon yesterday.

Six-time Olympic gold medallist Van Dyken finished the Hoff & Leigh Winter Triathlon in Colorado Springs, finishing as the 6th place female and first in the women’s 25-29 age-group.

Van Dyken has apparently evinced a desire to compete at triathlon’s marquis distance, the Ironman. But yesterday’s race was triathlon’s version of the 25-yard freestyle: a 500-yard swim at the Colorado College natatorium, a 7-mile bike ride and a 2-mile run on the college’s track.

Van Dyken has a long way to go to match the prowess of swimming’s best crossover exponent, Sheila Taormina. But there’s a first time for everything, and as of today Van Dyken is now a bona-fide triathlete.

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Top field, tough schedules, for Wildflower's men

February 23, 2001, Monterey, California (www.slowtwitch.com):

The news just keeps getting better for Terry Davis, head of Tri California, producers of Wildflower Triathlon. He's not only signing on sponsors at a torrid rate, he's filling up his men's pro field at a similar pace.

You couldn't find a better headliner than last year's Kona champ Peter Reid. Also racing is an athlete who's so tough here you'd have to grant him home advantage: former winner Cameron Widoff.

After that the field turns decidedly Aussie in theme. Last year's winner, Chris Legh, is set to return. But he's got a tough schedule in front of him. Only two weeks later he'll race IM California, an event he won last year. Then, with three weeks rest, he returns north to race another of Davis' races, Escape from Alcatraz.

Fellow Aussie Chris Walton, who tried out his first half-Ironman just a couple of months ago in Canberra––and won convincingly––is also set to toe the start. His schedule might be tougher to pull off than Legh's. He's also one of the headliners at IM Australia, which will be held only 4 weeks before Wildflower. As that will be Walton's first-ever Ironman, he––along with the rest of us––will find out how all that long racing appeals to his legs a few miles into Wildflower's tough, and often hot, run course. Walton will then get a little more rest––5 weeks––before competing in Escape.

The other top Aussie in the field is a former World Champ. Chris McCormack is, like Walton, stepping up in distance. He'll also race Escape.

Terry Davis has not yet heard from Jurgen Zack, who waged a stirring duel with Legh last year, just falling short. Both men threatened to break 4 hours––never before done at Wildflower––before Legh crossed the line in 4:01. Zack has reportedly just landed in San Diego for his annual Winter-Spring training.

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Bolton is moving up

February 20, 2001, Mesa, Arizona (www.slowtwitch.com):

U.S. Olympian Ryan Bolton has taken another successful step on his way from 2-hour racing to 9-hour racing (or, as he hopes, 8-hour racing). The Boulder resident ran his first 26-miler, the Desert Sun Marathon in Mesa, Arizona.

"My coach, Joe Friel, told me to take it out very easy." said Bolton. "Like, 5:45 miles, for the first three. I went through the first mile and I was all alone. I thought I might have really gotten the pace wrong. But I went through the first three miles right on 5:45s and there just wasn't anybody else going that pace."

He would eventually quicken to 5:30 pace, and breeze through the finish in 2:26:03 on a TAC certified course. His closest competitor was just crossing the 24-mile mark when Bolton was looking for the massage tent.

In an odd scheduling move, this race was held on the 18th of February, the day before the Valley of the Sun Marathon across town in Scottsdale. Had Bolton run that race he'd have had a bit more company, as Greg Wenneborg and former L.A. Marathon champ and American Masters half-marathon record holder Paul Pilkington (1:03:06) ran 2:27:02 and 2:30:07 respectively.

Just the same, this puts Bolton right on schedule to compete in his first ultra, Ironman USA in Lake Placid. En route, he'll almost certainly compete at St. Croix, where he'll probably lock horns with Tim DeBoom and Luc Van Lierde.

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Glah keeps on truckin'

February 14, 2001, Santos, Brazil (www.slowtwitch.com):

While all the Big-four veterans were trading Kona war stories at the Competitor Sports Awards, the Beast from the East was showing this generation's young guns how it's done. Ken Glah was far away from the tuxedos and finger food. He was flying from Chile––where he beat back a top field for the win in Pucon––to Santos, Brazil. Athletes converge on Santos from all continents to form one of the year's top short course start lists.

How did Glah fare in Santos? He rode, then ran, the whole field down save he who almost always wins on his home course, Oscar Galindez.

"Glah's the one guy who does so much so well, yet gets no credit for it," says Scott Tinley. Glah––his competitor since 1983––was, in the '80s, the lone East Coast hammer in a sport filled with West Coast stars.

"He trains all day long in his basement," says Tinley, "watching Rocky movies while riding his Computrainer. Then he goes out and whips everyone. Mark has no interest in racing, Molina does his little comebacks because he gets bored down at the bottom of New Zealand, I can maybe scratch my way into the top five if mountain biking is involved. But Glah is amazing. He can still race with anybody. He's the last of us who's still up there. And, he's such a good guy."

Unlike his neighbor Punxatawny Phil, this Pennsylvania native emerged from his underground den and stayed up. Here's Glah on his recent Pucon win:

"I did have a really good day. I got out of the water with Chris Legh, Tim DeBoom and Matias Brain about a minute behind Craig Alexander. I rode well. Tim dropped off right at the beginning of the bike as he wanted to start off each leg kind of slow and build into it. I got away from Chris and Matias about 30k into the ride and went by Craig around 35k.

"Chris caught me going into the headwind climb on the second lap but I pulled away with about 15k left and started the run up about :40 on him, about 6 minutes on Craig, and 9 minutes on Tim.

