OCEANSIDE, Calif.-Three more former Ironman World Champions, Lori Bowden, Peter Reid, and Heather Fuhr, have announced that they will compete in the Ralphs California Half Ironman taking place at Oceanside on Sunday, May 19. The addition of these three makes a total of five Ironman World Champions competing at the event. Current World Champion Tim DeBoom (Boulder, Colo.) and former Ironman World Champion Luc van Lierde (Belgium) are also scheduled to compete in the event.

Bowden, 34, is tied with her husband Reid for third most all-time Ironman victories with nine total victories. Bowden, the 1999 Ironman World Champion, finished second at the World Championship in both 2000 and 2001 and is one of only four women ever to break the nine-hour mark in an Ironman event. Bowden registered the second-fastest womenıs Ironman finish time in history at Ironman Australia in 2000, finishing the event in 8:55:08 and also broke the nine-hour mark at Ironman Austria in 2001 (8:59:49). Bowden has also claimed four consecutive Subaru Ironman Canada titles (1997-2000).

Reid, 32, claimed his second Ironman Hawaii title in October of 2000 by posting an overall time of 8 hours, 21 minutes in some of the worst conditions ever seen at the Kona event. Reid has posted nine Ironman victories in his career, including a pair of husband-wife wins with Bowden at Ironman Austria in 1999 and Subaru Ironman Canada in 2000. He stands tied with Bowden in third place all-time behind only Heather Fuhr (11) and Paula Newby-Fraser (22) in all-time Ironman victories.  The Victoria, B.C. resident is one of only five men in the world to crack the eight-hour barrier at an Ironman event. The other include Van Lierde, and Lothar Leder, Jurgen Zack and Thomas Hellreigel of Germany.  His time of seven hours, 51 minutes and 56 seconds at Ironman Austria in 1999 is one of the fastest in Ironman history and Reid is the lone North American triathlete ever to break the eight-hour mark in an Ironman event.

Fuhr is one of the most decorated Ironman triathletes in the history of the sport, having claimed 11 Ironman titles in her career. She currently stands second all time in Ironman victories, trailing only Paula Newby Fraser (22). Among the races that Fuhr has won are Ironman USA Lake Placid (1999 and 2001), Ironman Brazil (1998,1999) and Ironman California (2001). The 34-year-old claimed the Ironman World Championship title back in 1997 in Kona, Hawaii.  Fuhr, who has competed as a pro triathlete since 1991, stands as one of the top runners in the history of Ironman, often overcoming large deficits on the run to win events.

General registration for the Ralphs California Half Ironman at Oceanside closes on April 30. For more information on the Ralphs Califorina Half Ironman at Oceanside, log onto www.ironmancalifornia.com.