Pacific Coast ITU International Triathlon
Newport Beach, California
July 19, 2003
1.5k swim, 40k draft legal bike, 10k run
Complete Results

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (July 19, 2003) - Elite triathletes Simon Lessing of Great Britain and Michellie Jones of Australia may have been among the last to register, but they were the first to finish the Pacific Coast ITU International Triathlon on Saturday in Crystal Cove State Park. The race was the fourth stop on USA Triathlon's Race to Athens elite triathlon series and the top 10 male and female finishers went home with a few more International Triathlon Union (ITU) world ranking points under their belts.

Lessing, ranked 29th in the world before the race, completed the 1.5k, 40k bike and 10k run in 1 hour, 51 minutes and 39 seconds. Craig Alexander, an Australian who lives and trains in nearby Carlsbad, Calif., was second in 1:52:18. Australia's Chris Hill, ranked No. 2 in the world, finished third in 1:52:52. The fact that Hill was in the race at all was a surprise to most onlookers, who thought he would be doing Sunday's ITU World Cup in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. However Hill is recovering from a throat infection and didn't feel ready to take on the World Cup field. Marcel Vifian (Santa Rosa, Calif.) was the first U.S. men's finisher, placing fifth in 1:53:37.

Jones, who has been out of competition since May due to a broken toe, won the women's race in 2:05:17; Maxine Seear of Australia, a training partner of Jones', finished second in the women's race in 2:05:31 and Becky Gibbs Lavelle (Cupertino, Calif.), another late entrant, was third in 2:06:35. Local favorite Julie Swail from Irivine, Calif., a 2000 Olympian in water polo and the women's water polo coach at nearby University of California at Irvine, was fourth in 2:07:12. The finish may have been good enough to move Swail into the top 125 in the world, giving her a chance to try to qualify for the 2004 Olympics.

A pounding surf and 70-degree water greeted the athletes on Saturday morning. Skies were overcast with temperatures in the mid 70s. With no wetsuits for protection, the triathletes braved the elements. “My swim was a little bit disappointing,” Lessing said. “I had to work hard to stay up there.”

A large pack of men left the ocean in a line led by Bill Schultz (Bowie, Md.) and Matt Kowalski (Northville, Mich.) of the United States. A lead pack of 11 formed on the bike, followed by a chase pack of 16 that started about 50 seconds back. With about a mile to go, the chasers caught the leaders. “We were just happy to get to the first pack,” said Vifian.

Lessing got off the bike in the middle of the pack and had to work hard on the hilly run course, which included beach running, to gain ground. “It was a very challenging run. The beach sections kill your rhythm,” he said.

The women also had to battle waves on the swim, with Amanda Stevens (Enid, Okla.) and Maxine Seears of Australia exiting the swim ahead of the pack. However, the two couldn't hold off the rest on the bike and one group of about nine formed. “We were working pretty hard, especially on the downhills,” said Lavelle, who was part of the chase pack. Jones and Seear took off on the run. Both completed it in under 38 minutes. “My strategy was not to lose as much time (on the run) as I lost on the swim,” Jones said.

Jones and Lessing each earned $2,500 for the victory.