"There were probably 20,000 people in town, or more, as it was two or three people deep on both sides of the road all the way through town. I ran steady for the first 11k and Chris stayed about :35 to :45 back, and then I pushed it for about 5k and opened up a lead of about 2 minutes. Tim and Christian [Buston, in his retirement race] were both running really well and they moved passed Craig Alexander, who was struggling with the heat and some jet lag from the trip from Australia."

The Pucon racers then traditionally fly over the Andes to the east coast of South America, to Brazil's biggest port: Santos. There the pro field grows by virtue of some additional imports along with the top Brazilian and Argentine racers. Among them is Oscar Galindez, an Argentine who trains and races so much in Brazil he's basically more at home there than in his native country. Galindez has an amazing capacity to win in Latin America, regardless of who shows up.

For his part, Glah comes to these races because he's become a fixture in Latin American racing, having won IM Brazil (a race he now partly owns). He lives in Pennsylvania, and refuses to jetset around the Gucci warm-weather training locales. He has an Endless Pool, a Star Trac, and a Computrainer in his basement. He can do an Ironman without leaving the house (and probably has). His training partner is his wife, 43-year-old supervet Jan Wanklyn, who also trains in that downstairs room which has certainly long-since become the world record holder of logged-mileage basements. "You could erect a salt mine in that basement and make money," says Tinley.

Glah on Santos:

"I had only ridden once outside since starting back in December, with everything else on the CompuTrainer. I got out with Oscar Galindez about :40 behind Chris McCormack, Alec Rukosuev, Craig Alexander, Victor Plata and Olivier Marceau. Oscar stayed about 30 to 50 meters up on me until a U-turn 5k into the bike, when he got about 100 meters out, and I just gradually lost time to him the rest of the bike.

"Chris {former world champ Chris McCormack from Australia] was off the front and Oscar and I moved into second and third by about 10k into the ride. Oscar started the run about :30 down on Chris and I was about a minute back. Olivier dropped off pretty quickly (he is only a few weeks back into training).

"I started running well about 2k into the run and was still about 1:15 behind Chris, and a minute behind Oscar. Oscar soon passed Chris and I caught him by 5k. I never closed on Oscar and he finished about 1:20 up on me. Chris struggled with the heat over the last 5k and finished about 2:30 back from me, with three people closing fast on him. Craig was in fourth with about 200 meters left and was then passed by Alec, and then a hard-charging Alexandre Manzan (probably the fastest run) who Alec held off.

Not bad for a guy closing in on 20 years as a competitive pro triathlete.

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Scott Molina makes it into triathlon's hall

February 13, 2001, La Jolla, California (www.slowtwitch.com):

Scott Tinley enters into the spirit of the off-season parties triathletes traditionally enjoy. One such get-together, held each February, is the Competitor Sports Awards.

This event used to be the Triathlete of the Year party, and was under the ownership of Triathlete Magazine. It was held on the Queen Mary, and once during its heyday in the late '80s and early '90s Tinley is rumored to have had so much fun he wore out his welcome on the dry-docked liner (but escaped getting tossed overboard).

In more recent years Competitor Magazine has staged the event. This year it moved from Sea World––where it's been for several years––to the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art.

Competitor Magazine gives away a variety of awards in different endurance sports, and recipients this year included Moroccan-turned-Yank Kahlid Kannouchi, world record holder in the marathon. Also honored were a variety of triathletes. Most notable among them were for Joanna Zeiger, Peter Reid, and Lori Bowden, the first for Competitor of the Year, the last two for long distance male and female triathletes of the year.

Triathlete Magazine, having rebounded in recent years under the leadership of publisher John Duke, has replaced its lost annual bash with a new institution, the Triathlon Hall of Fame. Annual inductees are announced at the Competitor Awards Ceremony, and this year's entry was Scott Molina. As is the case in other sports, inductions to the Hall follow in chronological order. We're up to the early '80s now, and it was Molina's turn.

The way you know Tinley is not simply having fun at one of triathlon's mega-parties, but is taking the event seriously, is when he steps to the microphone cold sober. In times past he's been rumored to have entered the party spirit prior to the end of official festivities. If there is one athlete Tinley honors above all others, though, it's Scott Molina. He jokes to Molina, but honoring his friend on a night like this is no laughing matter. On this night he called Molina perhaps the best triathlete of all time, based in no small part on 104 career victories in the sport.

Although Tinley said it is not possible to fathom all sides of the Big-Four member who was perhaps his closest friend and fiercest competitor, he told a story that might come close to capturing the essential Molina.

Just a couple of years ago––long past the prime of both––Molina returned to Kona for a nostalgic turn around the course. Tinley finished in 10:45, Molina in 11:04. The morning following the race Jim Riccitello called and asked if the two would like to join him for a swim workout up in Waikoloa. Molina said, "Sure," and Tinley went along, not anticipating that either of them would do more than paddle around in the Jacuzzi.

"Molina had nine Heinekens on the way," said Tinley. "Nine. And when we got to the pool, Molina asked Jimmy, 'What's the workout.' Jimmy was racing the following week in XTerra, see, and he was in full training. 'Nine by 300 meters, on the 3:15,' said Jimmy. Up to this point it was all a joke. I didn't think Molina was going to really go through with this. After all, we'd just finished an Ironman 11 hours before.

"He said, 'Okay Jimmy, let's get going,' and then turned and looked at me, dead serious, and said, 'Scott, you're in or your out.'

"'I'm out,' I said, and I watched them do nine times 300 meters, on the 3:15, holding 1:07 per 100 meters."

