 |
|  Kemper, Lindquist and top triathletes look for Race of a Life Time July 13, 2005 Courtesy: USAT
While they are friendly away from the course, Hunter Kemper and
Barb Lindquist will be fighting tooth and nail for the same
prize on Saturday in Minneapolis, Minn., at the Life Time
Fitness Triathlon. Moreover, they will both be fighting a stellar field of
triathletes for that prize as well. The Life Time Fitness Triathlon's "Equalizer" format means that
the women's field gets a head start on the men, in hopes that
the two genders will be battling for the finish. In 2004, the
head start was 11 minutes, 9 seconds. The race is the
intermediate distance of a 1.5K swim, 40K bike and 10K run. The Life Time Fitness Triathlon also has the largest purse of
any in triathlon. This year, the total purse is $500,000, with
the overall winner (whether it's a man or a woman) getting
$160,000 in cash, plus a 2005 Toyota 4 Runner valued at $40,000. However, the women have won all of the first three races.
Lindquist (Alta, Wyo.) won the first two races, taking home
$50,000 in 2002 and $250,000 in 2003. In 2004, Lindquist finished third to Australia's Loretta Harrop
and Rina Hill. Kemper (Longwood, Fla.) had his best Life Time
finish in 2004, placing second among the men and fifth overall. Kemper is on a hot streak heading into the race, having ascended
to the No. 1 world ranking and finishing on the podium in five
out of six races so far. But the national and international
competition will be tough. The six medalists from the 2004 Athens Olympics are on the start
list, including women's bronze medalist Susan Williams
(Littleton, Colo.) from the United States. The other U.S. athletes on the start list are Laura (Reback)
Bennett (North Palm Beach, Fla.), Becky Gibbs Lavelle
(Cupertino, Calif.), Joanna Zeiger (Boulder, Colo.), Andy Potts
(Princeton, N.J.), Matt Reed (Boulder, Colo.), Greg Remaly
(Bloomsburg, Pa.) and David Thompson (Appleton, Minn.). NBC will be presenting same-day coverage of the race at 2 p.m.
Central Daylight Time. For more information, go to www.ltftriathlon.com. Kemper in USA Today
You can also view the story online at www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/front.htm.
About Runner Triathlete News | About Running Network | Privacy Policy | Copyright | Contact Us | Advertise With Us |
|
|
