Courtesy: USAT

A team of 12 U.S. elite triathletes, six men and six women, are scheduled to compete Sunday for the International Triathlon Union Triathlon World Championships in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal.

Five U.S. men and five U.S. women will be vying for two spots (one man and one woman) on the U.S. Olympic triathlon team. U.S. elites Barb Lindquist (Victor, Idaho; No. 1 world; No. 1 U.S.) and Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla.; No. 9 world; No. 1 U.S.), who will both be in Madeira, already qualified for the team on April 18 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The top U.S. male finisher and the top U.S. female finisher will qualify for the Olympic team. If Kemper and/or Lindquist are the top finishers, then it will roll down to the next athlete(s).

Those who don't qualify in Madeira still need a good finish if they hope to qualify in the final race, the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Triathlon on June 13 in Bellingham, Wash. After that race, USA Triathlon officials will look at the athletes' results in all three races, plus their world rankings, and determine the final two team members.

Among the U.S. women in Madeira will be Sheila Taormina (Livonia, Mich.; No. 2 world; No. 2 U.S.). Taormina won the ITU World Cup race held in Madeira in 2003 on the same course, and certainly has her sights set on making her third Olympic team.

Another strong contender will be Laura Reback (North Palm Beach, Fla.; No. 3 world; No. 3 U.S.), who placed second at the 2003 ITU World Triathlon Championships in New Zealand.

Don't count out Susan Williams (Littleton, Colo.; No. 27 world; No. 5 U.S.), who was the second U.S. finisher behind Lindquist at the Race to Athens - Honolulu, the first qualifying race. Williams finished third overall at that race and called it one of her best ever. She also opened her 2004 season by winning the Bay Islands International Triathlon in Honduras.

Finally, watch for Julie Swail (Irvine, Calif.; No. 78 world; No. 7 U.S.) and Kelly Cook (Marietta, Ga.; No. 90 world; No. 9 U.S.), both making their elite world championship debuts. Swail, a 2000 Olympian in water polo, recently had her best ITU World Cup finish ever when she placed 10th Mazatlan, Mexico. Cook's best World Cup finish was 18th in 2003 in Corner Brook, Newfoundland.

The women's international field will be missing three of the top 10 ranked athletes: No. 4 Michellie Jones of Australia, No. 5 Jill Savege of Canada, No. 6 Liz Blatchford, who is in the process of switching affiliations from Australia to Great Britain and No. 16 Emma Snowsill of Australia, the 2003 world champion.

The international field is set to include No. 7 Carol Montgomery of Canada, No. 8 Kathleen Smet of Belgium, No. 9 Anja Dittmer of Germany and No. 10 Sandra Soldan of Brazil.

The race for the second U.S. men's Olympic slot will also be a battle.

Joe Umphenour (Bellevue, Wash.; No. 38 world; No. 3 U.S.) will not race due to a calf injury he suffered at the Race to Athens - Honolulu. Brian Fleischmann (Jacksonville, Fla.; No. 53 world; No. 5 U.S.) is scheduled to take his place on the start line.

Triathlon newcomer Andy Potts (Princeton, N.J.; No. 70 world; No. 8 U.S.) finished as the second American to Kemper in Hawaii and veteran Victor Plata (San Luis Obispo, Calif.; no. 50 world; No. 4 U.S.), the alternate to the 2000 Olympic triathlon team, finished third. Also in the mix is Doug Friman (Tucson, Ariz.; No. 35 world; No. 2 U.S.), who was the top American male finisher at the 2003 world championships in New Zealand.

Michael Smedley (Buchanan, Mich.; No. 100 world; No. 10 U.S.) was a surprise qualifier for the U.S. world championship team, but made a strong comeback last year after taking a year off from full-time competition.

The international field will include eight of the top-10 ranked men in the world, including No. 1 Greg Bennett (Australia), No. 2 Bevan Docherty (New Zealand) and No. 3 Ivan Rana (Spain). However the defending champion, Australia's Peter Robertson, ranked 12th in the world, will not be there as he has chosen to focus on the Olympics. Simon Whitfield of Canada, the 2000 Olympic gold medalist ranked 18th in the world, is staying home for the same reason.

The races will start at 1:30 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. local time Sunday, which is 8:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. EDT. Live race updates will be available at www.triathlon.org.