Molina enters the Hall of Fame alongside last year's inductees Dave Scott, John Howard, Sally Edwards, and Commander John Collins, and four other members previously inducted.

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XTERRA taking it up a notch for 2001

February 9, 2001, Honolulu, Hawaii (www.slowtwitch.com):

Producers of XTERRA have announced an expanded schedule and format for its 1.5k swim -30k MTB – 10k trail run series and, for the first time, will crown U.S. Age Group and Pro Champions.

Following the lead of the Ironman, you'll only be able to get to the big show -- on Maui, Hawaii -- through a qualification process. There will be a total of 15 races in sevel regions around the U.S. (detailed below), with three championship races. Through this process, seven regional age-group champions will be crowned, and each of these seven regions will qualify 41 athletes for the U.S. championship, to be held at Lake Tahoe. In other words, the 18 races prior to Lake Tahoe are those anyone can enter. After that, you've got to earn your way in.

Austin triathletes will work toward one race

December 14, Austin, Texas (www.slowtwitch.com):

Not even Texas is big enough for two Ironmans -- so it's easy to imagine the surprise that several Austin triathletes felt on Wednesday when they read about Tom Rodgers' plan to produce an "Ironman Texas," most likely in 2002.

That's because a very serious group of triathletes has been working on a potential "Ironman Texas", too. They had no idea that Rodgers, a Houston businessman and Ironman-loving triathlete, was making parallel plans and had already registered the name ironmantexas.com for his website.

Wednesday, Triathlonlive.com carried the news of Rodgers' Ironman Texas dreams -- without realizing that it wasn't one and the same race that the Austin triathletes have in mind. Thursday, after e-mails and phone calls flew around, the two sides appeared to be getting to know and understand each other a bit better. And Triathlonlive.com, too, was informed that, at this point, the two efforts are not connected. Heck -- nobody in the Austin group has hardly even heard of Tom Rodgers before Wednesday.

It's not that Tom Rodgers wants "Ironman Texas" all for himself. As he says, he's successful in business as it is, and doesn't need the hassle nor glory of being the race director (and that Ironman North America, Graham Fraser's company that operates out of Lake Placid, New York, would probably bring in one of its well-trained race directors, anyway). It's just that Rodgers started planting the seeds for such a race sometime last year -- coincidentally, about the same time as the Austin group.

The resolve will likely be the two groups' merging into one solidified effort to attract city and state cooperation and, most of all, sponsors with Texas-sized wallets. The Austin group can't be too mad with Rodgers for having had the same idea as them; they're more peeved that Rodgers managed to steal the first headlines out of the block -- and leave the public impression that he was connected with their group.

As for exactly who comprises this Austin group, let's just start with Jeff Rogers, Brad Davison and Rick Margiotta. Two more Ironman-minded triathletes, Rick Kent and Lisa Lynam, have also been attending planning meetings from the start. They have been conferring with the Austin Chamber of Commerce and Convention Bureau and the Austin Triathletes, and filed a formal proposal with Ironman North America in November.

"I can see how some of them were taken by surprise," Rodgers said on Thursday. "They were initially afraid that we (Rodgers and his company) wanted to bid on another site, to compete with their bid. When actually, it was always our dream to have the event in the Austin area, across the beautiful Texas hill country. Though our efforts somewhat predated theirs, we wish only to augment their fine work toward submitting the bid."

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NATS still owes prize money to athletes

December 15, Madison, Wisconsin (www.slowtwitch.com):

More news that's not good for the world's pro triathletes: The North American Triathlon Series is in arrears -- at least $30,000 -- for not paying prize money for its inaugural 2000 season.

NATS organizer Ken MacKenzie has gone quiet on the matter. His last known communication with one of the athletes owed money was on November 23, when he wrote: "We are making slow but sure progress."

Triathlonlive.com contacted him last week by email, to no response. Other athletes trying to make contact have said the company's cell phone and website are both no longer operational.

It appears that money is owed, from amounts of $200 to $2500 and possibly more, to about 30 athletes. Said Donna Peters, who earned $750 for finishing second in the Minneapolis race: "I do feel that others should know what races are not paying prize money so they can plan better. I, for one, plan my schedule by relying on earnings from earlier races in the season. I want to be informed so I do not show up and go into more debt than I can stand."

The NATS races offered relatively small amounts through the season -- prize purses of $5,000 and $10,000, including $10,000 for the championship event in Orlando, Florida, on October 7. By then, however, USA Triathlon had heard that money was owed to athletes and others from the season's start in June, and pulled its sanction for the NATS championship.

The athletes owed money by NATS are torn over how to handle the matter. Mostly they have stayed quiet, letting one of them conduct behind-the-scenes conversations with MacKenzie. But some of them are tired of the lack of results. Noted Amanda Pagon, who is owed $2,000: "I went along with the idea of keeping quiet because (the athlete talking with MacKenzie) seemed to have a hold on things, but enough is enough already."

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Could Austin be next, with Ironman Texas?

December 13, Austin, Texas (www.slowtwitch.com):

Those Texans like to think big, and now a group of triathletes is pushing for a full-blown Ironman for the Austin area -- complete with World Triathlon Corp. sanctioning and Hawaii Ironman-qualifying slots.

It's still just a dream, but if all goes as Tom Rodgers and his triathlon buddies hope, there could be an actual Ironman Texas as soon as the 2002 season.

Rodgers is an engineer and endurance triathlete. His most recent feats include finishing the Hawaii Ironman last October and, last month, finishing the three-day Ultraman World Championships, also in Kona.

Rodgers is president of SVI Communications, a company with Fortune 100 and government clients, and the one major sponsor so far committed to bringing life to the Ironman Texas idea.

