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|  Race to Athens arrives in St. Petersburg April 23, 2003 Courtesy: USAT
The St. Anthony's Triathlon is celebrating its 20th anniversary,
although it is only in its third year as a World Cup and the
first as a member of the Race to Athens series. Top pro triathletes from around the world - including Barb
Lindquist of the United States and Chris Hill of Australia,
both ranked No. 1 in the world - will converge on the coastal
city to try to earn points toward their 2003 world ranking and
Olympic qualifying in 2004. They will also be looking for a
share of the $80,000 prize purse. The 2002 St. Anthony's winners, Michellie Jones of Australia and
Sylvain Dodet of France, are also on the start list for Saturday. The St. Anthony's course features a two-lap 1.5k (0.9-mile)
swim, a fast, flat and technical nine-lap 40k (24.8-mile) bike
course and a four-lap flat 10k (6.2-mile) run. The race will be
draft legal. Heat can also play a part for the athletes, as the women's race
starts at noon and the men's race at 2:30 p.m. The age group race takes off at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday. The race
sold out in record time and 2,000 competitors are expected to
take part. The St. Anthony's Triathlon is one of the 20 largest
in the United States. Among the stories that could play out at Saturday's races: Lindquist (Victor, Idaho), ranked No. 1 in the world, will be
going for her sixth win in a row this season and looking to
improve on her third-place finish at St. Anthony's last year. Laura Reback (North Palm Beach, Fla.) always makes the St.
Anthony's race a family affair. Reback, ranked second in the
United States and fifth in the world, is engaged to Australia's
Greg Bennett, ranked No. 2 in the world, who will compete in the
men's race. Reback's father and brother usually compete in the
St. Anthony's amateur race. Sheila Taormina (Livonia, Mich.) has been training at the USA
Triathlon National Training Center in Clermont, Fla., and will
be looking to improve on last year's second-place finish at St.
Anthony's. She is ranked third in the United States and 12th in
the world. She opened her 2003 season with a victory in Honduras. Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla.) finished second at St. Anthony's
in 2001, but fell on the bike course last year and placed 32nd.
He is still the top-ranked man in the United States and No. 14
in the world. He opened his 2003 season with a victory in
Honduras. Joe Umphenour (Bellevue, Wash.), ranked second in the United
States, is competing for the first time since hernia surgery
earlier this year. He is looking for his first podium finish at
a World Cup. Brian Fleischmann (Jacksonville, Fla.) dropped out of the St.
Anthony's race last year after falling behind on the bike. He is
hoping for better things this year in front of a home-state
crowd.
The complete start list is available at www.triathlon.org Other U.S. athletes on the St. Anthony's start list:
Men
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The Race to Athens elite triathlon series makes its first stop
Saturday at the St. Anthony's ITU World Cup Triathlon in St.
Petersburg, Fla.