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USAT Announces 2002 Athletes of the
Year
from BJ
Hoeptner /USA Triathlon on
January 17, 2003
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COLORADO SPRINGS
,
Colo.
(
Jan. 17, 2003
) - USA Triathlon has announced its athletes of the
year for 2002. In elite triathlon, Barb Lindquist (
Victor
,
Idaho
) won the women's award and Tim DeBoom (
Lyons
,
Colo.
) took the men's prize.
Lindquist
had a sensational year with 15 podium finishes, including an ITU World Cup
victory and a second-place finish at the ITU Triathlon World Championships in
Cancun
,
Mexico
. She also won the accenture race series in
Australia
- becoming the first American to win an Australian
series - and the Life Time Fitness Triathlon, in which she beat female and male
triathletes for the $50,000 prize. She finished the year ranked No. 2 in the
world behind
U.S.
teammate Siri Lindley, who has retired.
DeBoom
won his second straight Ironman World Championship in October of 2002, finishing
in a time of 8 hours, 29 minutes, 59 seconds. He also won the Blackwater
Eagleman Half-Ironman race in
Cambridge
,
Md.
, setting a new course record with his time of
3:44:07
. DeBoom capped of his year in November by finishing
second at the Laguna Phuket triathlon in
Thailand
.
The
USA Triathlon elite duathletes of the year are Andrea Ratkovic (
Norman
,
Okla.
) and Greg Watson (
Newark
,
Del.
).
Ratkovic,
who won the elite duathlete of the year award in 2001 as well, had to sit out
part of the 2002 season with Rocky Mountain spotted fever, but still finished on
the podium in eight races, including victories at the McDowell Desert Classic
and the Dannon Duathlon in
Alpharetta
,
Ga.
She won the women's
U.S.
national duathlon title in
Carlsbad
,
Calif.
, while finishing the race second overall. She also
finished second at Powerman
Alabama
and 15th at the ITU Dannon Duathlon World
Championships in Alpharetta.
Watson,
who has won the elite duathlete of the year award several times, continued his
reign over
U.S.
men's duathlon, winning six duathlons in a row in
2002. His winning streak included victories at the duathlon national
championships and Powerman
Tennessee
. Watson was also the top
U.S.
men's finisher, and 15th overall, at the ITU Dannon
Duathlon World Championships in Alpharetta.
The
rookie elite triathlete of the year awards went to Kelly Handel (
Zionsville
,
Ind.
) and Tim Kitching (
Baltimore
,
Md.
). Handel, a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, won
the Pan American Triathlon Championships and qualified for the 2002 world team
by finishing third at the elite worlds qualifier in Boston. Kitching, an
Australian racing for the United States for the first time, finished second at
the U.S. elite national championships in New York.
The
rookie elite duathlete of the year awards were given to Melissa Hopkins
(Birmingham, Ala.) and Justin Henkel (Sheboygan, Wis.). Hopkins finished fourth
at Powerman Tennessee, eighth at the U.S. duathlon national championships and
fifth at the Dannon Duathlon in Alpharetta, Ga. She also represented the United
States at the long and short course duathlon world championships. Henkel also
represented the United States at the long and short course world championships
and finished fourth at the Saturn Duathlon and fifth at the Dannon Duathlon
races in Boston and Alpharetta.
The
overall age group triathletes of the year for 2002 are Pete Kain (Cupertino,
Calif.) and Julie Swail (Irvine, Calif.). Swail, a member of the 2000 Olympic
women's water polo team in her first full year of triathlon competition, won the
U.S. age group national championship and the age group (30-34) and overall
titles at the ITU triathlon and aquathlon world championships. Kain, a veteran
triathlete, won the overall title at the age group national championships and
placed third in his age group (35-39) at the triathlon world championships.
The
overall age group duathletes of the year are Joshua Beck (Carlisle, Pa.) and
Amanda Gillam (Boulder, Colo.). Beck won his age group (20-24) at both the U.S.
national duathlon championships and at the ITU duathlon world championships.