He says on a new website, www.ironmantexas.com: "We are working diligently with WTC, experienced Texas race directors, the U.S. Olympic Triathlon Trials 2000 promoters, and Fortune 100 corporate sponsors to make this a reality."

Curious? Tom Rodgers welcomes all phone calls (1-888-714-4712, toll-free), and e-mails (tom@svi.net).

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USA Triathlon's directors gather for meeting

December 8, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho (www.slowtwitch.com):

USA Triathlon's board of directors is gathering on Friday and Saturday for a meeting, and a number of age-group-oriented issues are expected to dominate the discussions.

Those attending include the 11 directors, plus various USAT committee chairs. They will also get a preview of the Coeur d'Alene course that will serve as the USAT National Age-Group Championship.

The meeting agenda covers:

- 2001 USAT budget;
- Resolution to create a Duathlon Commission;
- Resolution to define and require 5-year age-group categories
within age group categories at USAT-sanctioned races;
- 2001 elite program;
- Staff reports;
- Committee resports;
- Report on USAT Training Center in Clermont, Florida;
- Discussion of USAT board election procedures;
- National Coaching Committee;
- Discussion of one-day license fee increase from $5 to $7.

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Molina next for Triathlete Hall of Fame

December 8, San Diego, California (www.slowtwitch.com):

Scott Molina, who dominated triathlon in the mid-80s and now remains active as an occasional age-grouper and coach, will be the 2001 inductee into the Triathlete Hall of Fame.

The induction will take place at the Competitor Endurance Sports Awards Banquet on February 10 at the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art.

Dubbed "The Terminator" for his dominance, Molina built an exemplary competitive record during his stretch on top of the sport. He had 11 victories in 1983; 14 in 1984 and 16 in 1985.

"Scott Molina is a true original, one of the real pioneers in the sport of triathlon" said John Duke, Triathlete Magazine publisher. "In the early '80s, he, along with Scott Tinley, trail-blazed the majority of the running trails in North County San Diego and explored virtually every road and mountain in the area. And when Molina moved to Boulder in the late '80s, the triathlon world moved with him."

Molina currently lives with his wife, Erin Baker, and their family, in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Molina joins the inaugural class of 1998, which consists of triathlon founders Tom Warren, Bill Shanahan, David Pain, Bill Phillips and Jack Johnstone; the 1999 class (Dave Scott, John Collins, John Howard, Sally Edwards and Valerie Silk); and the 2000 class (Julie Moss, Scott Tinley, Carl Thomas and Jim Curl).

Triathlete is actively pursuing a permanent home for the Triathlete Hall of Fame. "It makes the most sense to locate it in San Diego, where the entire multisport craze began 25 years ago," Duke said.

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Olympic triathletes go to Washington

November 28, Washington, DC (www.slowtwitch.com):

Triathlon's six Olympians -- Ryan Bolton, Hunter Kemper, Nick Radkewich, Jennifer Gutierrez, Sheila Taormina and Joanna Zeiger -- are among hundreds of Sydney Olympic and Paralympic athletes who are honored in Washington today and Wednesday.

Festivities start Tuesday evening with the Korbel Dinner of Champions. The highlight of the Washington trip, a visit to the White House to meet President Clinton, occurs Wednesday at noon.

Earlier on Tuesday, many athletes were visiting the Ronald McDonald House and the Children's National Medical Center as part of the United States Olympic Committee's Champions In Life youth outreach program.

According to the USOC: "Champions In Life involves Olympians and Paralympians reaching out to today's youth with the message that positive choices equal positive results in sport and life."

The Ronald McDonald House serves as a "home-away-from-home" for families who have ill children who spend significant time in local hospitals. Ronald McDonald House Charities support nearly 190 Ronald McDonald Houses in 14 countries. McDonald's is a sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Team through 2004.


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Tough first day for Ultraman competitors

November 24, Kona, Hawaii (www.slowtwitch.com):

Friday, the first day of the three-day Ultraman World Championship, proved a very cruel opener to the three-day, 320-mile round-island event on Hawaii's Big Island.

Only 18 out of the starting field of 35 triathletes actually completed the first day's course, between Kona and Volcanoes National Park. The competitive culprit was the current that slowed all of the swimmers as they did a 6.2-mile swim, followed by a 90-mile cycle up to the park.

Just 18 of them finished under the 12-hour cutoff, which is imposed on the field each of the three days. For Saturday, Day 2, competitors do a 171.4-mile ride up to Hilo, over the Kohala Mountains to Kapaau. On Sunday, they finish with a 52.4-mile run -- a double marathon -- between Hawi and Kona.

Friday's first stage leader was Slovenia's Uros Velepec, who was third out of the swim, but passed Germany's Markus Wiedemann after 60 miles on the bike. Velepec needed 8 hours, 41 minutes, nine seconds to finish the stage. He had finished the swim 30 minutes behind Wiedemann (2:49:12 for the swim).

The race started at 6:30am from the pier at Kailua Bay -- where the Ironman race starts. The tricky current hit swimmers just before they turned into Keauhou Bay.

"I was looking down at the same rock for 30 minutes," said Velepec, who has done an 8:48 Ironman. "I wasn't moving forward at all."

Hawaii's Rachel Portner, who finished the stage with eight minutes to spare on the bike, also said the swim was horrendous. "The first three hours were perfect," she said. "Then my paddler said I had better try harder to move through there, because I had just spent 90 minutes in the same place."

