Courtesy: USAT

U.S. elite triathlete Hunter Kemper got his first international points race victory in two years Sunday, and took a little revenge in the process.

Kemper (Longwood, Fla.) defeated Olympic gold medalist Simon Whitfield of Canada on Whitfield's home turf, winning the Victoria International Triathlon in British Columbia.

Kemper won the Olympic distance, International Triathlon Union points race in 1 hour, 45 minutes, 22 seconds. Whitfield finished second in 1:46:45 and Bevan Docherty of New Zealand was third in 1:46:50.

At last year's ITU World Cup in St. Petersburg, Fla., Whitfield edged Kemper to win the race, so Saturday's win gave Kemper an extra boost.

"It was a good day for me, but it really came down to the run," Kemper said. "I was able to pull away in the second lap of the run, and any time you can beat the Olympic champion, you have to put that on your resume."

Four other U.S. men finished in the top 10, as Seth Wealing (Remington, Ind.) placed fourth, Brian Fleischmann (Jacksonville, Fla.) was fifth, Doug Friman (Tucson, Ariz.) was eighth and Brent Perdrizet (New Fairfield, Conn.) placed ninth. Fleischmann and Perdrizet are residents at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Resident team member Jenny Marine (Naperville, Ill.) was the highest U.S. finisher in the women's race, taking fourth in 2:01:13. Canada's Sharon Donnelly, Natascha Filliol and Jill Savege swept the women's podium. Donnelly won the race in 1:59:42.

For more information and complete results, go to www.triathlon.org.

Escape from Alcatraz in San Francisco was the other major pro race of the weekend. Australians Michellie Jones and Chris McCormack defended their women and men's titles in the race, which consisted of a 1.5-mile swim, an 18-mile bike and an 8- mile run. Jones won the women's race in 2:14:23 and McCormack took the men's title in 2:01:30.

U.S. elite triathlete Becky Gibbs (San Jose, Calif.) placed second in the women's race (2:15:13) and Ironman specialist Nicole DeBoom (Lyons Colo.) was third (2:16:25). Barb Lindquist, currently ranked No. 1 in the world, was fourth.

Marcel Vifian (Santa Rosa, Calif.) was the top U.S. men's finisher in fourth behind McCormack, and Australians Craig Walton and Marc Lees.

For more information and complete results, go to www.tricalifornia.com/alcatraz/2002.