Courtesy: USAT

Barb Lindquist can put the title women's U.S. elite national champion back on her impressive resume while elite newcomer Seth Wealing stunned the men's field Sunday at the USA Triathlon Elite National Triathlon Championships in New York City. The race was part of the Second Annual New York City Triathlon.

Lindquist (Victor, Idaho), who was the 1999 national champion, essentially led the women's race from beginning to end, coming out of the Hudson River with Sheila Taormina (Livonia, Mich.) and Laura Reback (North Palm Beach, Fla.), building a 4-minute lead with Taormina on the bike and then breaking away on the run. Lindquist ran into Central Park after 2 hours, 49 seconds. Taormina was second in 2:02:21 and Gia White (Peoria, Ill.), a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo., finished third in 2:05:56. Reback was fourth and Ironman veteran Gina Kehr (Redwood City, Calif.) placed fifth.

While Lindquist and Taormina were up front for most of the race, White came out of the water in 14th place and had to work her way up on the bike and run. She joined 2001 U.S. champion Karen Smyers and Jessi Stensland (San Diego, Calif.) on the bike and they worked up to the second pack. She finished with the second fastest run of the day at 38:31. Lindquist had the fastest run in 37:51.

"I just wanted to run strong and steady and I knew I'd be OK," White said. "I had lots of friends and family here, so once I got out on the run, I heard them cheering."

Smyers finished ninth overall.

Wealing (Remington, Ind.), who was a member of the collegiate resident team at the USOTC this summer, is in his first year as a pro/elite triathlete while working to get his masters degree in architecture at Ball State University in Indiana.

"I kept with what I've been doing all season," said Wealing, who exited the swim in ninth place but stayed with the front pack on the bike and turned on the jets on the run, winning the race in 1:51:10, including a 10k run in 32:26.

"The only time I got worried was when a couple people went off the front on the bike."

Those "people" were 2001 national champion Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla.) and Dominic Gillen (New Preston, Conn.) who built a 15-second lead together on the bike. However, Kemper succumbed to the heat (temperatures in the 90s and 55 percent humidity) and hard work and finished eighth. Gillen finished 10th.

Tim Kitching (Baltimore, Md.), another newcomer to U.S. elite triathlon, placed second in the men's race in 1:52:06 and veteran triathlete Andrew Kelsey (Los Altos, Calif.) finished third. Marcel Vifian (Colorado Springs, Colo.), the 2000 men's U.S. champion, was fourth and Joe Umphenour (Belleview, Wash.) was fifth.

The race was draft legal and Olympic distance (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run). Currents in the Hudson River, unlike last year's race, were not particularly strong, and at times even went against the athletes.

Magdalena Stovickova (U. Saddle River, N.J.) and Ryan Grote (Bernardsville, N.J.) won the women's and men's age group races respectively.

For more information and complete results, go to www.nyctri.com.

USA Triathlon Elite Triathlon National Championships
Aug. 18, 2002; New York, N.Y.
1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run

Women
1. Barb Lindquist (Victor, Idaho) 2:00:49; 2. Sheila Taormina (Livonia, Mich.) 2:02:21; 3. Gia White (Peoria, Ill.) 2:05:56; 4. Laura Reback (North Palm Beach, Fla.) 2:06:17; 5. Gina Kehr (Redwood City, Calif.) 2:06:24; 6. Jessi Stensland (San Diego, Calif.) 2:07:06; 7. Patrice Carroll ( Knoxville, Tenn.) 2:07:23; 8. Amanda Pagon (Glenn Dale, Calif.) 2 :07 :54 ; 9. Karen Smyers (Lincoln, Mass.) 2:08:13; 10. Becky Gibbs (San Jose, Calif.) 2:10:04

11. Susie Gallucci (Hudson, Ohio); 12. Joanne Fusco (Hackensack, N.J.); 13. Kelly Handel (Zionsville, Ind.); 14. Samantha Dompier (Houston, Texas); 15. Laurie Hug (Ambler, Pa.); 16. Alexis Waddel (Pacific Grove, Calif.); 17. Bianca Simpson (Downington, Pa.); 18. Eileen Dunn (San Ramon, Calif.); 19. Sara Tarkington (Boulder, Colo.)

Men
1. Seth Wealing (Remington, Ind.) 1:51:10; 2. Tim Kitching (Baltimore, Md.) 1:52:06; 3. Andrew Kelsey (Los Altos, Calif.) no time available; 4. Marcel Vifian (Colorado Springs, Colo.) 1:52:36; 5. Joe Umphenour (Belleview, Wash.) 1:52:54; 6. Brian Fleischmann (Jacksonville, Fla.) 1:53:07; 7. Michael Smedley (Colorado Springs, Colo.) 1:54:01; 8. Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla.) 1:54:05; 9. Kevin Carter (Silver Spring, Md.) 1:54:08; 10. Dominic Gillen (New Preston, Conn.) 1:54:12

11. Daniel Domingo (Jacksonville, Fla.); 12. Christoph O'Donnell (Cambridge, Mass.); 13. Bryan Beckman (Eldorado Hills, Calif.); 14. Alec Rukosuev (Apopka, Fla.); 15. Christopher Valenti (Boulder, Colo.); 16. Victor Plata (San Luis Obispo, Calif.); 17. Eric Bean (Palo Alto, Calif.); 18. Kevin Danahy (La Jolla, Calif.); 19. Greg Carr (Jacksonville, Fla.); 20. Ryan Ignatz (Estes Park, Colo.)

21. Barry Sirard (Davis, Calif.); 22. Ian Ray (St. Petersburg, Calif.); 23. Chad Demasi (Davis, Calif.); 24. Kevin Rowley (Orlando, Fla.); 25. Ap Chowdhury (San Francisco, Calif.); 26. Mark Fretta (Portland, Ore.); 27. Brandon Fuller (Missoula, Mont.); 28. Todd Struckman (Missoula, Mont.) ; 29. Tim Fleming (Arcata, Calif.); 30. George Newsome (West Nyack, N.Y.)