Two of the competitors didn't start as planned, and seven competitors failed to finish the swim. Another 10 were caught out on the bike -- largely because of their super-long swims. Texas' Rick Kent recorded the longest swim -- 6:53 -- and, in spite of his tremendous cycling skills, didn't make the end-of-day cutoff.

Those who didn't make the cutoff can still continue on the course on Saturday -- but only for the experience rather than for an official time and finish.

Canada's David Secord, racing his first Ultraman, was pleased to come in 10th overall at the day's end. "It was a swim from hell," he said. "The only thing worse was the 90-mile bike that followed it."

Just three of the seven women in the field are still in the race: Porter, plus Guatemala's Monica Fernandez; plus Japan's Hiroe Fukushima, who finished with 96 seconds to spare. She needed 5:04:23 for the swim, and 6:53:01 on the bike. Comparatively, Velepec needed 5:23:15 for the bike.

Fernandez is a first-timer to the race. She lives in Boulder, Colorado, where she trains with Dave Scott. Her splits of 3:28:09 and 6:25:30 brought her in at fifth overall.

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35 athletes converge on Kona for Ultraman

November 23, Kona, Hawaii (www.slowtwitch.com):

If October in Kona belongs to the Ironman Triathlon World Championship, November in Kona brings the Ultraman World Championship. Starting Friday, 35 athletes will circle the Big Island in a race of three-day proportions.

This is the last year that Ultraman will cover the round-island roads, for next year's race is changing to three days, leaving from and returning to Kona each morning.

Many of the athletes who came to Kona this time did so precisely because they knew this would be the last Ultraman of this format.

Here's how each day unfolds. Daily updates will be available on http://www.ultramanworlds.com:

Friday, Stage I - 6.2-mile (10 km) ocean swim from Kailua Bay to Keauhou Bay, followed by a 90-mile (145 km) cross-country bike ride from Keauhou Bay to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Route 11). Vertical climbs total 6,000 feet.

Saturday, Stage II - 171.4-mi (276 km) bike ride, from the Park (Route 11) to Keaau, then turning east with a counter-clockwise loop through Kalapana, Kapoho and Pahoa, then on to the city of Hilo. From Hilo the route continues north along the Hamakua coast (Route 19) to Waimea, over the Kohala Mountains to Kapaau (Route 250). Vertical climbs total 4,000'. Note: In 1986, a lava flow from Kilauea volcano began covering highways in the Puna area, causing significant changes in the Stage II bike course. Recent flows through Kalapana and over portions of routes 130 and 137 have again caused re-routing, although the overall distance and course remain equivalent to that of the previous six events.

Sunday, Stage III - 52.4-mile (84 km) double-marathon run from Hawi to Kawaihae (Route 270), then on to Kailua (via Route 19) finishing on the beach at the Old Airport State Park.

Each stage must be completed in 12 hours or less. The swim should be completed in 5 hours or less. Competitors not reaching the respective finish lines within the 12-hour limits will be disqualified.

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Five Colorado triathlons form the NYPPE.com series

November 22, Colorado Springs, Colorado (www.slowtwitch.com):

Five top Colorado triathlons have announced plans to join together as a series this coming summer -- as the New York Private Placement Exchange Series.

The New York Private Placement Exchange (NYPPE.com), a relatively new sponsor to the sport, is behind the project. The series will reach more than 5,000 total participations from around the region. They will compete for individual age-group awards and more than $5,000 in series prize money.

The series combines - - on June 17, in Colorado Springs, the Cheyenne Mountain Sprint Triathlon; - on July 9, in Monument, the Monument Triathlon; - on July 15, in Grand Junction, the Desert Sun Half-Ironman; - on July 22, in Fort Collins, the Fort Collins Triathlon; and - on 12 August, in Boulder, the Boulder MS Triathlon.

"NYPPe is proud to be a part of this new series," said NYPPE's managing director, Michael VanPatten. "It will offer high level competition for the professional and age-group triathlete. We feel that after its Olympic debut this past summer, the sport of triathlon is primed to grow. We want to be there as it does."

Lisa Rainsberger, director of the Cheyenne Mountain race, is the series coordinator. Contact her at 719-579-0773 or (rainsberger@usa.net).

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Triathletes of the Year: Zeiger and Kemper

November 21, Colorado Springs, Colorado (www.slowtwitch.com)

Fourth in the Olympics in September, then fifth in the Hawaii Ironman in October -- Joanna Zeiger saved her best racing of 2000 for last. And Hunter Kemper's heroics largely came at the season's start, when his racing in March and April kept his world ranking high enough to ensure that three American men qualified for the Olympics, rather than just one or two.

As a result, Zeiger and Kemper were named the United States Olympic Committee's Triathletes of the Year for 2000.

The honors were announced by the USOC last week. The two triathletes are among 49 women and 49 men across all individual sports who are being honored for their accomplishments in 2000. All of them are now nominees for the USOC's SportsMan and SportsWoman of the Year, which will be announced in December.

Last year's USOC SportsMan and SportsWoman of the Year were cycling's Lance Armstrong and swimming's Jenny Thompson. The voting panel is made of up the USOC's Bboard of directors, executive committee, Athletes' Advisory Council and members of the media.

Zeiger and Kemper were put forward as triathlon's nominees by USA Triathlon's board of directors. Initially, USAT asked its Athletes Advisory Council to draw up a list of candidates, from which select board members agreed on these two.

Zeiger, 30, lives in Baltimore, where she is finishing her Ph.D. in genetics research. She won three domestic races (St. Anthony's, St. Croix and Buffalo Springs, plus the USA pro title (2nd overall) at Mrs. T's Chicago. She also ran a personal-best 2:47:03 in February in the USA Olympic Trials Marathon, where she finished 30th.

