Speedy Kemper Finishes Sixth in Greece - Triathlon Week

Robert G. · 10-29-2003, 12:45 PM

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 27, 2003) - Hunter Kemper, the top-ranked male triathlete Hunter Kemper had the fastest run of the day at the ITU World Cup race on Saturday in Athens, Greece.
copyright ITU Media / Spomedis 2003

in the United States, had the fastest run of the day and finished sixth Saturday at the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Cup in Athens, Greece, which served as the triathlon test event for the 2004 Olympic Games.

Kemper (Longwood, Fla.), who is ranked ninth in the world, ran the final 10k in 30 minutes, 51 seconds and finished the race in 1:55:02.

Rasmus Henning of Denmark won the men's race in a photo finish with France's Cedric Fleureton. Henning won in 1:52:41.93. Fleureton finished second in 1:52:41.96 and Sven Riederer of Switzerland was third in 1:53:11.02.

Observers were interested to see how the difficult bike course would affect the athletes. The 40k course consisted of five laps with a 200-meter climb at a 15-percent grade on every lap. As it turned out, a strong lead pack of six athletes, including Henning, Fleureton and Riederer, put significant time on a large, disorganized chase group. Few from the chase group were able to recover.

U.S. elite Joe Umphenour (Bellevue, Wash.), ranked 29th in the world, came out of the 1.5k swim in fourth place, but fell behind on the bike and run and finished 30th in the men's race.

U.S. elite Barb Lindquist (Victor, Idaho), ranked No. 1 in the world, exited the women's race swim in first, but struggled to maintain the lead by herself on the bike. She finished the race in eighth, but maintains her world No. 1 ranking.

Australia's Michellie Jones, the silver medalist at the 2000 Olympic Games and a mountain biker, won the women's race in 2:06:47. Great Britain's Jodie Swallow was second in 2:06:48 and Pilar Hidalgo of Spain was third in 2:07:13.

U.S. elite Sheila Taormina (Livonia, Mich.), who was scheduled to race in Athens, had to pull out after her bike was lost in transit to Athens from Madeira, Portugal.

More information and complete results are available at www.triathlon.org.

ITU World Cup
Oct. 25, 2003; Athens, Greece
1.5k (1-lap) swim; 40k (5-lap) bike; 10k (3-lap) run

Men
1. Rasmus Henning (Denmark) 1:52:41.93; 2. Cedric Fleureton (France) 1:52:41.96; 3. Sven Riederer (Switzerland) 1:53:11; 4. Olivier Marceau (Switzerland) 1:53:50; 5. Axel Zeebroek (Belgium) 1:54:47; 6. Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla.) 1:55:02; 7. Volodymyr Polikarpenko (Ukraine) 1:55:44; 8. Tim Don (Great Britain) 1:55:48; 9. Andreas Raelert (Germany) 1:55:50.41; 10. Daniel Unger (Germany) 1:55:50.94
Other U.S. finisher
30. Joe Umphenour (Bellevue, Wash.)

Women
1. Michellie Jones (Australia) 2:06:47; 2. Jodie Swallow (Great Britain) 2:06:48; 3. Pilar Hidalgo (Spain) 2:07:13; 4. Jill Savege (Canada) 2:07:29; 5. Joelle Franzmann (Germany) 2:07:56; 6. Stephanie Forrester (Great Britain) 2:08:07; 7. Andrea Whitcombe (Great Britain) 2:08:09; 8. Barb Lindquist (Victor, Idaho) 2:08:12; 9. Mieke Suys (Belgium) 2:08:32; 10. Ana Burgos (Spain) 2:09:00