Pacific Coast Next in Race to Athens Series - Triathlon Week

Robert G. · 07-22-2003, 09:46 PM

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 17, 2003) - Elite U.S. and international triathletes will hit the surf on Saturday at the Pacific Coast ITU International Triathlon, the fourth stop on USA Triathlon's Race to Athens elite series.

The triathletes will be in Newport Beach, Calif., chasing ITU (International Triathlon Union) world ranking points. Triathletes must be ranked in the top 125 in the world to qualify for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, so gathering these points this year is very important.

Among the competitors to watch will be Julie Swail (Irvine, Calif.), a former amateur national and world champion triathlete who is in her first year of elite competition. Swail, who won an Olympic silver medal with the U.S. women's water polo team in 2000 in Sydney, Australia, has already qualified for the U.S. Pan American Games triathlon team. Now she is trying to work her way into the top 125 in the world so she can try to qualify for the 2004 Olympic triathlon team. Swail is also the women's water polo coach at the University of California at Irvine.

Also on the start list is northern California's Victor Plata (San Luis Obispo, Calif.). Plata, the U.S. alternate for the 2000 Olympic triathlon team, is ranked 36th in the world and third in the United States. He has also qualified for the U.S. Pan American Games triathlon team and is among the favorites to make the 2004 Olympic team.

Southern California native Jeff Sneed (La Canada, Calif.), ranked 113th in the world, is also expected to race, along with a host of others.

The men's race will start at 7 a.m. with the women to follow at 7:05 a.m.

The race will start and end in Crystal Cove State Park and will be Olympic distance (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run) and draft legal. There will be a beach mass start and swimming in the Pacific. The bike course will consist of four, hilly loops and the run course will include two hilly loops.

The prize purse of $20,000 will be evenly divided among the top-10 men and women.

The Pacific Coast sprint-distance age group race has long been a Southern California favorite. This year's age group race will be on July 20 and will be the USA Triathlon regional sprint distance championships. More than 1,500 of the best age groupers in the United States are expected to compete.

More information about the Pacific Coast ITU International Triathlon is posted at www.pacificcoasttriathlon.com.