Kemper, 24, is from Longwood, Florida, outside of Orlando. He lives most of the year in Colorado Springs, where he trains at the US Olympic Training Center. He was the first athlete to make the U.S. Olympic team, finishing 11th in the ITU World Cup-Sydney in April. He also was seventh in the ITU Triathlon World Championship -- a finish high enough to boost the entire men's team into position to get three Olympic spots, not just the one or two that the rankings had suggested earlier in the season. He also won the US Olympic Trials Triathlon in May, then finished 17th -- as highest American -- in the Olympic race.

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Triathlon ties that bond: Erika Musser writes

November 21, Chicago, Illinois (www.slowtwitch.com):

Erika Musser and her daughter traveled to a triathlon two weeks ago. But it wasn't just any San Diego-area triathlon, and it didn't leave Musser with the usual feelings after a race.

It was, she says, an extraordinary day. The occasion was the San Diego Triathlon Challenge, for the benefit (to the tune of $553,000) of the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Erika Musser's daugher is the blind triathlete, Heidi Musser, of Chicago. The following is a letter she wrote a few days ago to Bob Babbitt, one of the co-founders of the foundation:

"Two weeks ago -- on November 5, 2000 -- challenged athletes, celebrities, professional triathletes, as well as spouses and children, assembled at La Jolla Cove for the Seventh Annual San Diego Triathlon Challenge (SDTC). I was lucky to be there, too. I have not been the same ever since. My thoughts have been wandering back to this event daily, not once, but numerous times ...

"It's like something I have experienced that I want to hold on to and never to lose. Why did it take so long until a few noble human beings got together to create the Challenged Athletes Foundation? Will we, who were there at La Jolla Cove on that particular day, stand behind Jeffrey Essakow, Bob Babbitt, Rich Kozlowski, Virginia Tinley and Fiona Gotfredson, to nurture and to grow the "seeds" they have planted? Will the bonds we tied remain strong to bring about an unstoppable movement to correct the societal wrongs that challenged athletes have endured for so long?

"No objective observer of our contemporary, capitalistic society can doubt that brotherly love is a relatively rare phenomenon. In our modern society, people have erected barriers between each other and the achievements that can be accomplished with love. Capitalism destroys what the human heart so desperately longs for.

"Jeffrey, Bob, Rich, Virginia and Fiona seem to have accomplished mastery in living the "good" life through non-conformity to societal norms. Their radiant faces, their enthusiasm and their vitality were proof that they were answering passionately the dictates of their hearts. I could not help putting my arms around them for tight hugs, because my heart rejoiced seeing them in action!

"Dick and Rick Hoyt received the CAF "Most Inspirational Athletes Award 2000". Yes, I, too, stand in awe of both of them. I made up my mind to make contacts in Washington; they deserve a Presidential medal! In my opinion, Dick Hoyt should stand as the "hero" to give courage and inner strength to parents of disabled children nationwide. In future, I know that Dick will be the first one to come to my mind when I am confronted with stumbling blocks in helping my blind daughter, Heidi Musser, to reach the high goals she has set for herself. On top of her list is to participate as a blind female triathlete with her guide, Mark Landeck, in the Paralympics 2004 in Athens.

"I talked extensively with the parents of 12-year-old, double-amputee Rudy Garcia-Tolson. He clearly portrays that ordinary parents who are committed with deep love to the upbringing of their child are more powerful in changing societal attitudes than federal laws and policies.

"I am thankful to the many "beautiful" individuals I met through CAF. They have done so much for me; I hope I can give to them in return. CAF is an answer to what the human heart cries out for -- not only for challenged athletes but for ALL of us. Everyone in my family has already marked the first Sunday of November on their 2001 calendars."

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Revealed: The Internet's longest-running triathlon website

November 16, Austin, Texas (www.slowtwitch.com):

Triathlon websites -- now so numerous, coming from all corners of the globe -- have a relatively short history: Just eight years. Hard to believe these days that 1992 was when the first of the triathlon-related websites surfaced for public use.

But it did, and, incredibly, it's still going strong today. It's called "Austin's Triathlon Source," and you can find it here: http://www.austintri.com . The current webmaster is Austin, Texas' Rick Kent, who recalls its history this way:

"Marty Miller's website (out of Cincinnati) and "Osmar's Homepage" (out of British Columbia) were probably the most-hit sites back around the 1994-95 period. Our site, which was administered by Henry Pierluissi back then, probably had at least as many hits as those sites. But that was more likely due to Austin triathletes going there, to get to other links. The AT page (Austin Triathletes), as it was known back then, was the best resource for triathletes from our area. Austin is a very wired town, with all the tech companies and the 50,000-student University of Texas -- the largest university in the country.

"Henry created the website back when there wasn't really anything such as a website ... in 1992. No graphics, bells or whistles -- and the fastest modem was probably 800 baud! There were links to others within the university/government segment, with those same minimal "websites" with interests in swimming or cycling or running. Henry also liked puzzles and math/logic, too, so there were links to professors and such with similar leanings.

"The site later became the UT Triathlon Club page, and all this was being housed on the servers of UT. Henry later took a great job elsewhere, and that's when I stepped in: He was going to let the website die out, due to no longer having the free disc space at the university. I took on the webmaster role, and by then there was Netscape and I was working at Dell Computer. Previous to Dell, I was a full-time sponsored ultra cyclist doing RAAM every year. I had no concept of what went into web development.

