Courtesy: USAT

U.S. elite triathlete Hunter Kemper continued to tear through the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Cup circuit with a second-place finish Sunday in Ishigaki, Japan.

U.S. elite Victor Plata finished third.

Australia's Courtney Atkinson pulled away on the final lap of the run to win the men's race in 1 hour, 47 minutes, 8 seconds. Kemper (Longwood, Fla.), who is ranked No. 1 in the ITU World Cup series, finished in 1:47:15 and Plata (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) finished in 1:47:24.

U.S. elite Matt Reed (Boulder, Colo.) also made it into the top 10, placing sixth. The United States had seven men finish in the top 20.

Laura (Reback) Bennett (North Palm Beach, Fla.) finished eighth for the best U.S. showing among the women. Samantha Warriner of New Zealand won the women's race in 2:00:39.

Next up for many U.S. and international elite triathletes will be the Tempe International Triathlon on Sunday in Arizona, part of USA Triathlon's 2005 Elite Cup Challenge.

ITU World Cup No. 4
May 15, 2005; Ishigaki, Japan
1.5k swim; 40k bike; 10k run

Men
1. Courtney Atkinson (Australia) 1:47:08; 2. Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla.) 1:47:15; 3. Victor Plata (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) 1:47:24; 4. Craig Alexander (Australia) 1:47:33; 5. Simon Thompson (Australia) 1:47:39; 6. Matt Reed (Boulder, Colo.) 1:48:07; 7. Bryce Quirk (Australia) 1:48:22; 8. Andrew Johns (Great Britain) 1:48:26; 9. Brad Kahlefeldt 1:48:35; 10. Didier Brocard (Switzerland) 1:48:41

Other U.S. Finishers
11. Joe Umphenour (Bellevue, Wash.); 12. Seth Wealing (Fowler, Ind.); 14. Andy Potts (Princeton, N.J.); 15. Doug Friman (Tucson, Ariz.); 21. Brian Fleischmann (Jacksonville, Fla.)

Women
1. Samantha Warriner (New Zealand) 2:00:39; 2. Kiyomi Niwata (Japan) 2:00:59; 3. Akiko Sekine (Japan) 2:01:31; 4. Nicole Hackett (Australia) 2:02:10; 5. Michelle Dillon (Great Britain) 2:02:40; 6. Machiko Nakanishi (Japan) 2:02:49; 7. Mirinda Carfrae (Australia) 2:03:12; 8. Laura Bennett (North Palm Beach, Fla.) 2:03:54; 9. Pip Taylor (Australia) 2:04:20; 10. Shizuka Kutsuna (Japan) 2:04:36