(1-29-08) From USAT Press Release - A total of 22 U.S. athletes are currently eligible to compete in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Triathlon scheduled for April 19 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Included among the athletes are two triathletes from the Northwest - Mark Fretta (Portland, OR) and Joe Umpenour (Bellevue, WA).
The initial list is based on the 2007 end of the year International Triathlon Union Olympic rankings. USA Triathlon requires athletes be ranked in the top 125 in the world the week before the Olympic trials in order to compete. The list could change as athletes continue to compete and earn ITU ranking points at international events prior to the Olympic Trials.
Here is the preliminary list of eligible U.S. athletes:
Women (listed alphabetically)
Name (Hometown / Training Town)
Laura Bennett (N. Palm Beach, Fla. / Boulder, Colo. / Noosa, Australia)
Mary Beth Ellis (Rehoboth Beach, Del. / Thornton, Colo.)
Julie Swail Ertel (Irvine, Calif. / Irvine, Calif.)
Sarah Groff (Cooperstown, N.Y. / Boulder, Colo.)
Sarah Haskins Kortuem (St. Louis, Mo. / Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Becky Gibbs Lavelle (Minnetonka, Minn. / Los Gatos, Calif.)
Sara McLarty (DeLand, Fla. / Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Jasmine Oeinck (Littleton, Colo. / Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Margaret Shapiro (Great Falls, Va. / Herndon, Va.)
Amanda Stevens (Enid, Okla. / Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Rebeccah Wassner (Gaithersburg, Md. / New York, N.Y.)
Joanna Zeiger (San Diego, Calif. / Boulder, Colo.)
Men
Name (Hometown / Training Town)
Brian Fleischmann (Jacksonville, Fla. / Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Mark Fretta (Portland, Ore. / Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Doug Friman (Alameda, Calif. / Tucson, Ariz.)
Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla. / Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Tim O'Donnell (Shavertown, Pa. / Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Victor Plata (Minneapolis, Minn. / Santa Cruz, Calif.)
Andy Potts (Princeton, N.J. / Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Matt Reed (New Zealand / Boulder, Colo.)
Jarrod Shoemaker (Sudbury, Mass. / Maynard, Mass.)
Joe Umphenour (Bellevue, Wash. / Colorado Springs, Colo.)
The 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Triathlon is the second event in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team selection process that will field the three American men and three women who will represent the U.S. in Beijing in August. The top American woman and top American man at Tuscaloosa will each secure spots on the team.
The first selection event was held at the ITU Beijing World Cup last September, with Laura Bennett and Jarrod Shoemaker qualifying. The final event will be held in Des Moines, Iowa at the Hy-Vee Triathlon. The last male and female athlete will be selected after that race based on a points system that calculates the best two of three races.
The Trials will actually be part of a weekend of multisport action April 19-20 in Tuscaloosa. Collegiate Nationals will take place on Saturday morning, with the Trials race to follow that afternoon. Sunday, April 20 will feature a citizens' and collegiate alumni sprint triathlon followed by the USA Triathlon Twenty-12 TalentID race, a draft-legal, sprint-distance event that will be open to athletes ages 16 to 29, including junior elite, U23 and age group athletes. It will give athletes experience in draft-legal racing and provide exposure to the Olympic style of racing to the public.
More details can be found at the USAT Olympic Trials Web site.