"I knew absolutely nothing about html, but I was dying to learn. I liked Marty Miller's page, and I wanted to have something popular on a more world level like his ..., which, of course, now it has become just that. I get hits from all over the globe ... lots from Europe and Australia."

As for Marty Miller's site -- well-remembered amongst the long-connected as a pioneering site as "The Triathlete's Web" -- it's still there: http://w3.one.net/~triweb/triweb.html . But, it also hasn't been updated since 1997, carrying the headline news of Lothar Leder's incredible 7:57:02 performance at Ironman Europe that July. It also carries the news of Marty Miller's engagement -- and we suspect that's why his priorities changed. Amazingly, the site is still on the server. It makes for a fun look back at how triathlon used to be reported on websites. ---

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Kidder: Here are North America's oldest triathlons

November 14, Ann Arbor, Michigan (www.slowtwitch.com):

Lew Kidder -- the unofficial ombudsman for triathlon in America -- has been at work again. Last time, the list he unveiled on his cooltri.com website, was the 20 most influential people in our sport -- ever. That came, appropriately enough, on the eve of triathlon's Olympic debut in September.

Now comes another Kidder special: the definitive list of oldest triathlons in North America (with an open invitation for modifications, from those who know something different). With his permission, we republish his list below. He writes:

What multisport events have the longest current "streaks" - i.e., have been continuously staged since their opening act? Here is Cooltri's list of the North American suspects. We'd love your feedback. Did you do one of these in the early years? What do you remember? Have some of these streaks been interrupted? Do you have additional candidates, especially from other continents?

1975 - Los Alamos Triathlon. Los Alamos, New Mexico. First race was November 2, 1975. For first 16 years or so, event was three closely-spaced time trials, scored cross-country style.

1975 - Eppie's Great Race. Paddle, bike, run. Sacramento, California.

1975 - Pole, Pedal, Paddle. Winter version, with more than three legs.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

1977 - Pole, Pedal, Paddle. Son of the Wyoming parent. Bend, Oregon.

1978 - Ironman World Championship Triathlon. Started on Oahu, moved to
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii in 1981.

1978 - Josh Billings Runaground. Canoe, bike, run. Massachusetts.

1978 - The Great Race. Auburn, New York. 10k Run/20mi bike/4 mi canoe
classic began in 1978. NOTE: Team competition only.

1978 - Seawolf Triathlon. Anchorage, Alaska.

1978 - The Human Race Triathlon, now known as the Newport Beach Triathlon.
Newport Beach, California.

1979 - Black Hills Triathlon. Olympia, Washington. Began as a
half-ironman, has since switched to shorter distances.

1979 - Music City Triathlon. Nashville, Tennessee.

1979 - Topeka Tinman. Topeka, Kansas.

1979 - YMCA Triathlon. Cancelled twice in recent years because of
flooding. Wilmington, North Carolina.

1980 - Heart O'Dixie Triathlon. Point to point, ending at the Neshoba
County fairgrounds. Philadelphia, Mississippi.

1980 - Cypress Gardens Triathlon. Run, bike, swim. Madhouse sprint, with a teen-aged Nick Radkewich one of the early winners. Cypress Gardens, Florida.

1980 - LaPorte Triathlon. LaPorte, Indiana.

1980 - Little Miami Triathlon. Canoe, bike, run. Oregonia, Ohio.

1980 - Smith Falls Triathlon. Smith Falls, Ontario.

1980 - Wausau YMCA Triathlon. Wausau, Wisconsin. First race was one week
before first Menomonie Tinman.

1980 - Menomonie Tinman. Menomonie, Wisconsin. Half-ironman.

1980 - Muncie Endurathon. Muncie, Indiana. Half-ironman debuted on
September 13, 1980.

1980 - Hamlin Beach Triathlon. Began as a half-ironman, now conducted at shorter distances. Rochester, New York.

1981 - Maine Tinman. Camden, Maine.

1981 - Mark Mellon Memorial Triathlon. Gaylord, Michigan. First race was
August of 1981.

1981 - Sylvania Triathlon. Sylvania, Ohio. Initially conceived by local Vic Tanny club. Vic Tanny planned to drop in 1985, so Team Toledo picked up the torch.

1982 - Greater Wilkes Barre Triathlon. Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.

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USA Triathlon elections yield same board

November 13, Colorado Springs, Colorado (www.slowtwitch.com):

The USA Triathlon memberships annual elections for the board of directors, conducted in October, brought four incumbents back to the table: Washington's Tim Becker (representing Western vote), Texas' Jack Weiss (Central vote), Florida's Fred Sommer (Eastern vote) and Maryland's Ray Plotecia (At-Large vote).

Those seats were the only ones up for election on the 11-member board. The directors' two-year terms are staggered to provide consistency in service for these policy-making roles. These terms run from January 2001 through December 2002.

Both Plotocia, who gathered 271 votes for his at-large position, and Weiss (94 votes) ran unopposed. In the Western region, Becker (70 votes) defeated Utah's Jo Garuccio (15) and Colorado's Jose Valdez (11). In the East, Sommer (167) defeated North Carolina's Alisa Wright-Colopy (52).

The numbers suggest that just slightly more than 400 triathletes cast ballots -- out of a total membership with a round figure of 18,000.

The full board thus remains intact:

- Mike Highfield (Central Region) - president
- Sharron Ackles (At-Large)
- Katie Knight-Perry (Eastern)
- Jack Weiss (Central)
- Fred Sommer (Eastern)
- Tim Becker (Western)
- John Duke (Western)
- Ray Plotecia (At-Large)
- Josh Dapice (Athlete)
- Eric Schwartz (Athlete)
- Jimmy Riccitello (Athlete)

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$550,000 raised in a single day

November 8, San Diego, California (www.slowtwitch.com):

What happens when 300 able-bodied triathletes, and about 50 challenged athletes, get together for a triathlon and a good cause? They have a grand time, and when the money's counted at the end of the day, raise more than $550,000.