Gillam won the women's 30-34 age group at the duathlon world championships and
had the overall fastest time among the age group women.
2002
USA Triathlon Athletes of the Year (including honorable mentions)
ELITES
Triathlon
Women: Barb Lindquist (Victor, Idaho)
HM: Siri Lindley, Sheila Taormina
Men: Tim DeBoom (Lyons, Colo.)
HM: Hunter Kemper, Joe Umphenour
Triathlon
Rookies
Women: Kelly Handel (Zionsville, Ill.)
HM: Jenny Marine, Gia White
Men: Tim Kitching (Baltimore, Md.)
HM: Matt Kowalski
Duathlon
Women: Andrea Ratkovic (Norman, Okla.)
HM: Desiree Ficker, Marjan Huizing
Men: Greg Watson (Newark, Del.)
HM: Travis Kuhl, Eric Schwartz
Duathlon
Rookies
Women: Melissa Hopkins (Birmingham, Ala.)
HM: Heather Haviland, Rachel Sears
Men: Justin Henkel (Sheboygan, Wis.)
HM: Sam Wilbur
AGE
GROUP
Triathlon
Male Overall: Pete Kain (Cupertino, Calif.)
HM: Michael Boehmer, Jim Bruskewitz, Otho Keller, Tony Schiller, David Thompson
Female
Overall: Julie Swail (Irvine, Calif.)
HM: Sherry Coons, Amanda Gillam, Melanie Holloway, Ann Lantz, Amy Rice, Margaret
Shapiro, Amanda Stevens
Masters
Male: Tony Schiller (Chanhassen, Minn.)
HM: John Brockenbrough, Jim Bruskewitz, Dennis Moriarty, Brad Price, Steve Pyle,
Chuck Sperazza
Masters
Female: Donna Smyers (Montpelier, Vt.)
HM: Mary Dunn, Jan Guenther, Amy Rice, Lydia Schlosser, Laura Sophiea
Grandmasters
Male: Wayne McSheehy (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.)
HM: Jon Adamson, Bruce Buchanan, Charley French, Bob Scott
Grandmasters
Female: Paula Larsen (Horicon, Wis.)
HM: Harriett Anderson, Madonna Buder, Susan Bradley-Cox, Jan Miller
Junior
Male: Manuel Huerta (
Miami
,
Fla.
)
HM: Justin Caskey, Randall Lewis, Mike Orton, Chris Stehula
Junior
Female: Jasmine Oeinck (
Littleton
,
Colo.
)
HM: Sarah Bickerstaff, Ashley Carusone, Sara McLarty, Grace Ann Nathanson
Duathlon
Male Overall: Joshua Beck (
Carlisle
,
Pa.
)
HM: Brad Anderson, Thomas Jeffrey, Joshua Ritchie
Female
Overall: Amanda Gillam (
Boulder
,
Colo.
)
HM: Gabriele Hauch, Chris Farias, Melissa Ruthven, Cecily Tynan
Masters
Male: David Walters (Lisle,
Ill.
)
HM: Derek Hager, Michael Homan, Dana Lyons, Mac Martin
Masters
Female: Sue Davis (
Costa Mesa
,
Calif.
)
HM: Anne Ellacott, Sandy Meister-Meredith, Kristen Miller
Grandmasters
Male: Tony Mauro (
Pittsburgh
,
Pa.
)
HM: Don Ardell, Ron Lemerich, Warren Taylor
Grandmasters
Female: Paula Larsen (
Horicon
,
Wis.
)
HM: Emily Bruno, Judy Carroll, Sue Stark
Junior
Male: Justin Caskey (
Boulder
,
Colo.
)
HM: Matt Coy, Manuel Huerta, Taylor Tolleson, Dustin Whitson
Junior
Female: Grace Ann Nathanson (
Baton Rouge
,
La.
)
HM: Bethany Fortuna, Jen Perez, Marisa Ryan, Katie Siegal
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