Courtesy: USAT

U.S. elite triathlete Hunter Kemper hopes to end the year ranked No. 1 in the world with a strong finish at the International Triathlon Union World Cup Series finale on Nov. 13 in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

Kemper (Longwood, Fla.) became the first U.S. male triathlete to reach the world No. 1 ranking in May and he has held it ever since. He will be challenged in New Zealand by Great Britain's Tim Don, who is ranked No. 2 and Australia's Brad Kahlefeldt at No. 3.

With almost a quarter of a million dollars up for grabs, the event will definitely be a head to head battle of the world's best in both the men's and women's triathlon races.

Other U.S. elite athletes on the men's start list are Joe Umphenour (Bellevue, Wash.), Jarrod Shoemaker (Sudbury, Mass.), Matt Reed (Boulder, Colo.), Andy Potts (Princeton, N.J.) and Derek Kite (Malibu, Calif.).

The U.S. women will also be looking for good results in the final ITU World Cup race of the season. Sheila Taormina, who is the highest ranked U.S. woman in fifth, will not be competing so Laura Bennett (North Palm Beach, Fla.), who is ranked 10th, will be looking to move up.

Other U.S. women on the start list are Susan Williams (Littleton, Colo.), Julie Swail (Irvine, Calif.), Barb Lindquist (Alta, Wyo.), Becky Lavelle (Cupertino, Calif.), Sarah Haskins (St. Louis, Mo.) and Sarah Groff (Cooperstown, N.Y.).

The women to watch are the current No. 1 and 2 ranked athletes Annabel Luxford and Emma Snowsill of Australia. Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal, who has won three World Cup events this year, will also be a strong contender.

The two-lap, 1500m swim and the transition areas are located at Ngamotu Beach, with the six-lap, 40k bike segment and five-lap run passing through the "triathlon stadium" on each lap.

ITU's Online Services on www.triathlon.org will have a live video feed of the men's and women's events. The live video will be integrated with live timing, live text updates, live photographs, plus live commentary by "ITU Voices of Triathlon"; Jackie Fairweather and Barrie Shepley, with special guests from this all important closing World Cup event.

Live coverage from New Plymouth will begin at 4 p.m. MST on Saturday.

Reed Wins Treasure Island
U.S. elite triathlete Matt Reed (Boulder, Colo.) was the men's winner at the Treasure Island Triathlon on Nov. 5 in San Francisco, Calif.

Reed completed the 1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run in 1 hour, 51 minutes, 20 seconds. Paul Tichelaar of Canada was second in 1:51:56 and Brian Fleischmann (Jacksonville, Fla.) was third in 1:52:50.

In the women's race, Britain's Leanda Cave finished ahead of U.S. elite Becky Lavelle (Cupertino, Calif.) to win in 2:01:39. Lavelle finished in 2:02:23 and Canada's Samantha McGlone was third in 2:04:04.

USA Track and Field Honors Shoemaker
Elite triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker of Sudbury, Mass., the 2005 men's under-23 world champion, was named USA Track & Field's Athlete of the Week after winning the men's 8k race on Oct. 23 at the 16th Annual Mayor's Cup Cross Country Races at Franklin Park in Boston.

Shoemaker, 23, shadowed Westchester Track Club's Daniel Zegeye, a 2000 Olympian, for the first 5 kilometers of the race and went on to win in 24 minutes, 23 seconds.