That really happened -- last Sunday at the seventh San Diego Triathlon Challenge. The half-Ironman event was less of a race than a celebration that benefitted the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

Relay teams abounded -- including the one that had Michellie Jones, the Olympic triathlon silver medalist swimming the 1.2 miles; Isuzu chief Bob Reilly cycling the 56 miles through San Diego's North County; and David Bailey, the Hawaii Ironman's handcycle division champion, doing the 13.1-mile run.

Celebrities mingled, too. There was Steve Hegg, the 1984 Olympic cycling gold medalist; Ken Souza, the former duathlon national champion; Scott Tinley, the two-time Ironman champion; Carlos Moleda, the two-time Ironman handcycle division champion; the father-son team of Dick and Rick Hoyt; double amputee Rudy Garcia-Tolson; Academy Award winner Robin Williams; and plenty more.

Said Competitor Magazine's Bob Babbitt: "The founders of the Challenged Athletes Foundation -- Jeffrey Essakow, Rick Kozlowski and myself -- and executive director Virginia Tinley would like to thank the triathlon community for making this day and this charity so special."

That, it was.

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Matt Haugen out at USAT

November 7, Colorado Springs, Colorado (www.slowtwitch.com)

Matt Haugen has become the latest coaching casualty at USAT. The American federation's first elite coach, George Dallam -- originally hired in the late '90s -- fell afoul of USAT executive director Steve Locke and was replaced with Haugen. That relationship has soured during the course of the summer, though, and Haugen is now officially among the coaching alumni as well.

Multiple sources inside USAT report that the final straw for Locke came when Haugen overheard a conversation which took place between Locke and the U.S. Olympic triathlon team coach Michelle Blessing soon before the Sydney Olympics. The discussion focused on the protocol for replacing an Olympic team member in case of injury. The athlete in question was Sheila Taormina, who had pulled out of the Chicago Mrs. T's Triathlon with a muscle cramp shortly before. The athlete USAT was considering as her replacement was Siri Lindley, fresh from a victory at the Lausanne World Cup and in obvious good form.

According to sources, Haugen then passed the contents of this conversation on to Taormina, which resulted in an understandable firestorm. Those in the Taormina camp reacted quickly and vociferously, arguing that Taormina's cramp didn't come close to rising to injury status. Any idea USAT might have had about booting Taormina from the team was then abandoned.

Locke maintains he had no firm intention of replacing Taormina -- the U.S. Trials winner who eventually lead a good part of the Olympic women's triathlon before placing sixth -- he was just anticipating a possible scenario. Locke considered Haugen's conduct in the matter a firing offense. Certainly the lack of an in-place policy for the disposition of an injured team member added to the confusion.

Within the last two weeks the rift was apparent, and growing, and Haugen tendered his two-week-notice in a correspondence sent in the early morning of Friday, October 27th. Locke terminated Haugen's position as head coach -- originally set to run to the end of the year -- later that morning, effective immediately.

USAT has apparently wearied of being in the coaching business, and will replace Haugen not with another head coach, but with what it calls a National Team Director. The new position makes intuitive sense, in that by the time an elite athlete makes a Worlds or Olympic team it is assumed he or she has competent coaching in-place. Indeed, most or all U.S. Olympic team members had their own coaches, separate from Haugen. The new hire will have duties that run more along administrative lines.

USAT has been looking for a candidate, and among them is Libby Burrell, a South African coach with stellar credentials. She coaches, among others, South African's only male Olympian, Conrad Stoltz. She was named South Africa's official Olympic coach for triathlon, and joined USAT's Michelle Blessing in Sydney as the only two female Olympic triathlon coaches responsible for both men and women.

Burrell is also a cousin of British (and South African born) standout Simon Lessing. She would have to clear the impediment of a work visa, however, should USAT continue to consider her alongside the other candidates vying for the position. It is also not clear whether Burrell herself would consider taking the job, or whether she has formally applied or has been formally recruited. What is clear from multiple sources close the U.S. federation, though, is that she'd be highly coveted were she to become available.-- DE

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Siri Lindley ends season on a hot streak

November 5, Cancun, Mexico (www.slowtwitch.com):

Siri Lindley didn't make it to the Olympics in 2000, but she sure ended her season on a high note anyway.

By winning the ITU World Cup-Cancun on Sunday, the last of the year's ITU races, Lindley extended her hot streak to five straight races since August, in which she finished on the podium every time.

Argentina's Oscar Galindez was the men's winner, 40 seconds ahead of New Zealand's Matthew Reed. It was, for Galindez, only his second ITU World Cup appearance in a season when he focused on Olympic preparation: He was 19th in the opener in Brazil back in March. (And in the Olympics, he was 28th).

For Lindley, it was her second World Cup win this season. She was also first in Lausanne in August and, one week before that, second in Tiszaujvaros. Since then, she was third in the Mrs. T's Triathlon in Chicago and second in the ITU World Duathlon Championships a month ago -- in only her first duathlon ever.

In Cancun, the women's field was hardly the heated pre-Olympic race that Lausanne had been. Here, she won by 43 seconds over a Spanish trio that went 2-3-4. The runner-up was Ana Burgos, Spain's new national champion who is as fresh on the international scene as Pilar Hidalgo, the third finisher on Sunday.

(RESULTS)