Friman Leads U.S. in Rio - Triathlon Week

Robert G. · 11-10-2003, 05:38 PM

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Nov. 10, 2003) - U.S. elite triathlete Doug Friman Improved his ranking to No. 2 in the United States with his seventh-place finish Sunday at the International Triathlon Union World Cup race in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

Friman (Tucson, Ariz.), a member of the U.S. team that will compete at the ITU Triathlon World

Andy Potts, right, Doug Friman, second from left, and Mark Fretta, far left, enter transition after the swim at the Rio World Cup race on Sunday.
copyright ITU Media / Spomedis 2003

Championships in New Zealand next month, completed the two-lap, 1.5k swim, seven-lap, 40k bike and four-lap 10k run in 1 hour, 47 minutes, 57 seconds. The finish moved him up in the world rankings from 31st to 26th, making him the second-ranked U.S. man.

Volodymyr Polikarpenko of Ukraine won the race in 1:46:49. Ivan Vassiliev of Russia was second in 1:47:17 and Antonio Da Silva of Brazil was third in 1:47:24.

Also finishing in the top 20 were U.S. world team member Victor Plata (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) in 11th and Mark Fretta (Portland, Ore.) in 12th.

U.S. elite Andy Potts (Princeton, N.J.) was second out of the water and stayed with the lead group on the bike. However he struggled on the run and finished 43rd.

Kelly Cook (Marietta, Ga.) was the top U.S. women's finisher in 18th. She completed the course in 2:02:55. Patrice Wolfensberger (Knoxville, Tenn.) was just behind in 19th (2:02:59).

Carla Moreno of Brazil won the women's race in 1:59:12. She was followed by Carol Montgomery of Canada (2:00:02) and Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal (2:00:21).

U.S. elite Amanda Stevens (Enid, Okla.) was one of the leaders out of the water, but fell back as the race went on and finished 38th.

For more race details and complete results, go to www.triathlon.org.

ITU World Cup
Nov. 9, 2003; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1.5k (2-lap) swim, 40k (7-lap) bike, 10k (4-lap) run

Men
1. Volodymyr Polikarpenko (Ukraine) 1:46:49:0; 2. Ivan Vassiliev (Russia) 1:47:17:3; 3. Antonio Da Silva (Brazil) 1:47:24:1; 4. Dmitry Gaag (Kazakhstan) 1:47:37:5; 5. Leandro Macedo (Brazil) 1:47:50:2; 6. Daniel Fontana (Argentina) 1:47:52:8; 7. Doug Friman (Tucson, Ariz.) 1:47:57:4; 8. Igor Sysoev (Russia) 1:48:04:0; 9. Javier Rosas (Mexico) 1:48:20:0; 10. Claude Eksteen (Russia) 1:48:24:8
Other U.S. Finishers
11. Victor Plata (San Luis Obispo, Calif.); 12. Mark Fretta (Portland, Ore.); 35. Christoph O'Donnell (Cambridge, Mass.); 40. Andy Kelsey (Cupertino, Calif.); 42. Michael Smedley (Buchanan, Mich.); 43. Andy Potts (Princeton, N.J.); 44. Brendan Murphy (Littleton, Colo.)

Women
1. Carla Moreno (Brazil) 1:59:12:0; 2. Carol Montgomery (Canada) 2:00:02:0; 3. Vanessa Fernandes (Portugal) 2:00:21:0; 4. Mariana Ohata (Brazil) 2:01:17:0; 5. Marion Lorblanchet (France) 2:01:17:0; 6. Natasha Filliol (Canada) 2:01:24:0; 7. Sandra Soldan (Brazil) 2:01:47:0; 8. Samantha McGlone (Canada) 2:01:52:0; 9. Eva Brambock (Austria) 2:01:53:0; 10. Maria Aerosa (Portugal) 2:02:05:0
U.S. Finishers
18. Kelly Cook (Marietta, Ga.); 19. Patrice Wolfensberger (Knoxville, Tenn.); 23. Amanda Pagon (Glenn Dale, Md.); 32. Laurie Hug (Ambler, Pa.) 2:07:02; 38. Amanda Stevens (Enid, Okla.)